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Dear
Friends,
As the end of the century—and the millennium—approaches
I am often asked about the theological and spiritual
significance of this milestone. My answer is simple
and straightforward: absolutely nothing! The end
of the millennium is a human calender invention
(and an imperfect invention at that) and it has
nothing whatever to do with the march of Holy
History or the economy of God. So, please, for
God's sake (and your own) simply ignore all the
hysterical millennial hype that is going on these
days. And this includes the Y2K issue. Y2K is
merely a computer defect that will get worked
out by those who deal with such things; and whether
it is worked out with ease or difficulty is of
little consequence to those whose lives are hid
with God in Christ. In fact, inordinate attention
to these matters only distracts us from the far
more substantive issues of ongoing character formation
into Christlikeness and faithful obedience to
Christ in the midst of a society that is indifferent—even
hostile—to Christian things. I regret even having
to devote one paragraph to so trivial a subject.
Enough said.
Looking into the Future. While focusing
on millennial madness is a waste of good time
and energy, careful and prayerful attention to
what the future may look like is of immense value.
Where is our contemporary culture headed? What
influences for good can we have in this regard?
And what about the community of faith, the Church?
What will the Church of the future look like?
What should the Church of the future look
like? These are the kinds of questions we do well
to ponder. Thus, as we stand on the cusp of a
new (humanly calculated) century and millennium,
it is worth our best efforts to consider together
the future of our society and the role of the
people of God in that society.
At the mid-point of the twentieth century philosopher
D. Elton Trueblood dubbed Western Culture a "cut-flower
society"; that is, while we still exhibited a
certain cultural strength and power, it was a
passing beauty because our spiritual roots had
been severed. In the years since that perceptive—even
prophetic—characterization we have witnessed the
flower wilt and dry up. As a culture we have sown
the wind and we are now reaping the whirlwind.
Anyone who does not recognize this is simply ignorant
of the harsh realities of modern life. (I need
not enumerate these realities—you see them every
night on CNN or the BBC.) Now, I know that in
saying this I am not sounding wonderfully positive
and optimistic. But, friends, this is what has
happened to our society and we might just as well
own up to it.
The
catch-word people use for this sweeping change
in our cultural landscape is "post-modernism,"
and it simply means that we have cut ourselves
off from all the ancient anchors of reality, truth,
and virtue. For the post-modernist "reality" is
what we are making up as we go along, "truth"
is what we decide it is, and "virtue" is reduced
to being politically correct. (Post-modernism
has also served the positive role of undermining
the arrogance of scientific naturalism commonly
called modernism.)
So
we live in a post-modern world. We also live in
a "post-denominational" world. We are at the tail
end of a major form of Christian expression, an
expression we have known for nearly half a millennium.
Many reasons account for this change. One positive
reason is that the old (and important) theological
battles that gave rise to the denominations have
been substantially resolved: witness the dramatic
joint Lutheran/Roman Catholic declaration on justification
by faith that was signed on Reformation Sunday
(October 31) in Wittenberg, Germany. Space hinders
me from going into other reasons, many of them
not nearly as positive. Suffice it to say that
denominational loyalties no longer define the
religious landscape. Now, if this fact of modern
life concerns you (and we should have many concerns
about it) I do want to give you this word of encouragement:
the people of God did quite well long before the
rise of denominations and they will do quite well
after they are gone.
Three
Dramatic Shifts. In light of these matters
I see three dramatic shifts occurring in the twenty-first
century.
First,
the Church's privileged position in Western society
will end. The preferential treatment many have
come to expect is fast disappearing and we are
being pushed to the margins of society. I expect
this trend to continue on many fronts, up to and
including the removal of tax exempt status for
church properties in the U.S.
Now, I actually view this loss of preferential
treatment as an advantage. Instead of the Church
desperately trying to elbow her way up to the
tables of power, we can instead turn our attention
to becoming—by our life and witness—an alternative
voice to the madness around us. Since, in Christ,
we have been reborn into the new reality of the
kingdom of God, we can become ambassadors of peace
in the midst of a violent world, models of civility
and grace in the midst of a competitive society,
conveyors of faith and hope in the midst of a
cynical culture, and the embodiment of agape
love to all peoples in the midst of an adversarial
society.
History
teaches us that the Church has always been at
its best, thrived the most, had its greatest beauty
and power, and its most sterling witness when
it stood on the margins of society. And, besides,
I'm only talking about the loss of privileged
position, not outright persecution which so many
of our brothers and sisters in the faith must
face day in and day out. "In your struggle . .
. you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding
your blood" (Heb. 12:4). So let's quit sniveling
and feeling sorry for ourselves and take up our
rightful place as a pilgrim people whose real
inheritance is in the kingdom of God. Then we
can, as one of the Desert Fathers Abba Joseph
admonishes, "become totally changed into fire,"
and the world in awe can watch us burn.
Second,
we are, most likely, in the beginning stages of
a third great reformation . . . a reformation
that will intensify throughout the next century.
The first great reformation came in the early
centuries of the church under the leadership of
church fathers like Ignatius, Polycarp, Justin
Martyr, Irenaeus, and Tertullian, and it hammered
out our understanding of the Trinity: Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit. The second great reformation
occurred in the sixteenth century under Luther,
Calvin, Zwingli and others and it clarified our
understanding of saving faith: by grace through
faith alone.
This third reformation is focusing upon sanctification,
to use a theological term. It is taking with utmost
seriousness how the soul grows in grace. The love
of Jesus is the magnet that is drawing people
together—a love that transforms the human personality
by the power of God.
Changed
lives is the hallmark of this reformation. The
potentialities of change as well as its limits
are all being explored extensively. How we are
formed in God, conformed to Jesus, and transformed
by the power of the Holy Spirit is being studied
and experienced carefully . . . prayerfully. Its
growing theological rigor will increasingly interact
with the complementary disciplines of Psychology,
Sociology, Anthropology, and medical research.
I expect this reformation to become vastly deeper
and broader as the century progresses.
Third,
the twenty-first century will witness one of the
greatest harvests of Christian mission ever. I
concur with John Paul II that in the next century
we will see a "new springtime" for the gospel
message. Much of the energy for this will be centered
outside the West. Africa, south of the Sahara,
will become the Christian continent–that
is if (and it is a big "if") they can successfully
overcome the triple threat of Muslim suppression,
the AIDS epidemic, and internal tribal wars. The
Americas south of the U.S. border will show the
world how evangelism is really done. Both Africa
and Latin America will intensify and expand their
evangelistic efforts in the West.
The really pivotal continent (and the one that
will determine whether or not this third projection
will actually come to pass) is Asia. Throughout
the twenty-first century Asia will be the rising
culture, no doubt about that. The real question
is whether the Christian witness in Asia is strong
enough to ride the rise of Asian culture, or whether
Buddhism—which is also a missionary religion—
will win the day. I believe the Christian witness
is strong enough. Chinese Christians have suffered
tremendously and are deeper and stronger for it.
They will teach the rest of us how to live for
God. Korea (south and north, although the
north has yet to experience its day of divine
visitation) will teach the entire Christian world
how to pray. And the signs of spiritual vitality
in the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, India,
and numerous other places are so encouraging that
I believe the twenty-first century will be viewed
as "the great century" of advance for Christ and
his kingdom. Let us pray that it may be so.
Steps
toward Renewal. In light of these dramatic
shifts which will be occurring throughout the
next century I want to suggest several "steps
toward renewal" for our life and faith before
God.
1. Let's become ever more intentionally Godward
in our orientation. Not self-oriented, not success-oriented,
not church growth-oriented, not seeker-oriented,
but God-oriented. May we be known as a passionate
worshiping community—adoring God, lifting up Jesus,
praying and preaching and offering up sacramental
gifts to one another in the power of the Holy
Spirit.
2.
Let's stop using a marketing approach to church
life. The Church is not a vendor of religious
goods and services but the Community of Faith,
living in faith and through faith and by faith
alone. We do not need to mimic the entertainment
industry of our culture. We win people to Christ
not by entertainment but by the power of the Holy
Spirit.
3.
Let's become intentional about learning the "habits
of the heart" for biblical holiness. We need daily
spiritual disciplines rather than sporadic bursts
of inspiration or enthusiasm. We need to provide
the space, the time, and the resources for people
to unlearn old patterns of sin and take on new
patterns of "righteous and peace and joy in the
Holy Spirit" (Rom. 14:17).
4.
Let's quit using the strutting peacock ceo of
contemporary culture as a model for Christian
leadership. The work of Christian leaders is hard
work, grimy work, humble work. Christ's disciples
are the servants of all, and status seeking and
privilege have no place among us.
5.
Let's make certain that our Godward orientation
is always for the sake of the world. The Church
exists for the sake of the world—which at the
very minimum means less stress on preserving our
institutions and more stress on serving the poor.
6.
Let's get rid of our god-awful "edifice complex."
Buildings are not bad, but neither are they the
sum total of everything important either. Let's
use buildings to help and serve people and not
as monuments to our own egos.
7.
Let's engage in vigorous, culture-sensitive evangelism.
All peoples need to hear the good news of Jesus
and his love. They also need to be respected as
persons. Under the guiding hand of the Holy Spirit
we can do both.
Welcome
to a new millennium!
Peace
and joy,
Richard J. Foster
P.S.
In this brief, unobtrusive postscript we try to
let you, our friends and supporters, know our
financial needs. We see vast opportunities before
us but they all need financial undergirding. A
small group of "friends of Renovaré" have joined
together to set before us a $30,000.00 matching
challenge gift. Hence, every dollar you give to
this ministry in the days ahead will be matched,
thus doubling the good you do. Will you consider
a generous, sacrificial gift to Renovaré today?
Thank you. — RJF
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