Gospel Leaders for a Secular Age – Nazarene Theological Seminary

Two books captured my attention over the summer and continue to challenge my thinking. The first is by Notre Dame sociologist Christian Smith, Why Religion Went Obsolete: The Demise of Traditional Faith in America. The title is jarring, and the content offers little to ease the confrontation.

The idea that traditional institutional religion has declined in American life is well established. Smith, however, argues something deeper: traditional faith has become culturally obsolete. By “obsolete,” he does not mean that faith no longer matters. He rightly notes that religious practice remains vibrant in certain segments of society. Yet, especially among younger generations, traditional belief and practice are increasingly—and demonstrably—viewed as no longer useful or able to meet people’s needs.

There is no single, simple reason for this. Smith traces as many as a dozen threads of change since the end of the Cold War, ranging from the “deinstitutionalization of marriage and family” to the growing “influences of Eastern religions,” along with developments perhaps more familiar to us, such as mass consumerism and what he calls “expressive individualism.” The result is a cultural milieu in which it is as difficult as ever to gain a hearing for the gospel.

Alongside Smith’s thesis is Dr. Andrew Root’s latest book, Evangelism in an Age of Despair: Hope Beyond the Failed Promise of Happiness. Root, professor at Luther Seminary, has done outstanding work in helping us interpret our secular age and discern how the gospel calls us to respond. In this book, he argues that the failed cultural promise of happiness has left people in deep loneliness and despair. This sounds like a moment ripe for gospel witness—but only if we retool our evangelism to connect within the kind of world both Smith and Root describe.

Root calls the church to embrace what he terms “a theology of consolation.” This involves learning deeply what it means to be present with others in their sorrow and suffering. He observes that typical programs or strategies for church growth often fail to consider the time and attention required to walk with people through pain, offering the presence of Christ in word and deed. Our current Cycle of Resurgence emphasis in the USA and Canada region of the Church of the Nazarene helps us hold this focus by grounding the task of “bringing people to Jesus” in practices of authentic unity, in joining people where they are, and in responding to the needs of our communities with love, patience, and the optimism of grace.

As we begin a new academic year at NTS, we are reminded that our task is to provide the conditions in which students can experience the freedom, guidance, and support to wrestle deeply with these challenges and connect the implications of the gospel to the real needs of people in our neighborhoods and communities. This is why our mission is more than indoctrination or training; it is about transformational encounter with the God who seeks to reconcile the world to himself (2 Cor. 5:19). Such encounters happen best in environments where suspicion gives way to curiosity, doubt gives way to assurance, and fear gives way to love.

The support and prayers of God’s people are critical for this undertaking. Thank you for offering these on behalf of the women and men called by God to surrender their lives in service to the gospel.