Sociology has intrigued me for some time; particularly sociology of religion. Recently I read Phyllis Tickle's The Great Emergence. As a sociologist of religion, she is a professional observer of the field and of American Christianity in particular. The subtitle of the book is How Christianity is Changing and Why. Tickle offers a sweeping overview of church history and suggests that people of faith have a rummage sale every 500 years to reassess Christianity. "About every five hundred years the empowered structures of institutional Christianity, whatever they may be at the time, become an intolerable carapace that must be shattered in order that renewal and new growth may occur."
Since I am more of a practitioner than a sociologist, I am again intrigued by the perspective of someone on the outside looking in. As her perspective inevitably colors her commentary, my perspective affects mine. I also see the changes. It is only with some serious intellectual contortionism that one can avoid that reality. The impact of social media and the presence of this blog is a case in point. Even a few years ago, I had not envisioned engaging in this way. Park Central's fourth generation website features links to our Facebook page, YouTube channel and this Blogspot. Keeping the lines of communication open involves a whole new set of tools.
Yet even amidst all the change, there are strong strands that remain. While Tickle acknowledges this, I see a depth and strength to those strands that comes out of my own perspective as a practitioner. The story of God in relationship with God's people begins in the beginning and continues through today. A part of that story is God's faithfulness and another part of the story is the less than stellar track record of God's people. Even so, God continues to bless us beyond measure. It is our responsibility, as Jean Calvin so aptly said, to remember that "all the blessings we enjoy are Divine deposits, committed to our trust on this condition, that they should be dispensed for the benefit of our neighbors."
May we all remember how blessed we are and share from those blessings.
A study group of Tickle's book will begin at Park Central at the end of October. If you are interested in joining us, drop me a note.
