In January 2010, I was privileged to be able to take a class at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville, KY called "Leaders in a Connectional Church". The course aimed to show how the leadership of the Presbyterian church connected with the presbyteries and congregations that make up its body through working intensively with the General Assembly Mission Council (GAMC) and researching how the current structure had come to be. My assignment was within the Executive Director and Communications offices, which I was excited to be a part of, given my background in radio and broadcasting. Much to my surprise, however, the GAMC had only within the past 5 years started to reach out in a multimedia fashion, and most of the groundwork was still under heavy construction. But, despite this surprise, I was pleased that the general atmosphere (indeed, everyone with whom I spoke) was one of embracing change for the positive—not just for change's sake alone. There was a real recognition and understanding that what the church has been doing will no longer work for the future, correlating very well with the times of change in the past. This paper will examine some of those times of change in comparison with the current atmosphere, and will present a case for increasing a broadcast presence at the GAMC level, clearly defined job titles and descriptions, and re-structuring and re-organizing as part of the reformation changes in the next cycle of the Presbyterian Church (USA) (PC(USA)). The process in the last great reformation of the Presbyterian Church was the period in which the church underwent "incorporation", borrowing structure, language, and goals from the rapidly-growing corporate culture of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. ... ... middle of paper ... ...Westminster/John Knox Press, 1993). Jerry Van Marter, "GAC's Communications and Funds Development staff reorganized", in Presbyterian News Service [accessed 31 January 2010] Presbyterian Church (USA), "PC(USA) Structure Chart", in Pcusa.org [accessed 31 January 2010] Jack Haberer, "Rediscovering the Reformed, Being Reformed Church," in Presbyterians Being Reformed, ed. Robert H Bullock Jr. (Louisville, KY: Geneva Press, 2006), 41. Richard Jackson Harris, A Cognitive Psychology of Mass Communication, 4th ed. (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, 2004), 9-11. Ad Council, "About the Ad Council", in adcouncil.org [accessed 31 January 2010] Ed Shane, Selling Electronic Media (Boston, MA: Focal Press, 1999), 348.
Mead, Loren B. The Once and Future Church Reinventing the Congregation for a New Mission Frontier . The Alban Institute, Inc., 1991. Kindle eBook file.
Religious institutions have always been a fundamental piece of American culture, and their influence is evident in many aspects of American life. Especially during the 20th century, the spread of Christianity became more competitive as churches vied against one another to draw in new members. This was particularly evident in the development and growth of conservative Protestant groups. Protestant leaders responded to this competition for followers by developing radically new methods for the worship experience. They used their charisma and entrepreneurial spirit to send their messages to the masses. Protestant leader’s manipulation of these methods of outreach was able to attract many new members to the conservative protestant cause, and encouraged Americans to join these large groups of worship.
Welcome to Gospel Spreading Church. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2011, from Gospel Spreading Church: www.http://gospelspreadingchurch.com/
Campaign." Pamela Rutledge Media Psychology Blog. N.p., 25 Jan. 2013. Web. 27 Mar. 2014. .
The history of Christianity throughout the world encompasses a significant number of differing theological interpretations. These theological differences gave way to many movements that are a part of the transcending history of the Christian Faith. A sector of these theologically driven movements is the Protestant reform. As a movement, Protestant Reform represents the protest of the traditionally widely practiced religion of the time which was Catholicism. There are four different movements that are a part of the Protestant reform. Each harbors its own identity in that they all seek to establish the church according to the New Testament. Lead by Martin Luther, the Lutheran movement unintentionally began the reformation. “The Reformation of Martin Luther was primarily a movement of doctrinal and theological reform.” (Steinmetz 1979) The impact that Martin Luther had on movements the protestant ideals that followed is prevalent. Although each of these four movements do not agree in their entirety they are interconnected by their yearning to reform the practice of Christianity. In an attempt to express the relevance of the protestant movement to the ascension of the Christian faith, particularly the Protestant church, the explication of each movement is imperative.
It is apparent that the issues are similar at Willow Creek and New Hope, as both have experienced great growth. They are addressing these issues by adding additional services and by assignment of small groups or small ministries to meet their congregation's needs. They have been successful in addressing the issue based on each church's individual needs. Willow Creek has added services to accommodate the service seekers or the un-churched. New Hope attempts to match congregation member's needs through joining auxiliaries or other ministries of the church.
Presbyterianism is a branch of Reformed Protestantism which goes back to the British. Presbyterian churches have gotten their name from the church government, which is government by a group of elders. Presbyterian theology focuses on the sovereignty of God, the rules of the Scriptures, and the cause of grace through faith in Christ. "The roots of Presbyterianism lie in the European Reformation of the 16th century, with the example of John Calvin's Geneva being particularly influential" (1). Most churches trace their history back to Scotland are congregationalist in government. Some Presbyterians played a role in the Ecumenical Movement, such as World Council of Churches, in the twentieth century. "Some Presbyterian churches have entered into unions with other churches like Congregationalists, Lutherans, Anglicans, and Methodists." (1)
The Emergent Church has both positive and negative effects. It’s beneficial in the way that it is adapting to today’s culture to assist with evangelism, but it isn’t a totally comfortable concept to grasp. Neither is postmodernism, which the emerging movement basically represents in its theologies and ideas. The fact is that for as many questions that it can answer in Christianity, it raises twice as much. However, whether or not the culture accepts this movement, the one thing that seems inevitable, is its growth.
Myers, David G. “Chapter 14: Social Psychology.” Psychology. 10th ed. New York, NY US: Worth
...er of evangelical history, in which the Pentecostal-charismatic movement is quickly supplanting the fundamentalist-conservative one as the most influential evangelical impulse at work today”(Carpenter 237). The neo-fundamentalist movement, stemming from Graham and Falwell, is just another story in the rise and fall of influential popular movements, as now Pentecostalism has become the fastest growing form of Christianity in the world, with three to four hundred million adherents(Notes 12/3). The pattern in this rise and fall tends to be pieces that overlap and pieces that change and fundamentalism is no different. This was a movement that survived through hardships and adapted to welcome every human being, but it appears that it will remain mainly a twentieth century phenomenon as new forms of the pattern take its’ place.
Harrison, Everett F. Interpreting Acts the Expanding Church. Grand Rapids: Academic Books, 1997. 151-52. Print.
The Reformation was a decisive period in the history not only for the Catholic Church, but also for the entire world. The causes of this tumultuous point in history did not burst on the scene all at once, but slowly gained momentum like a boil that slowly festers through time before it finally bursts open. The Reformation of the Church was inevitable because of the abuses which the Church was suffering during this period. At the time of the Reformation, a segment of the Church had drifted away from its mission to bring Christ and salvation to the world. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Church had gradually become weaker because of abusive leadership, philosophical heresy, and a renewal of a form of the Pelagian heresy.
Gonzalez, Justo L. 1984. The early church to the dawn of the Reformation. San Francisco: Harper & Row.
Ritchie, M. (1999). Community bible chapel. The story of the church – Part 4, Topic 5. The Protestant
His church is a “good sized” suburban church that has been around for 295 years. He describes the parishioners as having a “broad tent” of theological views. This congregation is open to new ideas and re-visiting the old. They appear to be carrying out intentional missional work in their community