MWR posted some reflections I wrote about the inaugural gathering of Missio Alliance near Washington, D.C. last month:
Our culture is undergoing a profound post-Christian shift. Pew Research continues to track a growing number of those who claim no religious affiliation. Barna Group recently released a study evaluating 15 measures of nonreligiosity that indicated 37 percent of Americans are post-Christian. As a culture, we are moving away from shared language and assumptions of Christianity. The church as we’ve known it is moving to the margins.
I wrestle with what this means. How do we share the gospel in a culture that is growing increasingly uninterested in God and religion? What does it mean to be the church in today’s culture? Will we use this shift as an opportunity to renew and restore the church to our New Testament roots?
I am encouraged by the growing number of Anabaptist voices joining the larger conversations taking place across theological traditions. I am particularly cheered by the inclusion and embracing of Anabaptist voices in evangelical conversations, something I witnessed firsthand at the inaugural gathering of Missio Alliance near Washington, D.C., last month...
On a personal note, I was very encouraged by the turn out, content, and enthusiasm I encountered at the Missio Alliance gathering. In rethinking what it means to be the church, there was a genuine heart-felt longing for God's people to be who we are called and enabled to be.