It’s no secret. Their true intentions are out in the open.
After having written a post on Fuller Theological Seminary’s curriculum, I’m still wrestling with the dichotomy of founder Charles E Fuller’s theology and that of his students 60+ years on. Yes, that’s over threescore in the life of a seminary, but there is danger in moving from the, presumably, biblically-sound theology of its founder to weird and far-from-wonderful relativism of God’s Word.
Nonetheless, Fuller is clear on its stance. You can find out where it is heading in The Burner, its blog from the Lowell W Berry Center for Lifelong Learning. You may recall that lifelong learning is part of diaprax — an ongoing Hegelian dialectic combined with transformational Marxist praxis — intended to get you to continuously revise the way you think about life, church, everything really. You move further away from the truth throughout the course of your life.
The Burner features ‘Fuller Seminary resources for the local church’. The blog has three editor-contributors. If you were stuck in a lift with them, they look like the type of chaps with whom you would feel comfortable. They look like relatively conservative, God-fearing, all-American family men. And they probably are to an extent. It’s just that the content and the God-fearing bits blur somewhat. Eddie Gibbs, for example, believes in the Western ‘post-Christendom’ and is committed to church’n’change. The title of his three books are ChurchNext, LeadershipNext, and Emerging Churches (co-authored with Fuller professor Ryan Bolger).
Featured in The Burner‘s blogroll are links to Brian McLaren, Church Then and Now (by two of The Burner’s editors, Gibbs and Fredrickson), Frank Viola, the Sojourners, The Ooze and Tony Jones.
Here is a sampling of The Burner‘s posts (emphases mine throughout):
– Motivation Monday: The Sabbath Was Made for People —
God enjoys you enjoying your rest!
In America, rest is all too often thought as something only for the weak or lazy. Well, God is not American. Take a breather. Take a nap. Take a day to rest and rejoice in the day that the Lord has made.
So, nothing about taking time out for prayer, church or Bible study then enjoying yourself in a way pleasing to Him.
– What to Do with Your Fourth of July Service —
Put simply: Does allegiance to America trump allegiance to the kingdom of God and God’s reign? Our political and religious freedoms dictated by a government pale in comparison to our freedom from sin and death obtained by the mighty act of God in Jesus Christ. The gospel to which we all bear witness must and will reject any attempt to make it synonymous with America or any nation.
The point of a church service commemorating the Fourth of July is really to give thanks for America’s independence and for the many blessings God has bestowed on the Great Republic, the greatest in the world (still, but for how long?). So, there is nothing wrong with piling in with national hymns and preaching a sermon on it. Being thankful for the United States is different from believing that it features in the New Testament as a chosen nation.
– Richard Rohr @ Fuller: A Review by Patrick Oden —
The Revd Richard Rohr is a Franciscan mystic who would like to inject some emergentcy (my word) into the Roman Catholic Church. He spoke at Fuller on November 17, 2010.
Along with other observers, I predict a convergence between elements of the Catholic Church and the emergents based on the common ground of rejection of sola Scriptura and of ecclesiastical hierarchy.
“To survive as a Roman Catholic,” he said, “ is to already understand the emerging church.” This is because of the longstanding reality of a double belonging within the Roman Catholic community. There is a deep-seated tradition but there is also a curious freedom, especially in the monastic communities, which maintain participation with the hierarchy but have their own notions of authority and priorities. More than the double belonging, however, is the reality of non-dualistic thinking that is the foundation of monastic contemplation. Dualistic thinking—the need to make every topic about two opposing sides—led to the increasing prioritization of orthodoxy over orthopraxy, having the right set of doctrines as opposed to the right set of actions. The emphasis on orthodoxy in the past became an emphasis on words, rather than on the Word which became Flesh. In an emerging Christianity, Orthodoxy is not set in contrast to Orthopraxy, but rather they are meant to be joined together in a holistic expression.
Indeed, this forms the root of what Rohr calls the first pillar of emerging Christianity. There is a pursuit of “honest Jesus scholarship” which seeks to better understand the words and actions of Jesus within his own contexts.
More like, ‘what we wish to fashion as words and actions of Jesus within our own contexts’.
The truth of the Bible — including Christ’s intentions for His Church — isn’t that complicated. There is no need to obfuscate it with words like ‘double belonging’, ‘non-dualistic thinking’ and ‘orthopraxy’. Just read it for what it is. It’ll be crystal clear.
I’ll close with a post about Leonard Sweet from Fredrickson and Gibbs’s blog, Church Then and Now:
– Book Review: Nudge: Awakening Each Other to the God Who’s Already There by Leonard Sweet —
Note the current theme of ‘nudge’, employed on both sides of the Atlantic by politicians and churchmen alike to move us towards communitarianism.
This book is vintage Sweet, with wit and charmed, persuasive language. Here, Len makes the case for re-envisioning how the church engages the practice of evangelism …
For Leonard Sweet, evangelism is the normal work of a follower of Jesus engaged in the world, It is a matter of paying attention, looking for evidence of God’s work, through all of our senses, nudging people towards the Lord who is already present and working.
Nudging requires proximity. The church is God’s called out people who are sent back into the world. We live in neighborhoods. We cross paths with people all day long. Disciples of Jesus listen and dialogue. We share our stories, and we share the Story—and the Spirit of God works in the lives of others, and in our lives as well.
This is not a how-to-evangelize type of book. It is better than that. Nudge argues that God is not anti-culture, but rather God is very much at work in and through culture. And in the midst of culture, God continues to draw people to himself. Nudge invites, more so, urges, followers of Jesus to live out a new understanding of evangelism—responding to our sensing of God’s activity all around us.
If that isn’t proof that the Church is programmed to become part of a communitarian, third-way, ‘think global, act local’ scheme, then, what is? Also note the emphasis on sensation and experiences. Beware!
Check out The Burner as well as Church Then and Now to see what Fuller has to say about the church of the future. It’s a long way from Charles E Fuller’s The Old Fashioned Revival Hour but very much fitting with his vision of ‘a Caltech of the Evangelical world’. A Faustian pact, certainly.
Friday: A look at a Fuller Theological Seminary alum
13 comments
November 24, 2010 at 12:07 am
David Moore
Thanks for reading the blog! We hope to support local pastors and church leaders with the resources they need to stay warm in their ministry (hence “The Burner).
If there is a resource that you feel Fuller should be providing, please contact us.
Thanks for all the work you do defending the faith!
Sincerely,
David Moore
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November 24, 2010 at 12:47 am
churchmouse
Thanks, David, for checking in!
I have a number of American readers who are concerned about a) church growth programmes and b) the emergent church.
Many of us fully appreciate that it’s essential to keep our churches alive and, if it’s part of God’s plan, to grow. But, it seems to a number of us that CGM and the emergent way of thinking is —
a) turning from a justification by faith, as clearly laid out by St Paul in his epistles, to a Roman Catholic works-based system, including the mysticism (‘spiritual direction’)
b) moving from biblical inerrancy to a relativist perspective that appears to avoid mentioning Christ’s propitiation for our sins on the Cross, His Resurrection and His clear requests in Rev 2 and 3 for the churches. None of those were related to method ministry or to social justice.
My readers and I can appreciate that it’s cool and ‘sexy’ to have the emergents on board for the under-40s, but from what I read, it’s very much anti- anything that could be construed to be doctrinal, biblical or liturgical. It becomes exclusive to a particular group of people.
Likewise, the CGM shares these characteristics. If you’re unable to participate in purpose-driven programmes (work, family commitments or because you don’t wish to) you’re considered as being invisible or as a dissenter — in either case, an outsider.
On reading about some of the courses and the work alums do afterward, it would appear that Fuller is engaging too much with the culture. However, to put it in postmodern parlance, perhaps the tension created by having mainstream evangelicals mixed with smaller denominations (e.g. pacifists, mystics, silent prayer proponents) produces this result.
How much of a ‘Caltech of evangelicalism’ was / is Fuller meant to be? Isn’t there a danger of walking away from biblical inerrancy on a broad scale?
Just some thoughts from my readers and me.
On a personal level, I look at Fuller thought and see the type of thinking I walked away from a few years ago. I feel empathy for your alums who follow that line of thought and pity for those who teach courses which encourage it. It produces more questions than answers — and not necessarily in a good way.
Best wishes
Churchmouse
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November 24, 2010 at 7:21 pm
David Moore
Brother Churchmouse,
I really appreciate your concern for all that Fuller is doing. It seems appropriate to assume that Charles Fuller meant “Caltech of Evangelicalism” either as the “finest academic institution of evangelicalism” or as “the research institute of evangelicalism.”
Fuller as an institution is very broad and strives to serve all parts of evangelicalism. There are those that deride Fuller as being “too liberal” and those that claim it is “too conservative.” As a graduate of Fuller, it benefited me quite well to explore the rich history of Christian thought and theology.
I think it would be hard to argue that there is a great deal of mystery surrounding our love, worship and service of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. While experts have debated and berated each other for thousands of years regarding contentious issues, the fact that there has been little agreement among the Church seems to highlight that there is much we can’t know fully. With our directive to serve our Lord and Savior in faith, it would be inappropriate to build our foundation on what we think we know, wouldn’t you agree?
Fuller, then, is an ecumenical and evangelical institution that seeks to prepare men and women for the manifold ministries of Christ. There will be some who fall into different camps, much like Peter and Paul did. However, with an emphasis on the two greatest commandments, we desire to foster an institution where “unity, liberty, charity” have a place at the table.
I appreciate your charity in this blog post and subsequent exchange. Many blog posts and criticisms come across in a mean-spirited manner, but you’re as gentle as a Churchmouse! Thank you for your gentle spirit, and I hope that you will pray for Fuller to become the training ground that the Lord wills us to be.
David
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November 24, 2010 at 7:23 pm
David Moore
Edit: “I think it would be hard to argue that there is not a great deal of mystery…”
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November 24, 2010 at 11:38 pm
churchmouse
And thank you for your equally charitable reply, David. Fair warning — I have a few more posts coming up on some of Fuller’s more illustrious alumni. Readers are free to make up their own minds. I’ll keep Fuller and our worldwide Church in my prayers.
In any event — and all things aside — blessings to you and your family at Thanksgiving.
Churchmouse
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November 24, 2010 at 9:52 pm
Will Cookson
Great rant. I must read nudge – it sounds a great book. I suspect I would love it
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November 24, 2010 at 11:34 pm
churchmouse
Written by a couple of President Obama’s advisers, so you may like it. Also in use in the UK for social engineering purposes. Enjoy!
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November 25, 2010 at 11:28 am
Will Cookson
Thanks churchmouse. Having a look around your site I noticed your comments on Messy Church. Just recently published an article on my blog http://willcookson.wordpress.com/2010/11/22/a-brief-guide-to-messy-church/ about it. Interestingly, given your original article we have seen a number of people baptised and confirmed that started with this.
Not sure of your position about “church” buildings – but we don’t have one anyway so not really a problem for us!
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November 25, 2010 at 12:18 pm
churchmouse
That you make converts is in no doubt.
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November 25, 2010 at 12:32 pm
Will Cookson
Shades of Mt 23:15????!!
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November 25, 2010 at 12:42 pm
churchmouse
My readers and I are not legalists.
Thanks for the exchange.
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November 25, 2010 at 1:08 pm
Will Cookson
I’m sorry churchmouse – I was NOT implying you or your readers were – I wondered if you thought it about us!! Sorry to take up this thread. End.
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November 25, 2010 at 1:12 pm
churchmouse
No, I didn’t. ‘Bye.
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