At RespectfulConversation.net, a project hosted by Harold Heie, is an 8-part series, with various participants, on American Evangelicalism. The final topic in the series is “The Future of American Evangelicalism” and I posted my thoughts today: Openness to the Other: A Challenging Necessity for the Future of American Evangelicalism.
The other entries there are all thought provoking and I’m glad to have my voice added to theirs.
In my post, I suggest 4 areas where Evangelicalism should adopt of true openness to the other, “where change is a two-way street, where the possibility of change is focused inward rather than simply outward.”
The 4 areas that I address are:
1. Openness to true developments in the intellectual drama of the human species.
2. Openness to different ecclesiastical traditions.
3. Openness to different expressions of the spiritual journey.
4. Openness to holding to Scripture in a different way.
Here is my closing paragraph:
No tradition is perfect, and I am not saying Evangelicalism alone has problems. I am only saying that, in my opinion, the future of American Evangelicalism requires that Evangelicalism be prepared to rethink some things, even reinvent itself, by proactively, seriously, and openly addressing issues such as these—not to participate in trends and fads to keep current, but simply to remain active and contributing players in the human drama, which will not sit still waiting for the next clever defense of the Evangelical status quo.
Hope you have moment to go to the site and check out my and the other posts.
