Recommended Reading – “Mere Churchianity”
In September 2009 I stumbled across an interesting and sometimes controversial Christian commentator, Michael Spencer, who had a hugely popular blog called The Internet Monk. Spencer classified himself as “Post-evangelical”, meaning that he felt disconnected and out of step with contemporary North American Evangelical Christianity. He felt strongly that American Evangelicalism had lost its way and moved away from the authentic Christian message, and encouraged his readership to find their way back to a “Jesus-Shaped Spirituality”. He also criticized evangelical Christianity for its all-too-common tendency to disconnect itself from Christian history and tradition, in a misguided and, some might argue, unsuccessful attempt to be more appealing to contemporary secular society.
The church growth movement in the 1970s and ’80s (itself a kind of proto-denomination) perpetuated the mistaken idea that only new and novel methods were effective in reaching the next generation. In exchanging older traditions for newer methodologies, it unintentionally cut itself off from a rich legacy of faith.
(Ed Stetzer, Lifeway Research)
Obviously, what Spencer discussed on his blog, and the entertaining podcast it spurned, hit a chord because The Internet Monk blog developed a huge following, with comments following his posts regularly numbering in the hundreds. Obviously many Christians identified with the opinions of The Internet Monk, feeling that they too wanted to live out an authentic Christian life, but felt ‘on the outer’ of American Evangelicalism. Much of what Michael Spencer discussed has a broader application outside of North America, to international Evangelicalism, hence my attraction to his writings. I profiled some of these on the Faith Interface blog:
More on Christian Discipleship
Thoughts on Liturgy and Worship
Evangelicalism’s Death Rattle – Where To From Here?
Michael Spencer began putting together what would be his first, and unfortunately last, published book throughout 2009. Unfortunately, Spencer died in April 2010 after a short but intense battle with bowel cancer, prior to the release of his book. If The Internet Monk blog and podcast are anything to go by, Spencer’s book should be equally as exciting and thought-provoking.
Many leaders of the baby boomer generation untied their churches from tradition and charted their own courses; many of the boomers’ children have spent the last decades looking wistfully to the shore.
(Ed Stetzer, Lifeway Research)
MERE CHURCHIANITY
Finding Your Way Back to Jesus-Shaped Spirituality
Have you left the church in search of Jesus?
Studies show that one in four young adults claim no formal religious affiliation, and church leaders have long known that this generation is largely missing on Sunday morning. Hundreds of thousands of “church leavers” have had a mentor and pastor, however, in Michael Spencer, known to blog readers as the Internet Monk. Spencer guided a vast online congregation in its search for a more honest and more immediate practice of Christian faith.
Spencer discovered the truth that church officials often miss, which is that many who leave the church do so in an attempt to find Jesus. For years on his blog Spencer showed de-churched readers how to practice their faith without the distractions of religious institutions. Sadly, he died in 2010. But now that his last message is available in Mere Churchianity, you can benefit from the biblical wisdom and compassionate teaching that always have been hallmarks of his ministry.
With Mere Churchianity, Spencer’s writing will continue to point the disenchanted and dispossessed to a Jesus-shaped spirituality. And along the way, his teachings show how you can find others who will go with you on the journey.
Check out the Mere Churchianity website here.