Recently, I finished reading The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity by Soong-Chan Rah. Rah, a fellow Baltimorean by way of Korea, provides a truly thoughtful and passionate critique of the current landscape of American Christianity.
The foundation of the book’s argument is not rooted in theology, but actually finds it grounding in demography. Rah reminds us of the shifting ethnic realities of our world by sharing that “by 2050, African, Asian and Latin American Christians will constitute 71 percent of the world’s Christian population. These numbers do not account for the fact that a majority of Christians in North American will be nonwhite. Global Christianity is clearly nonwhite.”
After exploring different sides of this coming (and already here) ethnic shift, Rah spends the rest of the book critiquing the existing expressions of Christianity in the West which all too often come solely through a Western, White lens. This is not to suggest that Western, White Christians shouldn’t be a part of the conversation about Christianity’s place in the world today, but if most of the world’s Christians are already non-White, why is it that White Christians still are largely the ones that lead the conversation, set the agenda, define the terms, fill the expert panels, decide “appropriate” interpretations of doctrine, and receive the majority of the resources to do the work of ministry? [Especially when many White Churches, according to the author, are in significant decline!]
Rah courageously raises different iterations of this question throughout the book while also introducing non-White people, ministries, and perspectives to readers who might be unfamiliar. For instance, he talks about the importance of the African American Church and the lessons that White Evangelicalism can learn from it. He talks about the Korean American church, its ministry of immigrant adjustment and much like the Black Church – its important work as an agent of cultural preservation.
At some points very professorial and other points pastoral, Rah keeps fair balance between the two throughout the book, however, it is clear that Rah is a seminary professor. And some places in the book, I felt that the author, in his attempt to deal decisively and yet delicately with his subject matter, took too long to get to his point. For example, at one place in his chapter on the character of suffering and celebration in the African American and Native American communities, I actually felt he was a bit longwinded, but that could have been because of my desire to hear his final analysis on a topic that is familiar to me.
Though at times exceedingly delicate, Rah doesn’t hold any punches – even providing a strong challenge to the Emerging and Emergent Christian communities. In fact, he devotes an entire chapter to the Emerging Church’s captivity to Western, White Culture. He confesses that he finds the term “emerging church” to be offensive saying that the real emerging churches are the Asian American churches, the Hip Hop churches, the Spanish-speaking storefront church, etc. In his view, a small group of White Christians coming together and usurping the term “emerging” to describe their community reflects “significant arrogance”.
I’ve shared before my feelings on the Emerging Church (even before I read Mr. Rah’s book) and I have to agree with his challenge. The speakers, authors, “experts”, recognized leaders, and celebrated practitioners are all too often White folks. Not too pick on any groups, but just for the sake of observation look at the lineup for this upcoming Missional conference in Washington, DC. Notice anything? The majority of the speakers are White. Look at the Advisory Board and Staff of this new group called The Beatitudes Society, which claims to be a progressive Christian network for justice, compassion, and peace. Again, White folks galore. I could go on, but you get the point. Far too often Christians who embrace progressive or liberal categorizations speak an inclusive language while propping up the same old oppressive and exclusive structures that Non-White Peoples are all too familiar with.
(For more on the Emerging Church’s mono-ethnic challenges, be sure to pick up the May 2010 edition of Sojourners Magazine which features an article by Rah and Jason Mach entitled, “Is the Emerging Church for Whites Only?” with [WEAK!!] responses by Julie Clawson, Brian McLaren, and Debbie Blue)
The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity by Soong-Chan Rah is not so much a solutions book as it is a provocative expose’ of what is. Wisely sidestepping the temptation to give five or ten steps to “thee answer” – a move that has become so common and often expected in western culture; the author points in the general direction of how to address the sickness of Western, White cultural addiction in Christianity, but leaves it to the reader to wrestle with what to do next.
I HIGHLY recommend The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity to pastors, professors, lay people, Christian Educators, and all people who are interested in beginning to explore the realities of Christianity’s captivity to Western, White culture and those who dare dream of what Christianity can look like once it becomes free from the cultural addictions of Western, White America.
Related posts:
- When Christian Mission Goes Way Wrong (part 2) Photo Credit: Telegraph.Co.Uk I have an uneasy feeling when it...
- R.I.P. Pastor John L. Wright (First Baptist Church of Guilford) I remember some years ago now picking up The Afro...
- Freeing the Emerging Christian Movement from White Captivity The more I read about the Emerging Church, the more...
- Intergenerational Relationships: A Necessity for Today’s Church I just finished reading a great article by Carol Howard...
- Never Ever Go To Church Again I was blessed to be invited to present a workshop...
Recent Comments