Dear EFC Subscribers:

It has been a busy month. News about our church planting in Merced California is below. Please be praying for this ministry.

The Christian Story: Finding the Church in Church History. Volume IV

My long-awaited fourth and final volume on the history of Christianity is in final stages of editing. Hopefully, it will be available by this summer.  As a teaser, I am going to include some of the mini-essays in the volume in the next couple of newsletters. Here is a very brief essay on church growth which is cleaned from the experience of church history:

What Causes a Christian Movement to Grow?

This is the last of the mini-essays which have been scattered through our four-volume Christian history. As we consider the unprecedent growth of the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement, it is a good time to step back and ask ourselves what is it that allows any Christian group to grow over time? Why do some groups grow and others languish or even disappear? Numerical growth is not the be-all and end-all of Christianity. Smaller movements such as the Moravians have had an outsized positive effect on the course of Christianity and given great glory to God, despite their relatively small numbers. And that is the purpose of Christianity, is it not? The purpose of the Church is to give glory to God. Its mission is to save souls, but its purpose is more fundamental than that—to glorify our Creator, whether by numerical growth or in other ways.

True, but numerical growth is something that seems natural to the church we find in the Book of Acts. All faithful Christian groups want to expand the kingdom of God—numbers being about as useful a measure of that as any. The premise, then, is that we want to be part of a Christian group which grows, not just for a few years, but over time. What does church history tell us are the factors that lead to numerical growth? The answer, of course, depends on cultural factors. What worked during the Enlightenment will not be the exact same thing that produces growth in a Christian group in a Postmodern world. Still, a few factors seem to be general, and to work in all cultural contexts. The success of the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement will give us helpful insight. What follows is a brie list of observation which come in particular from this movement, but from other groups which have been able to sustain growth over a longer period of time.

1. Ability to generate a vision that lasts beyond the lifetime of the founder or foundation of the movement.
2. Ability to adapt to the moment—the flexibility in organization that allows the group to do experiments and to do what “works” in different places and different times.
3. A theology which allows the group to emphasize the need for evangelism by all members.
4. The essential structure of the group causes its members to be committed to the work of Christian missions.
5. A church governance structure which allows for effective involvement in church affairs from “lay” or general members of the group.
6. The creation of an awareness of the specialness of the people in that group: the sense that members of this group are particularly the chosen people of God.

Having vision from a founding leader is helpful, but building it into the long-term structure of the group is a difficult thing. Adaptability is a key trait, as long-term growth absolutely requires change. A missional mindset is one thing, but missional theology is another. In addition, this theology must somehow be joined with church structure. Besides, if the general members are not part of the work, enthusiasm will wane.

The last of the traits on this list may or may not be a positive one. More likely, it is a negative trait. If we see ourselves as somehow special to God by comparison to all other groups, then we tend to be highly sectarian and to isolate ourselves from other Christian believers. This seems to violate the commandment of Jesus regarding Christian unity in John 17:21-22. Yet, Christian history tells us that when followers are caused to feel that the mission of God is largely on their shoulders, and their shoulders alone, it does tend to the rapid growth of that group. There are many examples of this in this volume.

Let us then reflect on this tentative list of traits that history tells us has led to Christian growth, and let us consider how we can somehow inculcate these qualities (except perhaps the last one) into the Christian group to which we belong, or perhaps let us join a group with these traits.

Church Planting in Merced, California Summer/Fall 2022

My wife Jan and I are so excited about our plans to plant a church from the ground up in Merced, California this year. We have now purchased a home and will be moving there around June 1. We will be having more than one wave of students coming through this summer to share on campus. We are looking to hire two campus interns this summer and next year as well. Please contact me, John, at 858-344-5323 or john.oakes@gcccd.edu if you are interested. We are also looking for young disciples to take the one-year challenge (see https://www.disciplestoday.org/oyc-campus-visits ). We now have a web site! https://mercedchurch.com/  If you are interested in joining us in Merced, please contact John using the information above.

New Material

I have started a new class on New Testament Survey for the West Coast School of Missions.  Material from the first class is posted here:  New Testament Survey Class. I have also started a two-week class on the reliability of the Bible for the Boston Church of Christ. You can still join us for the second class. Material from the first class (and how to join) is here:  Reliability of the Bible   I taught a class on the History of Christian Hermeneutics for the Christian Teacher’s Conference in Irvine in February.  The class is here:  History of Christian Hermeneutics

Also, I have started a new series of sermons from the Book of Acts in Bakersfield. They are here:  Sermons from Acts  I recently completed classes on Church History, on the Problem of Pain and Suffering and on Daniel.

Response to a Muslim

At the risk of overwhelming, I continue to be bombarded by Christianity-challenging attacks from Muslims. I can only assume that these are making the rounds and disturbing many Christian believers.  For this reason, I am enclosing a Q & A here, hoping it will help.

Be in touch,

John Oakes  john.oakes@gcccd.edu

[Editor’s note: This is a series of challenges from a Muslim regarding Jesus to be the fulfillment of Old Testament messianic prophecies.  My answers are interspersed among the questioner’s examples in italics]

Claim:

Response: