Are We Headed into a New Christian Epoch?

The Covid 19 Corona Virus crisis that has broken out around the world is not an isolated problem. It comes at a unique moment when around the world there is a counter-action to globalization, a decline in democracy, a rapid rise of nefarious social-media use, a collapse in the trust of institutions, growing environmental concerns, and a decline in institutional religion. In other words, Covid-19 is just the fuse that has lit a very big powder-keg of TNT that was building up for a long time. Could we be headed toward not just a new reality, or simply some areas where the church needs to make some minor adjustments, but rather a complete re-invention of church and society?

While every period of history has conflict, war, disease, and death; every once in a while, the Earth truly does enter into a radically new era. The Post WWII era was very different than what had preceded before. What followed saw the rise of automobile usage, massive commercial air-travel, anti-colonialism, the Cold War, the nuclear age, and new levels of prosperity and the establishment of a global Middle class. These things re-invented the world. So did the Industrial Revolution beginning in the 18th Century creating a new world of nation-states, heavy machinery, traveling faster than a horse can gallop, and relying on electricity to name just a few epoch changing shifts.

The sudden shift in mood after the Wuhan outbreak became a global pandemic had the makings of a moment where we enter into a new epoch; not just another simple moment on the world’s future path. I immediately thought of a book I read back in 2008 by Phillis Tickle entitled “The Great Emergence: How Christianity is Changing and Why.” Tickle argues in that book that Christianity is entering into a completely new paradigm; an epochal shift that occurs every 500 years. The first 500 years, of course, begins with the life of Christ and becomes the age of the Disciples and the Church Fathers who form the various church councils as Rome is Christianized (and Christianity institutionalized and legitimized). The second 500 years rely on the monastic movement to preserve a lot of Christian heritage amidst a lot of institutional carnage. It leads to the division between the Roman Catholic West and the Orthodox East known as the Great Schism of 1054. Five-hundred years after that, Martin Luther ushers in the Protestant Reformation, which puts an emphasis on the individual and Scripture which is then challenged by Enlightenment, modernist ideas. Now, (she argued back in 2008), that we were heading into a time when various different Christian traditions (Pentecostals, Conservatives, Liturgicals, and Social Justice Christians) would cross-pollinate with each other.

There’s a lot that is interesting and unconvincing about Tickle’s theory. Like the Fourth Turning Theory of Strauss and Howe, there are a lot of things historians will want to pick apart. Tickle’s cross-pollinating view doesn’t seem to have come to pass and it is also not a very macro-shift. Perhaps, she simply didn’t think big enough in her paradigm change. What might be valuable is simply the idea that there is such a thing as epochal changes (I believe there are), and that they completely re-set societies values, expectations, living conditions, and destroy complete industries and ways of life.

So what might a completely new Christian epoch look like? The shift would be so transformative it would be hard to imagine beforehand. My guess is that it will have less to do with a virus-panicked future of events that are no longer held, schools that are no longer safe, and masks and spacesuits that need to be perpetually worn. There will eventually be nanotechnology or ultra-violent technology that can kill and control viruses. But the economic displacement, distrust of institutions, shift to more cyber-life, cyborg technology, and technological surveillance could alter people’s daily life, social expectations, and theology. Initially, as people become disillusioned with materialism and technology; we will probably see an explosion of sects, cults, and an openness to spirituality. This does not mean Christian institutional growth. Ministries (like most churches) that have high overheads and live basically from month to month will struggle. Spiritual discipleship may need to occur one on one, in homes, and outside of the confines of high-expense Christian institutions. Expect, for instance, to see far fewer Christian colleges and seminaries and people getting their theological training more hands-on or online, or forgoing it all-together intentionally. The lack of an emphasis on theology (will terrify traditionalists and probably lead to a lot of heresy,) but Christianity has certainly been through that before.  It could also mean that there’s far less of a concern with theological training and more of a premium put on leaders that mobilize people to action outside of classrooms and church buildings. It could be that in the same way that we see empty Cathedrals all across Europe, we may see empty church buildings across America; or churches that have been turned into environmentally-friendly studio apartments. Communal living could return with spiritual communities being mainly tied to local, communes that share an environmentally power-grid (with everyone working at home). If it sounds far-fetched, then it’s probably a good guess of what life after an epochal change would look like. Nobody would have predicted four months ago that there would be no airplanes in the sky and every concert around the world cancelled.

We may see an initial increase in Christian nationalism as the counter-action phase of hyper-Globalization kicks in and people look locally and nationally to develop their identities (and identify enemies). That will further delegitimize Christianity in many places and amongst many ethnic groups. That nationalism will eventually be discredited and bottom-up, very non-institutional Christianity may grow. With a growing divide between rich and poor and hundreds of millions of jobs lost to automation and artificial-intelligence, it could be that Christian communities form around labor movements as they did in Brazil. Those movements were not about Marxism or Liberalism, they were about Christians vouching for basic, decent, human living conditions for a large class of Christian and non-Christian exploited workers.

It could be that so many people in the future are under surveillance and make body-alterations with new biotech technology (instead of a mechanical leg for a war vet, think of mechanical enhancements that prevent Alzheimer’s or improve memory and knowledge), that most Christian debates with non-Christians revolve around issues of bio-tech and not social issues.

These are not predictions; although I do expect some of these things to come to pass; even rapidly. Obviously, there is no way to know the future. Neither are these things I necessarily want to happen. Rather I am suggesting that we may be on a cusp of a completely different epoch. When there is an epochal change, we cannot imagine what life was like before. We may be stunned that we ever met in large, expensive buildings, or paid $120,000 for a college education, or drove cars that didn’t fly and operated on oil instead of banana juice. Epochal changes mean things are radically different and the old ways don’t make sense and aren’t even possible anymore. Many things about the church will stay the same; but Christianity has always been infinitely more flexible than we have allowed ourselves to admit. After all, our leader said “wherever two or more are gathered in my name, there will I be.” All we know is that the future will take us to some completely unforeseen places and He will be there with us.

Patrick Nachtigall is a Europe-based missionary and the author of 5 books dealing with globalization and Christianity; including In God We Trust?:  A Challenge to American Evangelicals.”

The American Church and the Great Depression of 2020

The Great Depression that began in 1929 left an indelible mark on a generation and was a traumatic national experience. It was also a difficult time for mission agencies, missionaries, and churches. It’s a long-held belief of many Christians that in difficult times, the church experiences revival and grows. This is not necessarily true. While some turn to faith, just as many do not. In American history, times of great trial tend to be bad for Christian churches and organizations. Attendance goes down, finances suffer, and there is a lack of people interested in being pastors or missionaries. This is American Christianity’s well-established pattern through the Revolutionary War, The Civil War, and The Great Depression. To make this time different, will require a real concerted effort by churches and Christian organizations, innovative solutions, and a willingness to change. Even then, the obstacles will be enormous.

How the U.S. Economy Tanked

That we are headed toward not just a recession, but another great depression should not be a surprise to anyone. Plenty of people were not surprised by the Great Depression of 1929; and many economists (such as Stephen Roach and Nouriel Roubini) were warning that Alan Greenspan’s roaring 1990’s economy was creating dangerous bubbles, reckless speculation, and dangerous financial instruments. It took until 2008 for all of that to become obvious. It should have been America’s great awakening to reality; but instead, the U.S. doubled-down by adding an extraordinary amount of debt. Some of that debt was needed since banks and consumers weren’t spending, leaving only one pillar left: the government. With an $850 million financial package, the government had to step in to prevent a total collapse of the banking system. Much more was provided by the government, but most of those trillions of dollars of aid went to corporations that hoarded cash or bought their own stock creating a new stock-bubble. This led to a great divide between Wall Street and Main street.

Inflated stocks, low interest rates, and inflated property prices made the stock market hit all-time highs, which led non-profits, churches, and other Christian organizations to believe that 2008 had just been a bump in the road. Unemployment went to all-time lows (as people got used to having multiple jobs without benefits). But the next “bull run” and “economic expansion” included low wages, a lack of benefits, and sky-rocketing health care and education costs. This confusingly inflated the stock market and depleted the average American’s bank account. By 2020, there was no room for a “black swan” event like the COVID-19 pandemic. The result is that we now have an economy that will eventually collapse harder than in 2008; but with no mechanisms to deal with the collapse. Having lowered interest rates for too long (Quantitative Easing 1,2 and 3), having failed to tax sufficiently, and having not built up a financial surplus, the United States must now add even more debt and raise it to levels mathematically impossible to pay back. It’s a problem that goes back at least three presidential administrations, if not five. This downturn will be severe. This world which has put nearly $200 trillion on an unpaid credit card will not be able to avoid this financial day of reckoning. It’s a reminder of how fragile and temporal the things of this world are.

How the American Church Responds During Financial Crisis

Going into the Great Depression of 1929, the American church felt invulnerable. Finances were good, but not great. There was still a good size missionary crew, people wanted to be pastors, denominations still felt confident, and the American church was in a period where it believed itself to be the true representatives of what it meant to be America. There was the widespread belief among evangelicals that Christians knew how to put America first and America knew how to put Christianity first. The American church, however, had already entered a period in which people were starting to distrust the church, were becoming disenchanted with religion in general, and were getting less engaged in foreign missionary work. The church noticed occasionally that things were not booming quite as much as before, but didn’t feel particularly alarmed. The church and Christian organizations didn’t realize that the waning of enthusiasm in the 1920’s would be exacerbated by the stock market collapse of 1929. All of this disappeared in the flash of a moment. The parallels to today are eerily similar.

Interest in missions was waning before the depression, even before the Depression, missionary funds begun to decrease,” said Samuel C. Kincheloe. Financial giving had been going down for mission agencies in the 1920’s. The Foreign Mission Conference of North America saw a dramatic decline in young people wanting to become missionaries and the China mission-field got hit particularly hard. The Executive Secretary of the Home Missions Council reported that “almost all major denominations are now in a period of financial stringency in the conduct of mission work. We are in the days of failing budgets.” (1) Small rural churches were already seeing very big declines.

The confidence of American Christianity and in Christianity as the national religion fell apart quite quickly. Political power and finances had created hubris. Charles Fiske pointed out that “America has become almost hopelessly enamoured of a relilgion that is little more than a sanctified commercialism; it is hard in this day and this land to differentiate between religious aspiration and business prosperity.” (2) He continued: “America seems to be degenerating into a sort of Babsonian cult; which cannot distinguish between what is offered to God and what is accomplished for the glory of America and the furtherance of business enterprise.” (3)

Edwin Lewis wrote in 1934, “We borrowed our criteria of evaluation from the world about us—a world gone mad in its worship of mere size, a world that had set itself to create bigger ships, bigger aeroplanes, bigger locomotives, bigger buildings, bigger universities, bigger corporations, bigger banks, bigger everything-except men!”(4) When the economic bubble popped, the American church finally realized how much excess there had been; and how the hubris was unwarranted. In the best of times, evangelical churches are high-maintenance affairs with high over-head costs. Moments of financial crisis tend to make that abundantly clear.

History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme,” Mark Twain told us. The Great Depression of 2020 will include a financial shock so grave that it will completely re-order American society and change its values. Big spending by individuals will be frowned upon, and many companies and Christian organizations will have to scale down dramatically to survive. Some will fail to do so and will go bust. Others will scale down, but not enough, and go bust as well. Many Christians like to remind us that “God owns the cattle on a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10). But the reality is that God doesn’t always take away suffering, doesn’t take away tough times, and every single day churches filled with wonderful people and that have done great work for decades, close down. The Kingdom always lives on and is immune to these downturns, but our man-made organizations are a different creature. There’s a difference between the Church and the post-Constantinian institutional church.

Things Will Have to Change Dramatically

This will not be a short crisis and the trauma of it will change giving patterns for baby-boomers and other generations. It will take at least a decade to re-invent the global economy and it will look far different than it does today. The American church will be tempted to pull back and cut out the missionary enterprise. Pulling back is understandable. Many churches and people won’t have a choice but to live in a more frugal way. Buildings are expensive, big staffs are expensive, and running programs costs money. The foreign field will not be as much of a priority when there are so many domestic needs within the community. Denominations and Christian organizations doing work that falls outside of the international mission category will fare even worse. Whatever is not tangible, dramatic, and clearly about more than the institution will be discarded. The missionary-enterprise has one advantage. Jesus’ words in Matthew 28:19 is a command to his church: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” There is a strong sense among churches that some form of international outreach is always necessary. Hopefully, this will be the case in the post-2020 world. We must continue the global ministry of our churches; especially in a time when the world will be tempted to isolate nations from each other. But it will not be an easy sell (so to speak), and it’s not a given. Societies turn very inward at times like this.

Now this may seem like a self-serving essay from a missionary. Is this an argument to preserve the missionary first and foremost as the most valuable part of the organization and church? For denominations, international ministry is the component that the denomination offers that is most exciting, which feels the most needed, and which best captures the imagination of church. That, and disaster relief, have tended to be the “bread and butter” of Christian denominations.

But this is not an argument for self-preservation amidst a Great Depression. Actually, missionaries, more than anybody in the church, are uniquely prepared to withstand a Great Depression. We literally live month to month every day of every year. All of us check our remittances monthly wondering if there will be enough to keep us on the field. We live with the pressure of funding other ministries and we check monthly if the money is there for us to continue those ministries to which we are giving our lives. The lives of our children and the sacrifices they make by living in such unstable situations weighs on us daily. Many of us never feel safe in our homes, knowing that a change in the local currency, problems with finances, local upheaval, or a myriad of other challenges can lead to needing to move at a moment’s notice. Going without seeing family, living with financial stress, having low salaries, not having enough for retirement, and being ready to have the bottom-fall out at any second is a reality that every missionary knows a lot about. Every missionary I know knows that tomorrow is not guaranteed for them, and that the money could disappear at any second, which will lead to losing your “home” at any moment. This is a stress so internalized into the psyche of missionaries that we don’t even talk about it much— it’s normal. It’s the deal we signed up for. When, not if, we enter a new Great Depression; missionaries can scale back, but still be catalytic figures, global connectors, and models for the church. They can even model how to do ministry on-the-fly; needing to always keep things running even if the resources are not there.

Although this time will be a period of crisis, the American church should quickly adapt and view this crisis as a unique opportunity. This can be a time of shedding old wine-skins and allowing ourselves to be molded into a new shape of clay: a people that radiate humility, peace, and servanthood. While our society has a difficult time remaining calm and unified; we can demonstrate the peace that surpasses all understanding. The church as well as denominations will need to scale back financially on some unnecessary things, and make sure that amidst the chaos they are catalysts for positive works, humble evangelism, and community unity. American Christianity can re-define itself in front of the world. Flexibility, adaptability, and engaging with difficult places will be something all American Christians will need to do during this challenging time. These are the times that bring humility and greater dependence on God and on each other. It’s a test of the character of the American church. And it is a test we need to pass with flying colors.

1) Research Memorandum on Religion in the Depression (New York: Social Science Research Council, Bulletin 33, 1937), p. 51.

2) Fisk, Charles. Confessions of a Puzzled Parson, Charles Scribner’s Sons 1928 p. 14.

3) Ibid.

4) Lewis, Edward. A Christian Manifesto (New York: Abingdon Press, 1934. p. 202.

Patrick Nachtigall is a Europe-based missionary and the author of 5 books dealing with globalization and Christianity; including In God We Trust?: A Challenge to American Evangelicals.”

Can Christians Learn Anything from the Notre Dame Fire?

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The fire and partial destruction of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris gripped the world in real time.  The sight of the wood-and-lead spire collapsing gave us the same feeling of helplessness we felt on 9/11:  the sense that something we always thought would be there was suddenly gone in a blink of an eye.

Many reasons have been offered for why the Notre Dame fire struck so many as a traumatic, tragic moment.  There was the fact that it has been standing since the 13th Century, that it is one of the world’s most beautiful buildings, as well as a place where many have personally gone and created great memories.  There were also those that viewed it as a sign of the fragility of Western Civilization, the collapse of Christendom, and even a reminder of mortality itself.

As a student of religion and a frequent visitor to Notre Dame, I felt both a sense of horror and depression.  Horror about the world losing such a treasure, and depression because I truly could not picture a Paris—nay, a world without Notre Dame.  But after the initial shock wore off and enough of the building was salvaged to begin a multi-year renovation; I thought more about what the partially-burned Cathedral can teach us Christians. 

I found the first lesson to be that the church is fragile.  Notre Dame may have looked like a stunning mass of stone and marble, but it suffered from corrosion throughout the building.  Centuries of leaking lead, rain, and even pigeons had taken their toll and the 856-year-old building was in need of significant renovation. 

The greater church is fragile too.  When the church allows itself to get overly-politicized, becomes a self-protective institution, fails to stand up to issues of injustice, and becomes known more for what it is against than what it is for; the shine of the church is dulled, and our structure weakens.  Bad things do happen in this world over time; not just outside the church, but inside the church as well.  All of us Christians have to be on guard for the rust and rot that can form in our churches’ expressions of Christianity.  As long as we are a part of this world, our Christian communities are vulnerable to erosion and decay.

A second lesson is that the church can be viewed as a monument from the past.  Although, Notre Dame has an active congregation, the majority of people in Paris do not go to church at all and most visitors admire the Cathedral as a thing of the past—something not entirely relevant to today’s world. 

Today, throughout the Christian world, many of our denominations and institutions are being challenged like never before.  Our societies wonder if our Christian faith is relevant in the 21st Century.  And in the same way that many entered Notre Dame with awe but walked out still without faith, a lot of our societies still don’t see the church as relevant.  They see us keeping alive an ancient faith as opposed to one that is actively engaging and changing the world.  There are still too many churches that prefer staying within our thick fortress walls, rather than demonstrate that in today’s overly-stimulated, media-saturated, and fast-moving world; faith is a road to sanity and meaning. 

The third lesson is good news! The church has been renovated before, and it will be re-built and re-shaped again.  Notre Dame’s steeple that we all watched fall, was from a massive renovation done in 1843 which brought a whole new appreciation to the building by the previously jaded people of France.  The architects tried to honor the past, while adding new elegant touches like the now lost steeple known as la flèche. And even prior to the construction that began in 1160, the church had existed in the same location for several centuries in several different structures. 

The church too, goes through periods of renovation and renewal.  Whether it’s was the monastic movement of Western Christianity in the 4th Century, the Protestant Reformation of the 16th Century, or the Holiness Movement and anti-slavery campaigns of the 19th Century; the Christian faith allows for critiques, self-reflection and new expressions of Christian truth.  The Christian church played a critical part in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s as the life of Dr. Martin Luther King demonstrates so vividly. The church can have stone pillars of timeless truth yet be open to change and refinement; just like Notre Dame.  In this temporal world that will bring temptation, corruption, blindness and other forms of spiritual erosion, renovation and renewal is a necessity. 

Which brings us to the final lesson of the Notre Dame Fire:  the church is resilient.  Thanks to the work of the 400 brave Parisian firefighters and the brilliance of the original medieval architects, Notre Dame’s walls held, and the structure still stands.  Today, there are over 2 billion Christians in the world, and our faith is still on track to be the most popular religion in the world by 2050.

Throughout the world, we are seeing Christian expressions, theologies, and missionary movements arising from Africa, Asia, and Latin America.  Within North America, the Christian church is starting to become more introspective regarding its witness and outreach and examining how effectively it is truly impacting our neighborhoods and society.  Even in ‘Post-Christendom Europe,’ new community-based forms of the church are gaining traction and charismatic movements are growing even within the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.  That means the church is not going anywhere. 

We will see debates about the future of Notre Dame, particularly about how to use new technology and designs while still honoring the original design.  This is the same conversation we are always having in the church as well.  And those dialogues and debates can often lead to fire, brimstone, and a sense that the whole thing could burn down.  But it never does.  And had this particular version of Notre Dame been burnt down, a new one would have risen.  Our churches function the same way.  The whole incident at Notre Dame is not only a reminder of our mortality; but of our belief and commitment in resurrection and a new, better life.

About the Author:  Patrick Nachtigall is the Regional Coordinator for Europe and the Middle East for Global Strategy and leads the Three Worlds Team.  He is the author of 5 books on Christianity and globalization including "In God We Trust?:  A Challenge to American Evangelicals" and "Facing Islam Without Fear:  A Christian's Guide to Engaging the Muslim World" (also translated into German).  He has an M.A. from Yale University and has been to nearly 80 countries examining the church in a variety of settings.  Originally from Costa Rica, he has worked in Asia, North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America.  He lives in the Black Forest, Germany with his wife Jamie and son Marco.  He is available for consultations and public speaking. 

ANNOUNCEMENT: Kihms Move to Hungary for 3W

We are very excited to announce that Dan, Christy, and Sofie Kihm will be moving to Hungary to be more strategically-based for their role as Europe X Coordinators. Europe X is a new church-planting network that was launched in by the Three Worlds team in April 2018. It is for churches in Europe that are committed to creating a church-planting DNA in a post-Christendom context. The Kihms will be tracking with pastors, churches, and their church plants. They will also work alongside the Hungary Church of God, where we have three pastors all in their 30s and two churches plus a new outside-the-box church-plant.

Budapest has become a strategic location for our Three Worlds work. The Church of God in Hungary regularly opens their facilities to events for the whole region. The Budapest Lectures were established here to create a place of connection for pastors, and we recently launched Europe X there as well. It is an inexpensive city that centrally located and is only a one- to two-hour flight on a low-cost carrier to all of our Europe X and church-plant locations. The Kihms will continue to be the main 3W contact people for Holland where they served for 5 years! They will also continue their work with the Agape Faith United Church in Bulgaria, and the two young churches in Northern Italy. Along with the appointment of Nathan and Stacy Tatman (3W-Associate Regional Coordinators), the Three Worlds team is positioning itself for a large emphasis on church-planting with the next generation of leaders.

They will relocate to Budapest in the summer of 2019 as our Europe X duties expand and their change in location will be recognized at the Church of God Convention in Orlando. Please lift up the family as they look to find a home and Sofie settles into a new school.

ANNOUNCEMENT: Nathan and Stacy Tatman Join 3W Team!!!

We are thrilled to announce that Nathan and Stacy Tatman are joining the 3W Team and will become Associate Regional Coordinators for Europe and the Middle East. For the past decade Nathan Tatman has been serving as the Mission-Advancement Pastor at County Line Church of God in Auburn, Indiana. Nate holds a bachelor’s in business administration and a master’s in ministry leadership. Stacy Tatman is a Registered Nurse that works at Lakewood Christian School in Auburn. She has worked in a variety of settings, providing direct patient and family care, as well as facilitating socio-behavioral researchPrior to that they opened a Christian youth center and coffee shop. For the past 9 years, Nathan has worked closely with the 3W Team and the pastors and leaders in Europe-Middle East; having made over 20 trips to our region for ministry purposes.

As Associate Regional Coordinators, Nathan and Stacy will be working to partner with new and existing churches in the areas of church health and multiplication throughout the region. This will include extensive work with the newly created Europe X network as these churches seek to create a church-planting DNA particularly within the Post-Christendom context. They will be based out of Madrid, Spain.

Nathan and Stacy are the parents of five children: Dylan, Kayla, Aubry, Daleska and Emily. The two youngest, Daleska and Emily will be joining them in Madrid as they continue to attend school. Their daughter Aubry plans on attending St. Louis University in Madrid as well. Kayla will continue studying at Anderson University and their son Dylan will remain in the Ft. Wayne area with his fiance, Sara Johnson.

The Tatmans will begin their fundraising process and be commissioned at the Church of God Convention in Orlando this June. We hope to see them move into our region by Summer of 2020.

The 13th Annual Patty Awards: My Top 10 Books for 2018

It's time for the 13th Annual Patty Awards, where I give out the awards for the best books I've read in the year.  All of the big “A list” stars are walking onto the Red Carpet right now.  Look, it's Mike Lookinland who played “Bobby” in “The Brady Bunch.” Hey! Is that Delta Burke with Gerald McRaney? Over there! It’s Philip Mckeon who played Alice’s son “Tommy’ on the “TV show Alice!” And next to him it’s that famous vixen, Morgan Fairchild! The atmosphere is electric, so let’s get started.

This year was a great year for books. I read 43, and it’s hard to pick the top 10. For once, there were very few bad or disappointing books. Of course, they cater to my tastes, so mind the description to see if it’s something you are really interested in.  Drum roll!

10)  The Last Days of the Incas  by Kim MacQuarrie:  The Incas are a fascinating civilization, and this book really brought to life how sophisticated, but fragile this Empire was before the Spaniards arrived. The Incas themselves were a very small indigenous group that happened to have colonized many other groups over an enormous and forbidding territory. The story of how Francisco Pizzaro and a handful of Spaniards managed to completely overtake the Western half of South America is enthralling and unbelievable. MacQuarrie does a great job of making history come alive. The book feels very cinematic and will make you want to go explore ruins in Peru. It’s also more accurate and up-to-date in its facts than most books on the Incas. Really well done!

9)  The Orphan’s Tale by Pam Jenoff: It’s World War 2 and a young circus acrobat is cast aside by her Nazi officer husband. Returning to a traveling circus that is also hiding Jews, she encounters another German girl who is having to hide with a Jewish baby. Both young ladies travel with the circus as acrobats, always in fear of being discovered by the Nazis. This novel is interesting in that you learn about the traveling circus life in 1940’s Europe, but also about the dangers of being Jewish during this time. It’s also the story about the friendship between the two girls. This book is not nearly as dark as it sounds. It’s a rather light read, considering the subject matter.

8) While the City Slept by Eli Sanders: This book will stay with you for a long time. This is the true story of a horrific crime that occurred in Seattle against two young women. The culprit is a young man with a history of mental illness. The book tells the story of the young women, the troubled young man, the horrific crime, and the court-case that followed. What makes this book so powerful aside from the great writing which makes the people really unforgettable; is the fact that it is also a brutal critique of the way mental illness is treated in the United States. That’s the real crime in the book. The whole tragedy is set agains the backdrop of a judicial system, education system, medical system, and government which is not learning how to help mentally ill people and has policies that exacerbate the problem. It’s very eye-opening.

7) Dr. Neruda’s Cure for Evil:   by Rafael Yglesias:   This is a dark novel about a man who becomes a psychiatrist. Traumatized by an accident in his childhood, and then re-traumatized by his parent’s reaction to the accident, the main character tells the story of his confusing childhood in Part 1 of the book. Part 2 is about a patient that he struggles to help who re-opens his own wounds. And Part 3 is about his rather diabolical response to not being successful in that case. This is a long, dark novel about the mystery of the mind and the way traumas form our personality.

6) Holy Rus: The Re-birth of Russian Orthodoxy in the New Russia by John P. Burgess. This was a much needed piece of scholarship. I love how nuanced and sophisticated this work was. Little has been written about what the Russian Orthodox church looks like on the ground today. Books and articles tend to just focus on the unholy alliance between church leaders and Putin, or the lone remaining faithful in dying villages. Burgess fleshes this all out much more giving us a look at where Russian Orthodoxy is flourishing.It delves into dynamic small-groups, Orthodox churches that are doing very significant social service work, and the rise of Orthodox TV, radio and other media. The problems are dealt with as well, whether it’s the co-opting of orthodoxy for nationalistic purposes or the poor education levels of the average priest and how the church has had to change its training methods. The chapter on parish life was particularly fascinating.  

5) In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides.  It’s always surprising how exciting books about arctic exploration are. You would think they would be boring—-ice and cold. But the ocean, the weather, and the temperature make these stories so gripping. This is the story of 33 men who set out to be the first to sail to the North Pole in 1880. Things don’t go exactly according to plan, and the adventure gets truly crazy and grueling. It’s always amazing to see what humans can survive. Although it’s a history book, it totally reads like a novel.

4)  The Devil’s Double by Latif Yahia. This is the story of the unfortunate man who was chosen to be a body double for Uday Hussein—-Saddam Hussein’s absolutely evil, psychotic, murdering son. Latif finds himself plucked out of obscurity and having to travel around pretending he is Uday—giving speeches, attending functions, and being the target of a possible assassination. Though it all, he has to fake some kind of friendship with Uday who is truly a monster. The book is filled with unbelievable scenes of cruelty at the hands of the sadistic Uday, as well as the insanity of the extremely wealthy and decadent Hussein family. There are definitely scenes in the book that you never forget. Though it all, Latif tries to stay a good human being. This was made into a really good movie starting Dominic Cooper who does an amazing job playing both Latif and Uday.  I recommend that as well.

3) Russians: The People Behind the Power: by Gregory Feifer. The two most enigmatic countries I’ve been to (out of the 80+ I have visited) are Russia and Japan. Russia is in the news every day, it’s a nuclear power that covers half-of the world’s time zones, yet it ranks 166th in lifespan just ahead of Gambia. A third of the countries villages have less than 10 people. They drink 5 gallons of alcohol per person and also have more billionaires than any country in the world. The country has been enormously shaped by its arctic and sub-arctic location as well as it’s massive size. Feifer, who as an NPR correspondent in Russia spans the country and gives a fantastic overview of Russia today. It’s a book filled with fascinating facts.

2) The Force by Don Winslow.  Winslow is a fun novelist who has brought the drug-wars to life in previous books. With fun dialogue and a lot of action, his novels always take you into the underbelly of whatever he is writing about. ‘The Force” is about a New York Police Department officer named Denny Malone. Malone is part of an elite unit in the NYPD that takes down drug-gangs and gun-runners. They have a lot of freedom to operate and that leads to the temptation to become corrupt police officers. Winslow spent a lot of time with the NYPD in writing this novel and he captures the culture and language of the Force. As much as Malone wants to be a hero, the amount of corruption and temptation that the cops are exposed to is more than he can handle. This was a fun, exciting novel, but it was also a really eye-opening book about how policing, crime, and government work in a major U.S. city. Loved it!

Envelope please:    AND THE WINNER IS….

1) Russka:  The Novel of Russia by Edward Rutherfurd.   It’s just a coincidence that 3 of my top 10 this year had to do with Russia. They were just really rewarding books and Russia is so fascinating to me. Much like James Michener, Rutherfurd writes novels about the history of a country or place (London, Ireland, Dublin, Paris, England) using new characters and new periods of history in every chapter. This book covers 1800 years of Russian history beginning with the people that settled the forests and moving through the different eras of Russian history from the establishment of Rus, to the Mongol Invasions, Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, the rise of the Communists etc. It kept my attention all the way through, I cared about all the characters, and it made the history really come alive more than a history book.

Honorable Mention: 

“Hillbilly Elegy” and “Sweet Dreams are Made of This.” Hillbilly Elegy is a memoir about the growing white underclass in places like West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio. The author talks about his family, their culture, and the social problems that continue to haunt them and the region they are from. It’s a very timely book considering how much attention is being given to those “forgotten people in America.” It would be a great book to discuss in a book club.

“Sweet Dreams are Made of This” is Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics’ biography. Steward is not only half of that great 80’s pop duo, but he is a producer, filmmaker, and artist extraordinaire. He has worked with absolutely everyone in music and tells lots of stories of his time making music with some of the biggest acts in the world. He’s fun and has done lots of cool things. Of course, this book was right up my alley.

Biggest Disappointment:

Submission:  by Michael Houellebecq. This French novelists is famous for his bleak, politically-incorrect novels. This novel takes place in 2022 when an Islamic Party wins the French election. Subtle and not-so-subtle changes begin to take place. The main character Francois is a typical Houellebecq character: depressed, unable to find a reason for his own existence, devoid of spiritual belief, cynical about everything, and disgusted by the political left and right.  If this had been his first book, I probably would have loved it; but there were too many similarities between previous books. I was expecting more.

 

Next Year:

Well, that's it.  The big stars are heading home and the limousines are pulling out. Goodbye Todd Bridges! And thanks to the rest of you for coming!  We'll be back next year for some more book reviews in my annual Top 10 list.  Up next year:  Philip Norman’s Paul McCartney biography, a book all about Australia, Johann Hari’s global search for the real reason why everyone is depressed, anxious, and on medication, a dystopian novel about America being taken over by an Islamic regime, Walter Isaacson’s biography of Leonardo Da Vinci, and George Friedman predicting the coming crisis in Europe. Switch off that telly and read a book.

A More Nuanced Look at the US and Global Economy

On my last couple of visits to the USA, I've been shocked by how many people I met that are working three jobs to make ends meet. Everywhere I went, there were "Help wanted" signs, but for low-paying jobs, with short hours and no benefits. So yes, unemployment is low-but that is made irrelevant by the fact wages and benefits are even lower. Getting a job is not the challenge, it's paying for rent and health-care that is the problem.

This is why the false choice of Reaganomics/Free-Market Capitalism vs. Socialism is a useless way to frame the economic debate in the 21st Century. When the stock market goes up or corporations make a profit, that does not mean the money is getting to the average American. Billionaire Hedge Fund Manager Ray Dalio talks about us really having 2 economies: One that is making enormous gains for corporations and wealthy individuals, and another that remains flat or moving downward for the vast majority of Americans. Great distinction! This makes a lot of sense to me, but unfortunately both Liberal and Conservative news outlets report on the economy as if it's 1978 and so our politics talks about economics in a Cold War Capitalism vs. Socialism framework that is totally out of date.

 

A few things to think about:

-The average American cannot handle an unexpected $500 bill

-The average American only has about $120,000 saved for retirement at a time when people are living into their 80's and 90's. That covers about one year of retirement.

-The stock market is on an unprecedented hot-streak, but that money is being hoarded by corporations or going to purchase stock (not getting into the main economy).

-Many jobs are being lost due to automation. This always happens, but what makes this different is that technology is not just replacing rote, service jobs or hard labor jobs. Today's Artificial Intelligence can replace journalists, lawyers, and other high-skilled, white-collar labor. These are also machines that can learn and teach themselves new skills.

-In most places, 30% of American's money goes into housing with just about every market over-priced. Some of our key cities are becoming unlivable for the normal person with normal wages.

-The number one concern of Americans is paying for health-care. Few are prepared, and advances in health care mean many elderly (and their children who have to take care of them in old age) are looking at living longer, but paying astronomical prices for medical services and convalescent care.

-College has gone up 500% over the price of inflation since 1987 while professor wages have dropped and the hiring of under-qualified and poorly paid adjunct professors is the norm.

-The US had a $4 trillion national debt when Reagan left office. It is now $22 trillion with Trump adding an unnecessary billion in the last few months to cover losses over an unnecessary trade war (socialism for farmers). $19 Trillion was the point of no return where it's not possible to pay it back (heading into Greece territory).

-Think of the amount of money each family rich or poor has to spend on technological upgrades, computers, phones etc.  In many cases, these are not optional.  This is what is required to do your work, do your banking, and stay in contact in a globalized world.  It's a large added expense that no one had in 1980.

-Due to the internet, the rich are able to see a lot more clearly what the rich have that they do not (a great recipe for revolution and populism).

-While 50% of Americans own stock, most own only a little bit of stock and get wiped out during the market crashes every 7-9 years or through fees. The stock market investors that truly win are the ones with large amounts of money and who can afford financial and tax specialists. That's where the big gains are.

The period after World War II was the fastest period of economic growth in US history and established the Middle Class. Tax rates were also very high. Elvis paid 95% in taxes and was happy to do it. Republicans like Eisenhower expected tax levels to be high and that's what helped to recover from the extreme imbalance of the 50 year rich-poor imbalance that led to the Great Depression.

When the economy tanks in the next couple of years (not "if"), or way of discussing American's economy is going to have to get a lot more sophisticated than just "Capitalism vs. Socialism" arguments. Countries that succeed in the 21st Century will value 1) an entrepreneurial environment 2) Corporate Responsibility 3) Taxes 4) Unions 5) Government involvement--especially in infrastructure and education.

Countries like Singapore, Switzerland, China, and the Scandinavian countries are ahead of the curve.  They see that it is not one thing or the other.  It's both.  Meanwhile, in the US, our political and economic discussions seem to be stuck in 1980.  The longer it takes for us to mature our discussion and make it more nuanced; the longer it will take for the US to economically recover.

Why Evangelical Churches Struggle in Europe

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By Patrick Nachtigall

It is well known that the evangelical church struggles in Europe.  On a continent where the evangelical population can be as low as 0.25% (Greece) and where 4% overall church attendance is considered good (Germany); many evangelical churches find themselves struggling to maintain churches with more than 20 committed people.  The northern protestant countries such as England, Scotland, Sweden, Germany, and Holland are likely to see the most success, and some countries outside of Western Europe like Ukraine and Romania show a decent amount of growth. But for the most part, Christianity is in decline and evangelical churches barely survive.  

The few that seem to be thriving are almost always made up immigrants, persecuted or marginalized people like the Roma, or people who have parents that were active Christians---even if it was in the State church.  Quite often these churches have quite a few parishioners who are related to each other which adds to the numbers of the congregation.  Converting an actual Czech person, Spaniard, or Greek is very difficult.   

The usual reasons given for that is the fact that Europe is post-religious/post-Christian, having been the birthplace of the secular environment and the Enlightenment.  It’s also true that the christian church under the regimes of Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Franco and many other dictatorships often served as an enabler of evil.  There’s also the fact that religious wars decimated the European population for the past 2,000 years and church wielded too much power over nations.  But I would like to highlight some “invisible factors” that are often not seen which create huge obstacles for the evangelical church and frustration for its leaders.  It is my hope that understanding these invisible factors will help European evangelical churches to make adjustments or at least help them set their expectations correctly.  The success of American Evangelical churches (not to mention those in the non-Western world) hangs over the heads of many European Christian leaders like a dark cloud of condemnation.  Does that have to be the case?

Factor 1:  Volunteerism

The evangelical church that arose out of England, Scotland and particularly America had a strong activist strain.  Especially in the United States, the DNA of evangelical christianity was rooted in taking action, evangelism (marketing), and competing against other faith groups.  In order to do that, a lot of volunteers were required.  There were strong expectations that once you were part of the church, you worked for the church unpaid.  That came easily to Americans, who as Alexander de Tocqueville noted in the 19th century, were activists by nature.

Europeans, on the other hand, come from high-churches (Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodoxy, Lutheranism), where duties fell to the priests and nuns.  Attending mass was the only obligation, the professionals did the rest.  The fact that most American evangelical churches have quite a large number of people who are willing to put in 10 to 20 hours a week in the church to run the nursery, cut the grass, or serve in long board meetings is really quite unusual and something often taken for granted.  The evangelical church is highly dependent on people volunteering their free time with no expectation of financial reward. 

Factor 2:  The part-time pastor

In the United States, the vocational pastor is now being lifted up by some as a better option to the paid full-time pastor.  The idea is that this gives the people more ownership and church involvement will increase.  But as we saw in Factor 1, people are more likely to step up if they come from a culture that values volunteerism.  The European pastor not only has little lay help, but they often have to work at a primary job in addition to running the church.  This easily leads to high-rates of burn out.  It also can result in churches that expect that pastor to do everything.  It’s a cycle that becomes hard to break.  Even if pastors decide to delegate and encourage more lay involvement, they are still dealing with an overall culture outside of the church (if not within), that doesn’t understand the concept of volunteering.

Factor 3: The commute

A further challenge for the European church is that the number of evangelicals and evangelical churches is so small, that often times the people within the church do not live in the neighborhood of the church.  In fact, they may be commuting on the metro for 1 hour in Rome or Paris just to get to their congregation.  This also makes lay-leadership difficult.  The churches are often not that well-integrated into the neighborhood so they can’t really affect much change.  They may not even reflect the culture of the neighborhood in which they are located.  The commute also means that congregants are not available for many activities or lay leadership positions throughout the week.   In the United States, many churches draw from their towns, suburbs, or at least have a high population of people who own cars and can easily drive to the church throughout the week. 

Factor 4: The minority complex

Because there are so few evangelical churches, the people within the church often feel marginalized by society.  They are usually looked down upon (as religious kooks or part of a cult), and they may even face persecution in countries like Russia.  There may also be subtle “soft” prejudices they have to deal with, such as landlords and city officials that do not want to give building permits, lease a room, or grant a visa to missionaries.  This may not result in physical harm or death, but it can be very demoralizing and make running a church extremely challenging. 

All of this can also lead to a separatist attitude.  Instead of engaging post-Christendom, the church is tempted to withdraw further.  It is very difficult to convert european non-Christians if the church is going to view only those that swallow the Gospel whole as people worthy of relationship.  Too often, evangelicals are quick to condemn all of European society as if it has nothing to offer.  This includes expressing a lot of hostility toward Catholics, Orthodox, or other state churches which these countries and cultures have been deeply shaped by.  It is like saying “All Samaritans are completely useless, you must leave Samaria on your own and come to us.”  There’s no sense that there may be important pieces of the dominant secular and religious culture that need to be engaged with and respected.

Factor 5:  Legalism

With such an overwhelming secular environment and feeling on the margins of society, evangelical churches in Europe are often very fearful of dying.  That fear manifests itself as legalism—an extreme intolerance for anyone who doesn’t practice Christianity exactly the way the stalwarts of the church do. 

It’s no coincidence that many European evangelical churches lose their young people.  The adults in the church become extremely protective of their church traditions and become very inflexible in theology.  Questioning the faith or expressing oneself differently becomes a problem.  In fact, for newcomers, taking too long too assimilate can be viewed as unacceptable.  The 19-year old recent convert that still has piercings, or dresses too provocatively, or still smokes is not integrated into the life of the church, given responsibilities, or even walked alongside. 

The younger generations of the families in the church wrestle with a European, pluralistic world that the church does not even engage.  The answers that work inside the small evangelical church, don’t work for them at the university, playground or pub.  Too often, churches value their traditions more than they do becoming accessible to the very different culture outside of their doors.  When that culture of legalism enters into the church, they are often not willing to go on a journey with the converted individual, but rather expect them to very rapidly conform to the acceptable expression of Christiaity. 

Factor 6:  Power-blocks/Small family business model

Since so few people convert and the churches are small, it is often the case that evangelical churches in Europe are run by, or dominated by one particular family.  That family becomes the power-block that becomes impossible to displace.  One family may control all the decisions. Healthy decisions may not be made because it would be turning one’s back on family.  The church politics can become stifling. The reality is that the evangelical model can be very much like running small business. 

Since a small power-block has invested the most in the church, they have a hard time making room for new leadership.  They feel that they have paid their dues.  Healthy confrontation is avoided, and the church rises and falls on the commitment of that one family.  This happens outside of Europe as well, but it is particularly likely to happen in European churches because so few convert, and family influence is one of the main ways that people discover and commit to a religion. 

Factor 7: The Lack of a talent-pool

Evangelical churches are very dependent on having activities, programming, and outreach.  The end-result is that organization becomes a key factor and people with great skill-sets in that area are needed to keep it running.  In Europe, the church may have very few people so the diversity of skill-sets is very limited.  Furthermore, so few people want to be pastors, that it is quite often the case that the lead pastor is not particularly talented in a lot of the key areas required for evangelism and growth.  They may not, for instance, be very good organizers, or public speakers, or teachers; but these are the things they have to do to keep the church open.  Churches in the United States, the Philippines, and Nigeria may have a much easier time finding people who have church management skill-sets.  This is not to say that God cannot equip people—however many pastors struggle under the burden of working in areas that may not be their areas of strength.

Factor 8:  High expense/low income

Most Evangelical churches expect to have a band, at least a number of instruments, good audio visuals, a building space (preferably their own purchased space) and a variety of programs and activities.  All of this costs money.  It becomes a pretty high overhead expense when the church may have only 20 people. In some European countries, not having a church building of your own means the local people will never view you as a church and will always label you a strange cult.  Of course, Christians can remain on the fringe and marginalized as Jesus said we often would be; but most European churches don’t want to remain that way. They want legitimacy so they can engage the community.

It can also be hard to create tithers from the congregation.  Many live in countries where taxes may have to go to the state church, and so giving to their local evangelical church can seem like a second tax.  With long histories in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Church, many Europeans are not used to the start-up business form of the evangelical Church.  These powerful state churches were not short of money, but the evangelical church seems to need it constantly.  It can be challenging for pastors to create this discipline of tithing, which means finances can often be a problem. 

Factor 9:  The Overly-expressive style

The fastest growing and largest churches in Europe are Pentecostal and often made up of ethnic groups that are comfortable with that style of self-expression.  Evangelicalism requires a lot of intimacy and high levels of trust.  In low-trust societies like Bulgaria, or societies where people are expected to keep their personal thoughts and issues to themselves (such as Sweden and Finland), the evangelical form of religion is completely unnatural.  The charismatic Christian may say that the joy of Christ will fill them up and they will become extremely extroverted.  But there’s room for the silent, the shy, the modest in the Kingdom of God and that is often not recognized. 

A sincere Finn may be very curious about Christianity and wanting a relationship with God, but the extreme extroversion required to show that one’s “on fire Christianity” may lead to discouragement.  Once again, a particular style---one that fits very well with African, Latin American, and North American cultures, does not necessarily fit well in Europe.

The growth, when it unexpectedly happens in a place like Sweden, is often made up from immigrant communities, people who were already Christian or raised in Christian households, or who are unusual in their country for being so comfortable with a charismatic way of self-expression. 

Factor 10: Imitating American evangelical structures/high maintenance

Quite a few European churches have looked to Bill Hybels and Rick Warren for guidance on how to do church.  But Hybels and Warren had churches in places with a high population of Christians, in a volunteer society, in a place of abundant wealth, and a place where Christian volunteers with excellent organizational skills are not hard to find (Chicago, Los Angeles).  They have the freedom to dream up anything: time-consuming programs, large activities, and money to promote those activities.  This is not the case in Europe, yet many evangelical churches in Europe feel the need to have a band, have a light show, and do all the extra things that American churches do so well.  It creates a need for lots of volunteers, lots of money, lots of organizational skill and lots of time---all things that can be severely limited in the European setting. 

Factor 11:  Outside players and division

It often seems to be the case that small churches in Europe receive new people from other small Evangelical churches who come into the church and assume leadership.  Time and time again, I’ve seen too many churches that have an outside Christian come in and critique the church and create a division in the church.  They are often opinionated, left their last church under a cloud, and after a “honeymoon period,” begin to critique their new small church. 

With so few churches to choose from, and almost all of the churches struggling, it becomes very easy for new folks to come in and target the church pastor and leadership.  They identify the pastor as too weak, or the church music as too dull, or the theology unbiblical.  The most common criticism is a “dead spirit” or a lack of charismatic worship.  Even though evangelical European communities are small, there is a lot of church-shopping, hopping and disgruntlement.  Outside players can become a big influence very quickly because there are so few people needed to influence change in the church. 

Factor 12:  Ethnic Churches

As previously mentioned, it is often the case that evangelical churches in Europe are primarily ethnic or made up of immigrants:  Jamaican churches in London, Nigerian churches in Ukraine, Arab churches in Paris, or Chinese and Korean churches in Madrid.  They were often started by the first immigrants to that community, or are a part of the new wave of evangelical missions from the Non-Western world to the West.  They bring dynamism and sometimes significant resources to the evangelical movement in Europe.

These churches, however, are often unaware of how much their church style is tailor-made to fit their particular culture.  Nigerian-style of worship doesn’t really fit the average Norwegian.  The tolerance for authoritarian leadership in a Lebanese church may not go over well with the average Dutch person who expects more consensual decision-making.  The insistence on only speaking Korean and reaching Koreans, may alienate the secular French person. 

Often, ethnic churches are seeking to praise God and do discipleship, but they also are trying to preserve their cultural heritage.  Quite often they are unaware that they are structured in such a culturally-specific way.  It is often the case, as well, that they have no interest in reaching out to those of different nationalities. 

Factor 13:  The Cultural Christianity Factor

Because evangelicals are often demonized by Catholic, Lutherans, Anglicans, and Orthodox believers, they often retaliate by demonizing in return.   There are obviously key theological differences that are important and legitimate, but too often the evangelical forgets that the European’s whole society and family structure can be tied to their state religion.  Not being a part of Catholic or Orthodox rituals can have a dramatically isolating effect.  As with Muslims, the evangelical views these other Christian expressions as false teachings with nothing useful. 

The evangelical church often wants to separate from these other faith traditions and theology, but ends up removing them and demonizing them to the point that it is much more difficult for the church to be the salt of the Earth within the larger culture.  This is not always necessary. 

Insurmountable Obstacles? Moving Toward Hope

Most likely, doing church in Europe will always be difficult.  The continent has a lot of negative religious cultural baggage and secularism runs deep in Europe.  However, many evangelical churches are making things more difficult for themselves or living under an unnecessary cloud of self-condemnation. 

In order to be free to thrive, evangelical churches need to make some adjustments.  Churches need to be rooted more in community than trying to create an institution on a particular city block.  The church truly has to be the people.  There’s no need to offer every program, meet in the exact same location, or have all the extra equipment we see in most churches around the world.  Simply having a community that practices the faith together is enough.   Most people convert through friendship, family or crisis.  The European church needs to simply have a strong community that reflects a hopeful alternative to dead religion or secularism.

Pastors need to equate success more with journeying with people through life, than putting on a Sunday event and seeing numerical growth.  The secular European has a long way to go when they discover Christianity and it takes patience.  They need a community that will extend grace and love unconditionally.  They don’t need to be quickly viewed as someone to help manage a high-overhead organization or propagate the faith.  It means allowing the younger generations to look different and express their faith differently.  It means allowing the men’s barbeque or woman’s dinner and Bible study group to be the main point of community and the church.

It also means following the organic growth.  If the men’s barbeque or woman’s dinner and Bible study group is the place where the most intimate community is experienced, let that be the main focus of church.  There’s no need to expect a stereotypical Sunday service to be what defines the strength of the church.  It’s the barbeque that might truly influence the neighborhood and win new people.  Go to the places where there is traction, taking the Bible, prayer, and community as you go.  It may not be the case that those strongest moments of community are on Sunday or at the weekly Bible study and that is okay.  In the European context, it is probably better. 

Ethnic churches have to be honest about whether they really want to preach the Gospel to all the nations or just one.  And pastors need to be honest about their skill-sets and do the things they can do well—instead of trying to replicate everything done in the average American church. 

Instead of demonizing all of Catholicism or Orthodoxy, evangelical churches need to look for overlap.  It’s often the case that people in these other branches of Christianity are attracted to the intimacy and immediacy of evangelical faith, as well as the emphasis on community.  The old faith can be the one where they remain a cultural part of their family, while the evangelical faith can be their heart faith.  This will prove to be too controversial for many, but it is my opinion that without making that distinction between “cultural faith” and “heart faith;” a lot of people are being denied the opportunity to experiment and fall in love with Jesus.  There are plenty of Russians, Finns, Italians, and Greeks who want to have a genuine Christian faith experience.  They’ve never known there was an option outside of their national/cultural faith.  It is easy for evangelicals to view religion as something individualistic that we choose; but in many European cultures, national and family identity are inseparable from daily life.  There should be grace extended so that they may discover a form of Christianity they didn’t think possible. 

It is a myth that there was once a time when Europe was super-Christian.  Europeans often had a hard time leaving their pagan religions behind, there was often plenty of skepticism toward the church, and religious fervor and devotion was found in few people.  The reality is that few want to follow the revolutionary life of Jesus.  And in many places like Korea, Nigeria, and the United States, there are large churches filled with people that are simply going through the rituals—even in evangelical churches.  Doing church is always difficult in this fallen world.  But European churches have the opportunity to be free, and think outside of the box, by placing community ahead of institutional preservation.  It is certainly possible that the adaptable European church could be a model for the whole Christian world. 

 

About the Author:  Patrick Nachtigall is the Regional Coordinator for Europe and the Middle East for Global Strategy and leads the Three Worlds Team.  He is the author of 5 books on Christianity and globalization including "In God We Trust?:  A Challenge to American Evangelicals" and "Facing Islam Without Fear:  A Christian's Guide to Engaging the Muslim World" (also translated into German).  He has an M.A. from Yale University and has been to nearly 80 countries examining the church in a variety of settings.  Originally from Costa Rica, he has worked in Asia, North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America.  He lives in the Black Forest, Germany with his wife Jamie and son Marco.  He is available for consultations and public speaking.

Jamie Nachtigall: Hard at Work Around the World.

Jamie Nachtigall

Jamie is in Madrid, Spain this week hard at work. Among many of Jamie Nachtigall's duties as Regional Coordinator for Europe and the Middle East, getting employees settled in their new home-country is a key part of the job. Each country presents its own cultural and bureaucratic challenges. Getting work-permits, visas, tax ID numbers, submitting lots of official documents, birth certificates, and licenses is just the beginning.  Having grown up in Egypt and with plenty of experience living overseas in North Africa, Europe, and Asia; she is perfect for the job.  

In addition to that initial international paperwork, there is needing to teach new workers how to handle banking on two continents with multiple accounts, dealing with different currency exchange rates, and looking at real estate and furniture-shopping options in the new country. This includes dealing with foreign real estate websites and agencies. 

Then there is the emotional part: helping families process the move, prepare the family to become bi-cultural, locating the right school for the kids, helping minimize the culture shock and cultural adjustments, and helping set up a new (global) work routine where there is no normal anymore. There is also much needed preparation on the kinds of conflict that can arise in marriages and parent-child relationships when one re-locates overseas. 

Then there is all the financial training, learning to separate air and personal expenses, policies on operating fiscally responsible and preparing to pay US taxes as a citizen abroad. It's amazing that Jamie can navigate all these cultures and bureaucratic hurdles with ease. It's truly a unique skill. And all of this is just a small part of the job she does for Three Worlds. Thank you, Jamie!