By Mark A. Taylor
I don”t remember the author of the essay or the year it appeared in CHRISTIAN STANDARD. I know it was decades ago, probably in the late “60s or early “70s. And I remember the question the writer raised:
“When will the Restoration Movement start moving again?”
The essay was a plea for our churches and leaders and institutions to step out of their lethargy and isolation and to actually make something happen in our world for Christ”s sake.
Maybe someone listened, because no one in Christian churches and churches of Christ today is pleading for something to move. Instead, we”re just trying to keep up with what”s happening all around us! We point to our gains in church planting and missions and multisite churches and know there”s more progress than any one of us can quantify. We”re pleased to see our leaders leading leaders from Christian groups besides our own and writing books for major evangelical publishers. We”re proud of our megachurches and hear that we have more of them per capita than any other church group in America.
There”s a vitality among us today that many could not have imagined when that article appeared so much earlier in our lifetimes.
But movements by their very nature are impossible to control, and their futures are difficult to predict. Roy Lawson points that out in his article this week. And writer Dick Alexander (while noting all the energy he sees in our group) claims that our movement to restore the New Testament church is dead. He says we need a new vision to challenge a new generation.
So here”s the irony: Today our fellowship of churches is showing more vigor than we”ve seen in at least a generation. But at the same time many influencers among us demonstrate confusion about who we are and where we”re going. Their opinion of “us” ranges from ambivalence to apathy, and a few express downright hostility.
But Roy and Dick were not negative at our contributing editors and publishing committee retreat this January. Although they expressed some incisive concerns, you”ll discover their affection and hope for our fellowship when you read their presentations in this issue.
CHRISTIAN STANDARD is committed to helping keep Christian churches connected. One of the ways we do this is by inviting dialogue about issues we”re facing. Perhaps none of those is more central than considering who “we” are and what God may be calling us to do in today”s generation.
Roy and Dick have started the discussion. We hope many readers will join with them. Please send your response and your ideas to [email protected].
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