I picked up a copy of Os Guinness’ Dining with the Devil: The Megachurch Movement Flirts with Modernity yesterday. It is an interesting read so far. He has a great deal to say about modernity and its influence upon the church. Keep in mind that this book was first published in 1993, and his words still ring true, even in the context of an encroaching post-modernity. Guinness defines modernity as “the character and system of the world produced by the forces of development and modernization, especially capitalism, industrialized technology, and telecommunications.” He then comments:
The impact of modernity in the United States means that the Christian faith has lost much of its integrity and effectiveness in shaping the lives of believers. … A central fact of modern times is faith’s search for its own authority. A central challenge of modern times is faith’s need to recover its integrity and effectiveness. … Modernity undermines the church’s capacity both to demonstrate the integrity and effectiveness of faith and to provide an answer to America’s crisis. [Evangelicals’] captivity to modernity is the reason why faith’s influence on the culture has decreased while culture’s influence on faith has increased.
This is not far removed from Paul’s admonition not to be conformed to the world’s way of thinking in Romans 12. Guinness continues by noting the special challenge modernity poses for true revival in the church:
Quite simply, it is a fact of history that the church of Christ has not experienced any major nationwide revival under the conditions of advanced modernity. On the one hand, modernity undercuts true dependence on God’s sovereign awakening by fostering the notion that we can effect revival by human means. On the other hand, modernity makes many people satisfied with privatized, individualistic, and subjective experiences that are pale counterfeits of true revival. While many Christians no longer have a practical expectation of revival, those who count on God’s sovereignty over modernity have every reason to look to God for revival once again.
If the reader is interested, Os Guinness appeared with Michael Horton on the White Horse Inn broadcast a few weeks ago (in a two-part interview). I have only listened to part one, but I would direct you to the broadcasts here and here and encourage you to listen.
A thought on the church today: If we look at Revelation 3:14– the Laodicean Church– as the type of the church in the days of “modernity” then we see our major crisis today is that we are lukewarm. We need to concentrate on how we can buy the gold, white raiment and eyesalve. If anyone not a member of Midlane Park ARP is reading this comment, I encourage you to visit us, 6209 Six Mile Lane in Louisville, Ky., 11 AM Worship, and I believe you will discover these treasures by Pastor Tim’s preaching.
“I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and [that] the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.” Rev 3:18