Secularism, the Church, and the Way Forward: Discovering Church Renewal from Father Abraham: A Dialogue

By Richard H. Cox, Blake Barbera and Will Willimon

Secularism, the Church, and the Way Forward is a succinct yet descriptive dialogue between a nonagenarian church leader and a young pastor who are struggling with the reality of the rapidly morphing Western Protestant church. At times debatable, at others provocative, and with insights that induce conviction, the authors challenge, confuse, and enlighten the reader. Combining proven, multidisciplinary models with innovative approaches, the authors inspire a deeper understanding of the complexities surrounding the church's relationship to society. In so doing, they point the church's leaders toward the perilous yet necessary path of rediscovering its identity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Release date: Aug 5, 2021
• ISBN: 9781666710533

Richard H. Cox

Richard H. Cox (M.D., Ph.D., D.Min) is president emeritus of Forest Institute of Professional Psychology in Springfield, Missouri, and teaches in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University Medical School. He previously served on the faculties of Northwestern University Medical School and Rush University Medical School. An ordained clergyman in the Presbyterian Church (USA), Cox is the author of many journal articles and books, including The Sacrament of Psychology and Spirituality and Psychological Health.

Book preview

Chapter One

Wandering in the Wilderness

I’m so glad to finally find someone to talk to about my career problems. The pastor that referred me to you said that you came from a long line of church folks, and that even your name had something to do with it.

Yes, that’s true. My name, Steeplemaster, actually has been the family name for many generations. I come from a long line of German-Jews and our name was originally a Hebrew word for tower, and the German word for being a master at something was, meister. So, our name was actually Towermeister! For many generations my family kept vigilance over the church and its tower (steeple). That’s where the bells chime out the time, the chimes ring out hymns, and even at times the great organ can be heard coming out of it.

Wow, so once upon a time your family was literally occupied with protecting and preserving the church?

Our job was to be protectors of the physical church building. But the building, that is the wood and bricks, is just the box. A very important box, to be sure; just as was the Tabernacle for the Children of Israel. The box is to protect what is inside. Inside is where the holy things are kept and the very air breathes of God.

So, yes, my name is long, but has very deep meaning for me. My father’s first name was Abraham, but there are so many Abrahams in my heritage that we all have nicknames to tell us apart. My father’s nickname was Brahm, which is a shortened version of Abraham. His brother was called Abram. His father’s name was also Abraham, but his nickname was Avram, which is also a shortened Hebrew name for Abraham. My father wanted my first name to be Aaron. He said that I would be ordained to keep telling the story of God’s people, Israel. But, when I was a kid my friends often shortened my last name and called me Steeple, and it’s managed to stick for all these years. You can feel free to do so as well if you like.

Wow, that’s quite a legacy. I’m not sure I’m ready to give you a nickname quite yet. Although I am sure I’ll get around to feeling good about a shorter name for you at some point. Believe it or not, I don’t go by my first name either, and for the same reason as you! Hudson is actually my middle name, and Jacob is my first. But there are so many Jacobs in my family that my parents decided to call me by my second name in order to avoid confusion. So, it’s not all so strange, you having so many Abrahams in your family.

Well, let’s get on with our discussion. What seems to be bothering you about your job, Hudson?

It’s not so much my job, per se. It has to do with the church, itself. I keep telling myself that I’m overreacting. That what I’m seeing and sensing about the church is not really what’s going on. But I can’t help but think that I’m right.

What’s bothering you about the church, Hudson? I assume that you’re talking about your particular church.

Not just my church, the church as a whole, particularly the western church. Don’t get me wrong, my church is certainly included, it’s where I see things playing out before my eyes. But I fear that the issues I am seeing are happening all over.

How do you know?

Well, for starters, I meet with a group of other young pastors every other week for lunch. We usually talk about ministry and theology, but lately our conversations seem to be preoccupied with what’s happening in our churches. That’s why I talk about the church as a whole. I’m fairly certain that my church is not in a vacuum.

Well what do you think is happening?

To put it bluntly, the church is in the midst of a spiritual pandemic. Maybe not a pandemic, since we know God is working in different ways throughout the church worldwide, but at least an epidemic here in the west. And most people have no idea that it’s happening.

Hmm, a spiritual epidemic! That description would certainly be fitting of our times. What do you think is happening in the church that has you so concerned?

Where do I begin? If I were to try and put it in a very concise statement, I would say that the church is losing its identity. We no longer look and act like the church, but just like any other secular institution.

I need you to be more specific, Hudson, because I’m not sure what you’re talking about.

Well, for starters, almost everything our churches do these days is motivated by numbers: attendance numbers, web-site views, donations. We say we want people to come so they can hear the gospel, but I fear that we’re actually more motivated by our bottom line. This has been obvious to me and others for quite some time, but it feels like COVID-19 has exposed it more than ever, and as more churches are scrambling to cover their backsides, it has become obvious, dare I say blatant.

You know Hudson, off the top I agree with your initial assessment. COVID-19 has exposed something very secular about the church. But just like the children of Israel, factions of the church throughout history have wandered off course from time to time. The question is, how far off course are we?

I would say that this is a new type of wandering. Something the likes of which we haven’t seen, at least in this part of the world, in a long time. Or maybe ever.

Well what else do you see that makes you believe the church is wandering in a new kind of way?

The other day I went to a local church to hear a family member sing in the worship band. What I found was something I’ve experienced a lot lately. The message was watered down. It was mostly fluff. It all sounded good, there was plenty of hallelujah’s and amens, but there was almost no substance. I guess I’m the one that is confused though, because afterwards people in the lobby were bragging about how wonderful the service was. A guy I know named Hank was so glad the sermon was short, and another woman raved about the homey jokes the preacher told. They both said it was so much better than listening to long scripture passages from the Bible, or listening to some preacher ramble on. All the while I was thinking to myself, did I miss something?

And you think this is going on everywhere?

I can’t help but think so. Every time I look up it seems like another pastor is starting what they call a leadership podcast or teaching on so-called practical life-principles. I’m not even sure most pastors preach out of the Bible anymore. The group of young pastors I meet with all feel the same way. Churches are catering their messages more and more to unbelievers who they want to feel at-home and comfortable in the church, and the result is that the substance is being lost, even though many pastors still have good intentions.

What do you mean by that, exactly? Do you think other church members feel the same?

What I mean is that a lot of the messages we hear today sound Christian, but they are not gospel focused or even biblically based. A preacher may quote a text or read a passage of scripture, but often it’s only done to check a box, and the messages have nothing to do with the biblical text. And when I say that pastors still have good intentions, what I mean is that they want their messages to be relevant to people who aren’t biblically literate or who aren’t even believers. That might be well-intentioned, but I think it’s the wrong approach. The result is that messages are becoming more and more candy-coated and feel good rather than the kind of truth that convicts and promotes conversion.

I would have to agree with you on that point. It seems that good old-fashioned expository sermons were based on scripture and maybe used an illustration or two to underline a point. Now the post-modern motivational sermon tends to be several stories hooked together by some out-of-context scripture verse. Is that what you