TRAVELING ON PRIVATE ROADS WITHIN GATED COMMUNITIES

The first date we need to explore is1925 The Scopes Monkey Trial: The Liberal/Fundamentalist Controversies:
(Ministry Passion vs. Correct Thinking and Correct Behavior)

The Liberal/Fundamentalist Controversies have their roots in the debates over Darwin’s Origin of the Species written in the 19th century. For churches, the battle over evolution verses creation was really a battle over the inerrancy of scripture. The early Post-Darwinian theological battles between Christian Liberals and Fundamentalists were more intense in Europe than they were in the U.S. In America the Liberal/Fundamentalist fight was introduced to mainstream church culture by the Scopes Monkey trial; and the fight raged unabated for four decades, till the mid 1960s.

The IFCA: I Fight Christians Anywhere

Christians fought over the Inerrancy of Scripture, the Rapture of the Church, the Perseverance of the Saints, the Work of the Hoy Spirit, the Gifts of the Spirit, The Role of Women in the Church, etc. Liberals fought with Evangelicals who fought with Charismatic’s who fought with Fundamentalists who fought with everyone (The Independent Fundamentalist Christian Association, the IFCA, has been dubbed the “I Fight Christians Anywhere” movement).

During the four decades following 1925 the larger “system” that churches operate within (1) seminaries, (2) denominations and (3) publishing houses focused primarily on rightly dividing the word of truth. As a result Sunday School Quarterlies were much more likely to contain elaborate lessons on the Travels of Saint Paul than they were lessons on understanding and reaching the new immigrant populations.

Emerging People Groups

Ministering to the host of new emerging people groups on the American landscape was not on the agendas of most church, seminary and denominational leaders. Nor did information on emerging people groups make into the publications, except in a peripheral way. As a result, churches in Post WWII America, have made only token efforts to minister to the addicted, the imprisoned, refugees, the disabled, etc. (Most churches even ignored the very large and visible emergence of the Street People during the 60’s and 70’s. The Jesus Movement took place among Street People largely in spite of the churches, not because of them).

In fairness to the leaders in the larger church system it is important to remember that America in 1925 was a much simpler place than it is now. There was a prison population but it wasn’t the largest in the world. People had addictions but there was little awareness of the severity and number of addictions that we know about today. But there is little excuse for continuing to ignore the new people groups throughout the 20th century.

It seems to be me that we are more concerned to be on our private road behind the gated walls than reaching God's lost. Luke 15 is a great read.