Sabbatical Reseach Question

For those interested, I'm including a description of my sabbatical research proposal. I will be working on this project until Christmas.  And BTW, sabbatical is wonderful!  No pressures of congregational life, a quiet space in which to work, and being wonderfully free when I get home from work!  I just have to figure out how to do this all the time!

Project Proposal

I am interested in the contemporary dialogue about how churches engage and influence the society they occupy. My main interest is in Protestant congregations influenced by North American evangelicalism.

In the contemporary dialogue, the work of theologian Stanley Hauerwas occupies a key role. Hauerwas combines the work of Mennonite theologian John Howard Yoder and philosopher Alistair MacIntyre. His position on this topic can be summarized as follows:

First, he argues that the only way for the church to have credibility is for the character of the church’s members as well as the quality of the church’s shared life to bear direct relationship to the narratives of

Israel

and Jesus. People within the church community must display Christian virtues in order for their belief to be credible. He argues that the church is primarily about shaping people into a distinct community through the great narratives of the Bible. As such, he proposes that the church recover its place as a "counter-cultural” community.

Second, in contrast to the social gospel and liberal Protestantism, he argues that rather than proposing a universal ethic for a society, the church ought to remain a witness to the “trueness” of their foundational narratives through the character of their life. They ought to separate themselves from the “liberal” values of society and expose its inner problems.

Third, Hauerwas tries to distinguish his approach from sectarianism. He argue that the church should resist the urge to withdraw, but instead through the character of its life be a witnessing community that offers an alternative to those alienated by the forces within contemporary society.

In summary, Hauerwas argues that only through the recovery of a counter-cultural ethic, shaped by the narratives of the Bible and divorced from the values of modern society, can the church present a faithful and credible witness and in fact be a valuable contributor to society.

Personal Engagment with the Research Topic

I would characterize my own theological approach as similar to that of Hauerwas. However, increasingly I am experiencing dissonance between my theological commitments and the realities of pastoral ministry and congregational life. I would characterize three main points of tension:

First, in the face of Hauerwas’ desire to have the church to be a community shaped by the narrative of

Israel

and Jesus, I am acutely aware that people cannot be primarily shaped by only one narrative (even the so-called Christian one). People in congregations are shaped by a multiplicity of different and sometimes competing forces. I wonder if it is even a useful project to try and shape a people with a common identity and character.

Second, I can characterize the most difficult aspect of my job as negotiating the vastly different definitions that individual church members have of “the Christian story” and what Christian character and virtue looks like. In my congregation there is no consensus on what Christian characters and virtues are.

Third, my own reading of the New Testament reveals that the heart of Christianity is not a question of developing character or certain virtues. Nor is it identifying right and wrong belief. Rather, in my opinion, the New Testament is a redemptive story that reveals the underlying problems with the human condition and offers a way to deal with those problems. Thus, Hauerwas’ emphasis on character and virtue seems to ignore the more foundational themes of the New Testament.

Fourth, I have observed that speaking of the church as counter-culture can lead to people withdrawing from real social engagement, and instead merely decrying all the ways in which the culture is no longer “Christian.” My desire as a pastor is to help the church promote critical societal engagement and responsible citizenship. I worry that Hauerwas’ view moves in the opposite direction.

Method

I am proposing a three-pronged approach to exploring these questions. First, I will read a representative sample of Hauerwas’ work to gain a better sense of how the church ought to engage and influence the society it occupies. Second, I will evaluate the work of people who are trying to apply Hauerwas’ views to concrete, pastoral and congregational settings. I will then evaluate those applications and see if they have a reasonable chance of success if carefully applied. Really, I am interested to discover if Hauerwas’ theories are able to be applied in congregational settings. And finally, I would like to gain an appreciation for the major critiques of Hauerwas’ views and see if they match my own.

Reading List

Carter, Craig A. Rethinking Christ and Culture: A Post-Christendom Perspective.

Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2006.

Rodney Clapp, A Peculiar People: The Church as Culture in a Post-Christian Society.

Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1996.

Hauerwas, Stanley. A Community of Character. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1981.

Hauerwas, Stanley. The Peaceable Kingdom. Notre Dame:University of Notre Dame Press, 1991.

Hauerwas, Stanley. After Christendom. .Notre Dame: Abingdon Press, 1991.

Hauerwas, Stanley and William Williom. Resident Aliens. Nashville: Abingdon, 1989.

Hauerwas, Stanley. The Hauerwas Reader. Durham: Duke University Press, 2001.

Huebner, Chris. A Precarious Peace: Yoderian Explorations on Theology, Knowledge and Identity. Scottsdale: Herald Press, 2006.

Kennison, Phil. Life on the Vine: Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit in Christian Community. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, October 1999.

Stout, Jeffrey. Democracy and Tradition. Princeton:Princeton University Press, 2004.

Comments

[James]

Hey David. Glad you are enjoying the sabbatical. I love the question and issues you are addressing in your reading and reflection. I would be interested in following your progress as you reflect. Hopefully you will post more here on your blog.

Say Hi to Alison and the family.

James

By the way, we welcomed baby #3 a few weeks ago. Carly Grace.