[RC] Transformational Christianity

[Dr. Ernie Prabhakar]

Dear Centroids,

As most of you know, I come from a fairly conservative Christian 
background (as do probably over half the members of this list).   As 
part of my Radical Centrist journey, though, I've come to believe that 
both sides in every polarized debate have some truth and some 
falsehood, especially when the two communities are comparable in size 
and vitality.

Thus, intellectual honesty has forced me to reexamine and critically 
evaluate the implicit assumptions of the conservative Christian 
tradition that I've grown up with -- an intensely uncomfortable and 
unsettling process.   Not so much to reject those assumptions or that 
community, but to try to understand what is a valid conviction 
essential to the community, and what is merely a 'petrified opinion' 
carried along due to intellectual laziness or convenience.

In this, I've tried to apply what I call my "Epistemology of Empirical 
Essentialism", or E3 -- that is, a logical system for understanding how 
we know what we know, based on essential core truths validated by 
empirical experiences.   E3 is designed to provide a common framework 
for interpreting both supernatural and natural experiences, as opposed 
the dichotomous view of "religion" vs. "science."    In this view, all 
knowledge is experience-driven, though different communities use 
slightly different paradigms with varying standards of evidence, and 
often conflicting conceptions of what is possible.

The end result of this investigation is something I call 
Transformational Christianity.  It is based on the sort of meta-church 
movements I was involved in at San Jose (e.g., www.alphadinners.org).  
In particular, I see it as something that avoids what I consider the 
often valid criticisms of traditional evangelicalism 
(closed-mindedness, self-righteousness, derogation of other religions), 
while still affirming the dynamic value-creating truths at the heart of 
the Christian message.

Enclosed is the current version of a Wikipedia article I've written 
(which so far, nobody else has modified, except to fix typos).  I 
suspect that several members of this list might still find it 
uncomfortable, though perhaps for different reasons.  I hope nobody 
finds it offensive, and if so please accept my apologies.  At the very 
least I think it is an honest question to ask, and I would welcome your 
input on how to improve the answer.

Yours truly,
dr.e

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformationalism

Transformationalism

 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Transformationalism, or Transformational Christianity, represents a 
fusion of evangelicalism, Pentecostalism, and ecumenicalism that 
started becoming prominent in the early 21st century. Unlike previous 
movements, it is typically embodied in regional meta-church 
organizations -- alliances of churches from different denominational 
backgrounds -- rather than particular churches, denominations, or 
parachurch organizations.

  Transformational Christianity interprets the gospel from a unified 
perspective of transforming individuals, relationships, and 
institutions. It thus tends to align intellectually with evangelicals, 
emotionally with charismatics, and socially with ecumenicals - though 
only up to a point. The emphasis is less on being theologically or 
politically correct than on being effective in transforming the world 
around you (and yourself). It thus tends to reflect the kingdom 
theology of Gordon Fee's radical middle approach to Christianity, which 
characterizes the role of the church as manifesting God's kingdom on 
earth.

  Table of contents

1 Marketplace Ministers

2 History

3 Comparisons

4 Future directions


  Marketplace Ministers

  A defining aspect of transformationalism is its focus on what are 
called marketplace ministers. In this context, as in many Christian 
circles, the term 'marketplace' is used to represent business, 
education, and government -- i.e., everything outside the church and 
family. The heroes of most other movements are celebrated for their 
church-related activities (e.g., evangelists, missionaries, bishops, 
apostles, etc.). In contrast, the heroes of transformationalism are 
lionized for their work outside the church. Importantly, they are 
expected to deliver secular success (new business, increased profits or 
efficiency, improved workplace conditions) as a precondition to 
spiritual success (conversions, transformed lifestyles, formal 
acknowledgement of Christianity, etc.). They are not valued merely for 
making money, or even just for bringing people into the church; rather, 
they are seen as the primary carriers for bringing the "kingdom of God" 
or "presence of Jesus Christ" into the world.

  In one sense, this is a return to the ideals of the Protestant 
reformation, with its emphasis on the "priesthood of all believers" and 
the value of secular work. The key difference is that 
transformationalism is set in the context of a post-Christian culture, 
where personal evangelism is both possible and (in this view) 
necessary. Thus, secular work is now viewed primarily as a platform for 
evangelization. At the same time, transformationalists would also 
affirm -- and celebrate -- the intrinsic value of work, both as an 
aspect of worship and as a service to society.

  History

  Transformational Christianity got its start in the Argentine revival 
of the 1990s. In several places this resulted in churches across a city 
joining together to take responsibility for the spiritual development 
of not just individuals and families, but the marketplace -- that is, 
to "pastor their city." Groups such as Harvest Evangelism developed and 
publicized this idea of Christians as change agents in the marketplace 
-- not merely to witness and make money for the church, but rather to 
help those organizations become more successful on their terms.

  Argentinian evangelist Ed Silvoso popularized this approach in his 
book Anointed for Business, which introduced the term Marketplace 
Transformation. When transplanted to the U.S. and adopted by 
organizations such as Pray the Bay, this idea morphed into a more 
general view of transformation as a key attribute of the Christian 
life. This coincided with an apparently spontaneous increase in the use 
of the term 'transformation' by a wide range of different churches and 
organizations during 2004. Transformational movements are often 
mediated by other trans-denominational initiatives such as the Alpha 
Course.

  Comparisons

  Transformationalism is most similar to the empowered evangelicalism of 
the Vineyard movement, from which it arguably drew most of its 
inspiration. However, by shifting the focus to large-scale 
transformation rather than merely individual conversions, it is 
adopting many of the social-involvement techniques and approaches of 
mainline Christianity (as opposed to the more confrontational approach 
of fundamentalism), which places it closer to progressive 
evangelicalism. Transformational groups typically involve Catholic, 
Protestant, and independent churches (though not borderline groups such 
as Mormons). Most still tend to have an evangelical, or even 
fundamentalist, statement of faith; however, they are generally more 
concerned with being inclusive than exclusive, and often will attempt 
to accommodate individuals and churches with more liberal theological 
views if they share a compatible vision of the goals and means of 
transformation.

  Future directions

  Transformational Christianity is a very young movement; since it has 
few structures, creeds, or spokespeople, its future direction is still 
unclear. However, those same grass-roots attributes speak to the 
vitality of the movement, and hold forth the promise of rapid growth 
and development. From a Christian perspective, one could say that its 
future evolution is in the hands of the Holy Spirit rather than human 
beings, which perhaps is as it should be.

  Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformationalism"
  This page was last modified 14:16, 12 May 2004. All text is available 
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License (see Copyrights 
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-----------
Ernest N. Prabhakar, Ph.D. <DrErnie at RadicalCentrism.org>
RadicalCentrism.org is an anti-partisan think tank near Sacramento, 
California, dedicated to developing and promoting the ideals of 
Reality, Character, Community and Humility as expressed in our Radical 
Centrist Manifesto: Ground Rules of Civil Society 
<http://RadicalCentrism.org/manifesto.html>