Inspirational Sources for Church Development

The purpose of this article is to identify and discuss key issues in church growth movement and the litera- ture following in its wake, which represents vital sources for the emerging discipline in practical theology of church development. The church growth movement has had a strong impact on churches around the globe. Factors such as scriptural authority, evangelism, cultural openness and relevance, pastoral leader- ship, organization, planning, vision and goals are among issues and factors discussed in the literature. Among the shortcomings of church growth thinking is an all-too-simple theoretical reasoning, a lack of causal modeling and theological issues only superficially discussed. Oftentimes, the growth is assumed to come simply by addressing a few factors. Nevertheless, several of the issues and factors that are identified and discussed have influenced subsequent work on church development.

The Importance of Hypotheses in Church-Based Research

The role of hypotheses is central both in church-related research and in Christian ministry. Hypotheses guide the collection of data to determine what is true in research and provide tentative guidelines for action in ministry, even when they are not yet confirmed. Well-constructed hypotheses are based on previous research and provide clear potential solutions to research problems. They succinctly posit a testable relationship between two or more variables. Such hypotheses can be tested through appropriately designed research. Statistical techniques can indicate to what degree the evidence collected supports the hypotheses. In church-based research, hypotheses to be examined can come from a body of literature (e.g., the Church Growth Movement), a practitioner’s experience, theories from other domains (e.g., the Social Brain Hypothesis; Dunbar, 1993), and modeling phenomena using analogies (e.g., modeling the church lifecycle as an epidemic; Hayward, 2015, 2018).

Digitalisierung, Ökologie und das Gute Leben

Digitalisation creates problems: supply chains that are not completely fair, massive consumption of electricity, an immense amount of e-waste, meagre efforts to recycle, etc. This is why this book argues for a more radical culture of reducing and forgoing our use of digital technologies, which all ideas about sustainability have shied away from until now. Using the post-growth movement, the concept of a ‘good life’ and the ubuntu ideology, it demonstrates how one can live one’s life without much recourse to digital technology.

Circumnutation and Growth of Inflorescence Stems of Arabidopsis thaliana in Response to Microgravity under Different Photoperiod Conditions

Circumnutation is a periodic growth movement, which is an important physiological mechanism of plants to adapt to their growth environments. Gravity and photoperiod are two key environmental factors in regulating the circumnutation of plants, but the coordination mechanism between them is still unknown. In this study, the circumnutation of Arabidopsis thaliana inflorescence stems was investigated on board the Chinese recoverable satellite SJ-10 and the Chinese spacelab TG-2. Plants were cultivated in a special plant culture chamber under two photoperiod conditions [a long-day (LD) light: dark cycle of 16:8 h, and a short-day (SD) light: dark cycle of 8:16 h]. The plant growth and movements were followed by two charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras. The parameter revealed a daily (24 h) modulation on both TG-2 and SJ-10, under both the LD and the SD conditions. The inhibition of circumnutation was more apparent by microgravity under the SD in comparison with that under the LD condition, suggesting the synergistic effects of the combined microgravity and photoperiod on the circumnutation in space. In addition, an infradian rhythm (ca. 21 days long) on the TG-2 was also observed.

Dunbar’s Number goes to Church: The Social Brain Hypothesis as a third strand in the study of church growth

The study of church growth has historically been divided into two strands of research: the Church Growth Movement and the Social Science approach. This article argues that Dunbar’s Social Brain Hypothesis represents a legitimate and fruitful third strand in the study of church growth, sharing features of both previous strands but identical with neither. We argue that five predictions derived from the Social Brain Hypothesis are accurately borne out in the empirical and practical church growth literature: that larger congregations lead to lower active engagement from members; that single-leader congregations are limited to around 150 members; that congregations of 150 are further stratified into smaller functioning groups; that congregations expanding beyond 150 members undergo internal tensions and are forced to reorganise; and that congregations larger than 150 will require structural sub-divisions to retain active member involvement. While these assertions are reflected in the church growth literature and articulate the common sense assumptions of church growth experts, the Social Brain Hypothesis offers a coherent theoretical framework which unifies these observations and thereby represents a distinctive contribution to church growth studies.

White Evangelicals as a “People”: The Church Growth Movement from India to the United States

ABSTRACTThis article begins with a simple question: How did white evangelicals respond to the civil rights movement? Traditional answers are overwhelmingly political. As the story goes, white evangelicals became Republicans. In contrast, this article finds racial meaning in the places white evangelicals, themselves, insisted were most important: their churches. The task of evangelization did not stop for a racial revolution. What white evangelicals did with race as they tried to grow their churches is the subject of this article. Using the archives of the leading evangelical church growth theorists, this article traces the emergence and transformation of the Church Growth Movement (CGM). It shows how evangelistic strategies created in caste-conscious India in the 1930s came to be deployed in American metropolitan areas decades later. After first resisting efforts to bring these missionary approaches to the United States, CGM founder Donald McGavran embraced their use in the wake of the civil rights movement. During the 1970s, the CGM defined white Americans as “a people” akin to castes or tribes in the Global South. Drawing on the revival of white ethnic identities in American culture, church growth leaders imagined whiteness as pluralism rather than hierarchy. Embracing a culture of consumption, they sought to sell an appealing brand of evangelicalism to the white American middle class. The CGM story illuminates the transnational movement of people and ideas in evangelicalism, the often-creative tension between evangelical practices and American culture, and the ways in which racism inflected white evangelicals’ most basic theological commitments.

Neo-monastics in North Carolina, de-growth and a theology of enough

This article examines one intentional Christian community's attempts to live a life that eschews consumerism and material growth for a life focused on spiritual growth and collectivity. I articulate intentional Christian living, often referred to as neo-monasticism, with the de-growth movement. I do so to offer insight into the practice and pragmatics of de-growth's broadly understood call to revalue the ideals of life in an effort to reduce consumption. Neo-monasticism and de-growth have much in common including the critique of consumerism, individualism and increasing inequality. Both also promote relationships, locality, sharing, slowing down and quality of life over efficiency and incessant work. Drawing on four years of research with one residential Christian community, I suggest that the most challenging aspect of sharing a life together and slowing down is not simply consuming less or pooling resources but rethinking and living social values not driven by a consumerist-growth paradigm. While some de-growth advocates, such as Serge Latouche, promote ideals of harmony and oneness, in practice, living simply and sharing a life together is challenging and conflictual, even when religiously inspired. Key Words: De-growth, neo-monasticism, emerging church, millennial generation, Christianity, sharing economy

Mission

This chapter discusses Anglican practice of and engagement in mission, concluding with some suggested future trajectories. The Five Marks of Mission are considered in some detail along with other contextual trends such as the church growth movement, mission-shaped church and Fresh Expressions of church which have been influential throughout parts of the Anglican Communion. The theology of missio Dei is discussed along with the importance of contextualization for mission. Migration and migrant churches are described as a mission issue along with their impact on the growth of local churches as well as its influence on the shape of World Christianity. The chapter concludes with reflections on the role and place of Anglicanism within the world church.