the third way. church for the rest of us, part 1

I live in a beautiful part of central Pennsylvania.  Lancaster County is known for the anabaptist community, especially the Amish.  It is known for farm preservation and conservative politics.
In Lancaster County, there are two primary ways of religious expression: Conservative American Evangelicalism or non-practicing, non-religious.  I am neither of these two things.  I am a practicing religious Christian and I am not a conservative evangelical.  Sometimes I feel that I have more in common with non-practicing peers than with my religious friends.  There are a few progressive mainline churches, even within the Mennonite community.  But these are not the most prominent religious identification  in the county.  First, I intend to unpack some things about the religious community.

Many of my religious friends, who are in the Conservative Evangelical camp, attend large non-denominational churches.  These churches have multi-million dollar, state-of-the-art facilities.  They have large, paid staff people and tremendous human and financial resources. They tend to exclude women from leadership.  They offer a variety of programs that meet the needs of many individuals and families. Their worship style is contemporary, employing excellent pop/rock music, inspiring and captivating videos, and excellent speakers. They offer small group experiences to build relational connections and personal Christian education.  My impression, however, is that they have sacrificed significant aspects of Christian tradition and theological expression in order to be culturally relevant enough to grow.  I'm not sure if they are making disciples of Jesus Christ or if they are making what I call "American christians."
American christians believe in God and Jesus.  They believed Jesus died to take away sins.  They believe that a personal commitment to Jesus Christ gives salvation.  They understand salvation as an individual choice that has been inspired by the work of the Holy Spirit through the testimony and prayers of believers. They practice believers baptism.  Baptism is a symbol of one's commitment to Christ. They believe that a Christian life is the best kind of life and that God blesses the faithful.  Their primary religious text is the New Testament of the bible, mainly the letters of St. Paul.  Their way of understanding the work of God in Jesus Christ comes from those letters.  Their reading/interpretation of the rest of the bible is informed and guided by those very rich theological texts.  They believe in a coming day of judgment when God will separate the righteous from the unrighteous.  The righteous will be saved, taken up to heaven, and given eternal life with God.  The unrighteous will be damned to hell.  The bible is without error, reveals God's true intentions for humankind, and is "God-breathed and useful for teaching, reproving, correction, and training in righteousness."(2 Timothy 3:16).  They take the bible literally as a manual or guide for the church's life and work. They actively seek to convert non-believers.
They hold beliefs that are similar to other Christians, including mainline and orthodox Christians.  Some of what they say and do seems pretty kosher. But they are not rooted or located within historic Christianity.  They have rejected these roots in favor of American individualism.  They are independent bodies with no concern for ecumenical relations.  They needn't acknowledge other Christians.  In fact, they ignore other churches.  They do not form partnerships with other Christian bodies.
American Evangelicalism does not reorient the self.  In contrast, a reading of the gospels begins with Jesus calling people to a reorientation from sin (self-centered denial of God's sovereignty) to follow a new way of life with God.  The "American christian revolution", however, has been to insist that the enlightened, independent self remains at the center of everything.  This philosophy is not classically Christian.  Classic Christianity begins with a reorientation of life that places Jesus of Nazareth at the center of the world.  To repent is to have one's life transformed by the presence of God in Jesus of Nazareth, to include his social agenda, his execution, and his resurrection.  God's reign is both announced and demonstrated, in direct conflict with the world's powers: political, economic, and social.  Jesus Christ does not establish democracy, but he does embody a new kind of freedom.  American evangelicalism replaces the public reign of Christ with a personal decision that gives the individual the freedom to choose Jesus. One cultural accommodation they have made is to embrace consumer, market-driven economics as a way to reach people.  They employ competitive market practices to increase their share of the religious consumer market.  Their use of current technologies reflects an impulse to appeal to a mass audience. Their success is quantifiable.  
Classic Christianity is sacramental and, therefore, announces the will of God who chooses to act decisively on behalf of a sinful and broken world through the ministry of Jesus the Christ.  God's transforming power is freely given to people, who are saved by grace through faith.  God has chosen to adopt people as sons and daughters, because Jesus sent His Spirit to dwell in human hearts. God's agency does not require the free market to garner the attention of consumers.  God is not selling salvation to American buyers.    
Conservative American Evangelicalism announces a social agenda that supports other conservative American values, which may not be consistent with the social agenda of Jesus.  (More of that in my third column.) Private morality is essential to American evangelicalism.  The culture wars have to do with American evangelicals' very public acceptance of some values and rejection of others. Homosexuality and abortion have become critical issues in the battle for the hearts and minds of Americans.   They would denounce gay marriage, but not divorce.  They reject abortion and accept the economic plight of single mothers, who make up the highest percentage of the poor in the U.S.
American evangelicals do good works, too.  They are quickly becoming the new Protestant majority in the U.S.  They have strength in numbers.  Their culturally accommodating medium resonates with entertainment addicted young Americans.  They are not going away.
But they convey a message that alienates a portion of the population, even in Lancaster County.  This alienation is leaving a lot of people religiously and theologically homeless.  I want to address this growing homeless population in my next entry.