Movement Ideology and Eschatology among US Churches of Christ

Mission and the Church-Academy Rift [6]

Series: Mission and the Church-Academy Rift

1. Chapter Preview: “Mission between Theory and Practice”

2. The Lay of the Land in Twenty-First-Century Missiology

3. Implications of the American Theological Higher Education Crisis

4. The Majority-World Paradigm Shift in Theological Education

5. Problems with Movement Ideology

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In this essay, I bring my critique of movement ideology in the previous post to bear on my tradition. This will be of limited interest to readers from other backgrounds, but it represents the kind of self-analysis that might be useful in other contexts. The eschatological underpinnings of movement ideology are a widespread problem, and if Western Christianity is to overcome the church-academy divide, I believe we have to address it. Doing so requires us all to unpack our distinctive theological histories and work constructively toward a healthier vision.

There are several mission organizations affiliated with Churches of Christ whose published statements I might survey to find expressions of movement ideology. But I’m not interested in calling anyone out, and such a process is ultimately valuable as an internal audit in any case. While I do hope that this discussion finds space in our organizations, I am even more interested in the theological vision that we share—or may share.