Monday, January 27, 2025

*** This is a rough transcript of today’s show ***

It is the 27th of January 2025. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

A very happy Monday to you- the end of January- cold in most places here in North America, at least 54 degrees where I am sometime midday, and that’s about as cold as we’re gonna want it here…

We head to the mailbag today with nary a reference to football because the season ended last weekend, for all intents and purposes.

I have a stack of good mailbag questions- some of which take me a little longer than others (and I dig those). We are looking at a week of mailbag or a weekend mailbag show to clean out the inbox a bit- but as I was working on a fascinating question about Russian Christianity, I got a question in my inbox from a long-time listener that dovetailed with some other reading I’ve been doing- so I’m going to jump the queue for Zach who used to write from Staples, Minnesota- he is now in Cheyenne Wyoming- the most populous town in Wyoming- probably a hundred or so people there… HUGE! It’s the “Magic City of the Plains” and home to the “Frontier Days”- check that out.

Zach comes to us from the Christian AND Missionary Alliance- we’ve talked about them before- A.B. Simpson’s two groups- not a “denomination” at first but an alliance of two groups- both emphasizing the Christian Life and Missionary endeavors.

Zach wrote that he was confused about church bodies that don’t emphasize missions- especially in light of the Great Commission- Matthew 28:19-20.

Two things- first, a recent study from the Barna group found that 51% of people asked- if “church-going” Americans- didn’t know what the ‘Great Commission’ is, 25% said they knew the phrase but not exactly what it meant, while 17% correctly identified the commission and passage.

So… yikes, I suppose. But there’s another curious historical interpretation of the Great Commission worth noting- especially outside of modern Evangelical traditions. That is, the Great Commission was given to the Disciples, to the church, and not necessarily to individual believers.

You might remember (if you’re one of the 17%) that the Great Commission calls for Jesus’ disciples to make other disciples and to baptize- and if you can’t baptize- this argument goes- then the commission isn’t for you.

I will note that there is a trend in Pre-Reformation Western Christianity that saw the “real work” of the church to be left to professionals. Part of the Reformation tradition was breaking this down- the leveling aspects of Christianity that see all on the same footing. The more “democratic,” the more we see church bodies opening up to the laity to do things- like teach, disciple, baptize….

There are Christian groups who have historically not been “proselytizing”- the broad term for trying to recruit others for your particular group. Part of the tradition of the “Christian and Missionary Alliance” was that it was a missionary society- and we have a number of these that were founded to help push the missionary spirit of the 19th and 20th centuries- that they were needed tells us something about the lack of emphasis on missions and the fact that these societies became denominations in and of themselves tells us that 1) there was a desire to emphasize missions, conversions and baptisms and 2) some of the denominations which came out of the Reformation had become less democratic and had recreated the notion of a “professional” class of teachers and baptizers. 

I will note that modern American/North American/Western idea of missions has been largely “out there” oriented and “get to the moment of decision” oriented, and we might note Christian traditions which have emphasized the other, slower aspects of mission work- like friendship and building trust… and others have used that as an excuse to not do the hard work- the “go and baptize” parts…

Oh man, and Zach- when it comes to the American “denominational” history and how we’ve used “alliance” and “connection” to get around things in the past- and how denominational structures are being bypassed today so easily… good things? Bad things? Let’s keep unpacking the changing face of world missions and how our local churches reflect that… good stuff, Zach, and thanks as always for the question- and don’t get lost there in the metropolis that is Cheyenne…

The last word for today from the daily lectionary- 1st Corinthians 14- I love how these have been tying in lately:

6 Now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction? 7 Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the pipe or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes? 8 Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? 9 So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. 10 Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. 11 If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker is a foreigner to me. 12 So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church.

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 27th of January 2025, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who, through podcasting, has a new appreciation for “speaking into the air.” I’m Dan van Voorhis. 

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.