The confusion over ONEvoice!

As most of you know, ONEvoice! is the relatively new, official publication of the Church of God. It is the attempt to resurrect a tool with the rich history of The Gospel Trumpet and its successor, Vital Christianity. For a number of years we lacked such a periodical following the demise of VC, and there were many saints insisting that this is what was keeping our movement from thriving as in the past.

 

ONEvoice! has had over one year (nine issues to be exact) to re-establish itself as our new voice. But, all is not well with the 21st century "Trumpet", and it is probably an excellent indication of the general confusion that exists within our movement in North America.

 

On the surface, the creators and custodians of the magazine need to be commended for devising an innovative approach considering the diversity within the Church of God and the overall lack of interest in almost all periodical publications today. The move to a magazine that shares stories of God's work among individuals and congregations fits our theology well. The writing and layout are medicore, but overall it is attractive and accesible for most people.

 

The real problem with ONEvoice! is not the magazine itself, but our hard-to-please constituency. Despite the cries for a movement publication, the interest in ONEvoice! is dismal. Apparently, there are less than 5000 subscribers, which is far less than what is required for it to be sustainable, and roughly only about 2 subscriptions per congregation. Hardly a strong voice!

 

So, what's the problem? Let me suggest a few reasons for the lack of interest in ONEvoice!:

• Romanticization of the past. Some people believe that the success of The Gospel Trumpet can be replicated today. But, this very vocal group is hardly indicative of the rank and file members within our churches.
• Old medium. The magazine industry is in decline. Sure, there are exceptions, like Oprah's rag, but the fact remains that fewer people read periodicals today. Plus, the cost to produce and mail them is higher than ever.
• Conflicting vision. One of the greatest points of contention over ONEvoice! is it's lack of "doctrinal" content. There is a very vocal minority who want strong doctrinal teaching presented, and will never be content with the "lite" approach taken. The editors, on the other hand, correctly understand the genre of magazine publications and know that broad readership will never be attained through a collection of doctrinal treatises. If there was a strong desire for this type of magazine, the alternative publications like Reformation Witness should be breaking subscription records!

The most recent edition of ONEvoice! (i.e. October/November 2005) has attempted to make some adjustments to satisfy some of the disgruntled. A four page supplement, EXTRAvoice!, is intended to provide more emphasis on doctrine and heritage. And, an audio version is being tested, with the intent of reaching a broader audience.

Sure, I'd love to see ONEvoice! succeed. (I even subscribe). But, I'm not convinced that we should be devoting too much energy in trying to tweak this sucker. Obviously, the large majority of people who are in the Church of God are not prepared to shell out $20.00 a year for six issues of a magazine. The fact is that apart from a major change, ONEvoice! will disappear, leaving some as disillusioned about our identity as ever before.

I'm not sure the demise of ONEvoice! is the end of the world. Maybe this will be the wake-up call we need to see that trying to send everything from the "center" (i.e. Anderson) is not what we need if we are to function as a movement. It's time we start acknowledging the affiliation and communication networks that already exist and build on those. Let's get focused on our mission, and stop worrying about propping  up our "denomination".  Connecting with the core of our calling is what is required to rejuvenate our movement. Once the enthusiasm becomes contagious we will have no trouble getting the word out through the powerful technologies available to us to communicate.

What do you think?

Emergent discussion

The last week has been extra busy. Not much time for blogging!

 

There has been some excellent discussion taking place regarding the Church of God in relation to the "emerging church" movement. Some of you have left some excellent comments* (LINK), or have even contacted me personally on the matter. Other blogs are picking up the discussion, including "Message in a Bottle".

 

While I have several other topics that I hope to blog on in coming days, let's keep this discussion alive, as it is one that is necessary for us to grapple with.

 

*A Word to Blog Readers: I know blogging is a new technology for many of you. Some of you still haven't figured out even how to "subscribe" to blogs. Remember, however, that comments are an important aspect to blogging. If you come across a post of interest to you, be sure to check out the comments already left, and consider leaving one yourself. Unfortunately, there are no consistent standards for comment formatting, so a comments link does not usually show up when you read through your feed reading software. Be sure to click through to the original blog site to find the comment section.

Reformation movement and Emergent

Last week I had several posts (#1, #2, #3) pondering our status as a movement. In response, I received a number of very thoughtful comments. Thanks!

 

Before putting this subject aside for awhile, I want to address the relationship of the Church of God to the "emerging church" movement that is sweeping across the English-speaking world. I know that there are a significant number of individuals within the Church of God who find themselves resonating with Emergent, including many readers of my blog. For example, the ChOG Postmodern Thinktank blog regularly probes into this topic, and a number of other blogs frequently touch on emerging church issues.

 

It is apparent to me that the emerging church movement is far more than another programming fad to briefly appear in the North American church. Even researcher George Barna (who I'm not normally crazy over) recognizes the significance of this trend, and has published a new book, Revolution, that acknowledges the major shifts that are occuring, largely because of the Emergent perspectives and actions impacting the church across virtually all denominations. I tend to agree with Barna that we could be at the verge of one of the major spiritual turning points (i.e. Great Awakenings) in the history of the U.S. Despite what they may think in light of their growing political influence, Evangelical Christianity will likely not be the impetus for this revival as it is actually losing credibility and the ability to speak to our culture. Overall, modern versions of Christianity are quickly revealing their spiritual bankruptcy and a growing number of people are questioning their theological and methodological underpinings. A new movement of Jesus-followers is truly emerging out of the shambles of the modernistic church.

 

On the surface I am convinced that we in the Church of God are especially suspicious of other movements, mainly because we are still trying to come to terms with our own sense of movement. And, because a large proportion of our constituency has sold out to American Evangelicalism, we tend to share their insecurities and defensiveness when confronted by the challenges of the emerging church.

 

My question is: How open is the Church of God to the emerging church movement? Are we so fixated on our movement agenda of 125 years ago that we may miss the opportunities in new movements of God today? Or, will we capture a new vision of mission and our own identity within these opportunities? Certainly we should not renounce our own movement roots and aspirations, because we actually have much to contribute to the spiritual climate today. On the other hand, however, we should not blindly follow the emerging church movement without careful reflection and engagement.

 

I'd be interested to hear from many of you who are following these developments, to find out how you see our own movement fitting into this new, exciting moving of the Spirit.

 

Hurricane Relief

As time moves on it is easy for us removed from the devastation to forget the ongoing efforts to assist hurricane victims. I encourage you to keep up with http://katrinaadventure.blogspot.com, a blog recording the relief efforts of the Winton Road First Church of God in Fairfield, OH. It appears that they have made several relief trips to the Gulf Coast region. Another church active in mission!

 

(The same church also conducts regular trips to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. The blog regarding that is at: http://www.pineridgemission.blogspot.com/)