A 2nd Reformation

Dear Pastors

Over the last ten years or so I have been in a huge number of conversations about the ‘failings’ of the way we do church these days¹. In fact when I think about it some more it has been a topic of conversation, debate and even argument ever since I started out as a pastor in 1983. Add to this a quick review of church history and you discover this discussion has been around a very long time. True the context of the discussions are different but the subject matter has largely been the same. In summary it goes like this. “What we have is broke, what we need is this (fill in the blank). And the blank differs quite a bit depending on the person(s) you are talking with, their convictions about scripture, their view on church history and their church/denominational background/experience.

Some of these folks are calling for a 2nd Reformation². What they mean with this is that things are so broken and so non-biblical that nothing less than a Reformation of the scale and breadth of the Protestant Reformation ushered in by Martin Luther 500 years ago will fix this. From where I sit there seems to be a number of strands to this idea but here is just one sample of a global ‘movement’ that has quite a presence in NZ:-

“We believe it’s time for a new reformation. A reformation that not only changes doctrines, but also the church system. Why do we do church the way we do it? Why do most churches have a building? Why do they meet on Sunday? Why do they have a worship meeting that looks the same, no matter where in the world you look? The truth is, that much of what we do in the church today has nothing to do with the New Testament, but more to do with church tradition and paganism”.

Here is my response.

• Yes I share many of the concerns that the ‘New Reformation’ folks are saying. I think many Christian leaders in NZ do. The diagnosis is not that hard in fact.
• No I don’t believe the church is completely broken. And besides I genuinely believe the first Reformation has given us all we need to do the job.
• Yes I do believe we need a sovereign move of God. You bet-ya I do! I believe both the church and the world need a revival³.
• In the absence of a ‘Reformer’ sent by God (of the Luther variety) and in the absence of a ‘Reformation Movement’ that is widely recognised as the new thing that God is doing then I think we ‘work while it is still day for the night comes when no one can work⁴’. John 9:4
• The church is the ‘bride of Christ’ whom God loves very much and for whom Jesus himself died. Please handle with care.
  And finally to my brothers and sisters calling for a 2nd Reformation can I say this? Diagnosing the problem is not that hard as I have already mentioned but what I would love to see and indeed offer you is this challenge. Once you have dismantled what we have, could you then provide us please with a model of the new way, a model that will last and bare much fruit.

If you would like to contribute to a 2nd Reformation Movement of evangelicalism or similar (which includes charismatic and Pentecostalism) please send me a quick email and I will connect you with others who are similarly motivated. Also if you know someone who you respect who may not be in my mailing list please send them this post and invite them to make contact with me. Your feedback will help if such a movement were to be represented in New Zealand as it would enable me to do everything I could to encourage dialogue with us evangelical leaders to avoid the many (unnecessary) tragedies of the first Reformation.

Blessings

Alan

¹ Some folks in this conversation believe we need a Reformation of Doctrine AND Practise namely that of Ecclesiology, others believe we need a Reformation of Eccesiology only.

² Not to be confused with the New Apostolic Reformation. They are two very different things.

³ I understand a revival and a reformation to be two quite different things. A revival is a sovereign move of God that convicts both Christians and non-christians of sin that leads to wide spread repentance and faith in Jesus as the only Saviour of the world. When this has happened historically social statistics are changed for the better almost over night and the church is ‘revived’. Think the Welsh Revival and/or the Azusa Street Revival.

⁴ In my blog next week I will offer some of my thoughts about the work we as pastors and leaders might consider doing in these very challenging and post-christian days.

Advance Notice. I will be hosting a ‘Training for Pastors’ Symposium on Wednesday 19th February 2020 in Hamilton. This one day symposium will look into models of training, content and delivery of training. I am now calling for papers to be written. For more info please contact me directly.

Alan Vink is currently the Executive Director for LeadershipWorx. Prior to this role he has been the Executive Director of Willow Creek Association NZ (WillowNZ), a Baptist pastor (23 years), Bible College teacher, and church consultant.