What do I mean by "Church Seasons"? I'm referring to particular chunks of time in church history. There are many ways to divide church history, but as I listened to a summary of the three ecumenical creeds recently, I realized that the church has had an interesting historical flow that may relate to mission outreach--and the hesitance to reach out--during our era of church history.
An initial season of church history can be called a season of doctrine. For the first 800 years or so of the Christian Church's existence, teachers asserted ideas that were opposed to Biblical orthodoxy. Marcion didn't like anything Jewish, so he started to slice sections out of the Bible. Montanus advocated adding to the Scriptures through the revelations of his ecstatic prophets. Valentinus promulgated Gnostic teachings. Arianism led to the first ecumenical council in Nicaea in 325 A.D. There are plenty more, but you get the idea. Biblical orthodoxy was being defined in response to unscriptural teachers. Ecumenical councils were convened. Doctrine was being sorted out.
The next season to develop was a season of corruption. The institutional church became a place of power and control. Political and Ecclesiastical lines became blurred. Human traditions and inclinations supplanted Biblical mandates and emphases. The church was a mess. Money, sex, and power became the prevailing themes within the church. It was an ugly season.
The third major season of the church was a season of reformation. While many voices of reformation cried out during the season of corruption, Martin Luther stands out as the person who led a season of reform in the church. Luther sought to bring the church back to the Bible and back to the cross of Christ. It was a season of refocusing on God's will, His ways, and His gifts.
The season of reformation led to another season of doctrine. As the new phenomenon of protestant movements and denominations developed, departures from the historic teaching of the Scriptures came on the scene. The church wrestled with the definition and nature of the sacraments, teachings on millennialism, the nature of church and ministry, and more. Some older heresies resurfaced and caused the church to wrestle anew with ancient issues. Stretching into the 1800's and 1900's everything from Biblical liberalism to the development of false "Christian" groups presented the church with doctrinal challenges.
This second season of doctrine fueled another season of corruption. Religious charlatans, money-focused televangelists, and a sexual scandal laden Roman Catholic priesthood mark our present era. In addition, a desire for fame, power, and control in the church taints and distracts from the Christocentric aim of the body of Christ.
So, as one of my professors used to say, "Cui bono?" In other words, "To whom for good?" "What's the point?"
Here's the bottom line:
- While all these seasons happen to some degree all the time in the church, we are living in a time poised for another season of reformation. Will this mean a recovery of the mission of the church? Will it mean a return to authenticity versus institutionalism? I don't know, but we are moving toward reform.
- When the rumblings of reformation begin to happen, the people caught up in the season of corruption believe that change equals heresy instead of reform. This is very important. Corrupt church leaders try to cast Biblical and Gospel reforms as doctrinal errors. This is done to prevent change and to maintain control. The Roman Catholic Church excommunicated Martin Luther on doctrinal grounds. Instead of adopting a spirit of repentance based on an honest look at the Scriptures, the church in Luther's time did not want to surrender control and, therefore, misinterpreted reform.
It is important that we do not make the same mistake. The big question is: Can we recognize when change is true reformation and welcome it with a spirit of repentance?
What changes in the church today are moving us back to the cross of Christ? What changes are bringing us back to what the church was designed to be by its head, Jesus?
We're running into a season of reformation. We need to watch carefully.
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