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Future of Mainline Protestantism
Introduction
Solidly established in American society, mainline Protestantism faces a threshold. How will it retool itself for a new century? How will it develop new avenues of ministry and new ways of doing community? How will the growing progressive and emergent movements affect Protestant thought and practice? How will denominational bodies respond to the well-documented "mainline decline?" How will pop culture reflect and be impacted by the changes in mainline Christianity? Patheos invites the visioning of Protestant thinkers in its Future of Religion series.
Contributors include: Sam Alexander, Jim Burklo, Jerry D. Campbell, Philip Clayton, Monica A. Coleman, Kenda Creasy Dean, James Calvin Davis, Bruce G. Epperly, Greg Garrett, Larry M. Goodpaster, Anne Howard, James J. Kang, David LaMotte, Lisa Larges, Alyce McKenzie, Brian McLaren, J. Ryan Parker, Anthony B. Pinn, Bruce Reyes-Chow, Robert John Russell, Josef Sorett, Adam Walker Cleaveland, Peter Wallace, and James K. Wellman Jr.
A Still More Glorious Dawn Awaits
Sam Alexander (Senior Pastor, Presbyterian Church)
Once again, the body of Christ, or at least the Mainstream Protestant version of it, is on the cross. At this critical moment, we need to do what Jesus did.
Seeding the Future Church: Progressive Christians with Fresh Ideas
Jim Burklo (Associate Dean of Religious Life, University of Southern California)
Remarkable creativity is springing out of hundreds of progressive congregations and groups in the U.S. today. It's a theological reformation.
Who Are the Samaritans Today?
Jerry D. Campbell (President, Claremont School of Theology)
Our Christian past has been rife with breaking God's human family apart. Could the future of Christianity be about bringing it together?
New Visions: Or, Church for People Who Aren't So Sure about Religion
Philip Clayton (Claremont School of Theology)
What does "church" look like when you take it out of the box, replant it, and let it grow organically? It's going to stretch and challenge you; it's going to take openness to forms and practices you've never seen before.
Black Church Walk-Out
Monica A. Coleman (Claremont School of Theology)
I had a dream that all the oppressed people in black churches staged a walkout. They didn't leave because they hated black churches. They left because they loved them.
Youth Ministry Shaping the Future of the Church
Kenda Creasy Dean (Princeton Theological Seminary)
Youth ministry allows experimentation of what it means to "be church," and that's a hopeful thing for us.
Mainline Protestantism: Antidote to American Incivility?
James Calvin Davis (Middlebury College)
Despite the popularity of the exercise, I am not drawn to write the obituary of mainline Protestantism. To the contrary, I think Protestantism faces an important future of public witness.
Process Theology: An Open Future for God and for Us
Bruce G. Epperly (Lancaster Theological Seminary)
A God who does not fully know or determine the future in its actuality is more alive, creative, and active than a God who has chosen the future in its entirety.
Hope Yet for Mainline Denominations
Greg Garrett (Baylor University)
The history, practice, and theology of mainline Christianity may in fact be better adapted to life in the 21st century than any of its detractors suggest.
Reclaiming a "Movement": The Future of The United Methodist Church
An interview with Bishop Larry M. Goodpaster (President, United Methodist Church's Council of Bishops)
The newly-elected President of The United Methodist Church's Council of Bishops shares his insights on the future of the largest mainline Protestant denomination in America.
Progressive Christianity: Meeting in the Public Square
Anne Howard (The Beatitudes Society)
At the heart of Progressive Christianity is the same thing I see at the heart of the teaching of Jesus: a commitment to the welfare of all, to a world of "shalom" for all, and therefore advocacy for compassion in public life.
From the Future, With Love
James J. Kang (Pastor, United Methodist Church)
A father and Methodist minister imagines a congratulatory letter to his newly ordained minister daughter, in the year 2050.
Embracing Conflict Faithfully: The Future of Social Justice and Peacemaking in the Church
David LaMotte (Singer, songwriter, founder of PEG Partners)
One of the central questions mainline Christians will have to wrestle with in coming years is this: Are we willing to embrace discomfort as part of our faith?
Who Really Cares? Ordination and Marriage Equality in the Mainline Church
Lisa Larges (Coordinator, That All May Freely Serve)
While our denominations continue to argue over ordination and marriage equality for LGBT persons, the next generation, those under 35, have already made up their minds.
"You're in My Seat:" Imagining Protestant Preaching in Twenty Years
Alyce McKenzie (Perkins School of Theology)
What will Protestant mainline preaching will be like in twenty years? What kind of sermon will the preacher preach and the worshippers experience?
A New Christian Convergence
Brian McLaren (Emergent Church Leader)
A new coalition is already happening, as existing organizations and emerging networks discover one another and realize they have independently reached common conclusions.
The Future of Christian Cinema and the Progressive Voice
J. Ryan Parker (Blogger, Pop Theology)
Independent Christian filmmaking is poised to take off in the 21st century. But will the Progressive Christian voice be represented?
Getting an 'Amen' Isn't Enough
Anthony B. Pinn (Rice University)
Statistics regarding African American religiosity don't negate a central reality: Black churches in the 21st century face a life-or-death dilemma.
Necessary Change for the Denominational Church
An interview with Bruce Reyes-Chow (Pastor, Mission Bay Community Church)
Recent Moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA) Bruce Reyes-Chow reflects on the challenges and opportunities facing his denomination, and the future of the mainline church.
Time to Celebrate! Mainline Protestantism and Natural Science
Robert John Russell (Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences, Graduate Theological Union)
Mainline Protestants can and should embrace the responsible dialogue with natural science and fulfill our mission of offering a prophetic voice in contemporary scientific culture.
Forecasting Black Church Futures
Josef Sorett (Columbia University)
The prevalence of post-race talk is not evidence that racism is no more. But it does signal a change that black institutions, including churches, must address.
Presbymergent: A Reforming Spirit from the Inside
Adam Walker Cleaveland (Minister and Presbymergent Co-Founder)
Presbymergent, and other groups like them, consists of people who choose to stay on the inside to bring about creative, emergent expressions of an historic faith for various contemporary contexts.
The Mainline Church: A Confusing Yet Hopeful Future
Peter Wallace (Author and Host "Day1")
The more I ponder the future of the mainline Protestant church, the more confused I get. And the more hopeful.
Will the Real Mainline Church Please Stand Up!
James K. Wellman, Jr. (University of Washington)
American Protestantism is an ever-changing, multi-faceted, and multi-colored quilt, and the once mighty Protestant Mainline is now a shadow of itself.
Sexism in the Olympics? No Surprise 
Trump and Modern Ethical Theory 
Six Things I Wish Christians Would Stop Doing 
The Reality (and Unreality) of Demon Possession 
Croissants Are My New Self-Development Ritual 
Where Privilege Will Not Go: White Poverty in America 
Pro-Life Strategic Voting, 2016 
Are We Bringing Sin Into Paganism? 
Did New Testament Writers Understand the Trinity? 
The Re-Paganing of America and God's Eternal Word 
Abundance and Hoarding: There Is Enough 
Scotland's Jews and Their Gaza Concerns 
My Hijab Does Not Define Me 
"They Knew About It and Did Nothing" 
Please Stop Planting Churches 
"The Bicycle Thief": Humanizing Criminal and Crime Victim 
This Is the Most Powerful Argument Against Christianity 
Seeking Tanis: The Search for Enchantment Leads Back to the Church 
Wholly Righteous, Wholly Sinful: Reflections on War's Demise 
The Hand We're Dealt: On Fairness and Progress 
Engaging the Ferguson Declaration 
Modesty: More Than a "Your Body" Problem 
I Needed Someone to Hope Me: An Update on the Moral Revival 
My Sister, the Muslim 
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