The Coming Evangelical Collapse #4

Michael Spencer’s predictions in The Coming Evangelical Collapse:

What will be left?

•Expect evangelicalism to look more like the pragmatic, therapeutic, church-growth oriented megachurches that have defined success. Emphasis will shift from doctrine to relevance, motivation, and personal success – resulting in churches further compromised and weakened in their ability to pass on the faith.

•Two of the beneficiaries will be the Roman Catholic and Orthodox communions. Evangelicals have been entering these churches in recent decades and that trend will continue, with more efforts aimed at the “conversion” of Evangelicals to the Catholic and Orthodox traditions.

•A small band will work hard to rescue the movement from its demise through theological renewal. This is an attractive, innovative, and tireless community with outstanding media, publishing, and leadership development. Nonetheless, I believe the coming evangelical collapse will not result in a second reformation, though it may result in benefits for many churches and the beginnings of new churches.

This would seem to give an opening for confessional Lutheranism and possibly other confessionally serious traditions. Do you think Lutherans are ready for this and will seize the opportunity? Why do so many evangelicals looking for sacraments and liturgy go to Rome or Constantinople–which require them to give up justification by faith–and not even consider Lutheranism? Is this partially the fault of Lutherans whose separatist tendencies keep us invisible to outsiders, so that much of American Christendom is unaware of the Lutheran option?