Mainline to the Future: Congregations for the 21st Century

by Carroll, Jackson W.

• ISBN13: 9780664222536
• ISBN10: 0664222536
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-05-01
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Pr

Summary

While others lament the declining attendance of mainline churches and blame it on an out-of-date tradition, Jackson Carroll offers a more hopeful perspective, arguing that they key to future vitality can be found in the same tradition. According to Carroll, the tension between tradition and change has always been part of the Protestant heritage, and he argues that now is a time when being faithful requires adaptation.

Author Biography

Jackson W. Carroll is Ruth W. and A. Morris Williams, Jr. Professor of Religion and Society, Duke Divinity School, and Director of the J. M. Osmond Center for Research, Development and Planning.

Table of Contents

Introduction	ix
Changing Society, Changing Churches	1	(25)
Ecclesial Patterns in the United States	2	(6)
``We've Always Done It This Way''---Or Have We?	2	(3)
Additional Influences on Congregational Diversity	5	(3)
Whatever Happened to Tradition?	8	(18)
Posttraditional Society?	9	(1)
Traditions and Their Importance	10	(5)
Detraditionalization	15	(2)
Forces Driving Detraditionalization	17	(9)
Responding to Posttraditional Society: Resistance and/or Accommodation	26	(28)
Culture as a ``Tool Kit''	27	(2)
Responses to Unsettled Times	29	(21)
Resistance	30	(4)
Accommodation	34	(3)
Accommodation and Resistance: Posttraditional Congregations	37	(12)
African-American Variations	49	(1)
Summary Reflections	50	(4)
Tradition, Freedom, and the Challenge of Posttraditional, Congregations	54	(22)
Tradition and Freedom: New Testament Perspectives	58	(9)
The Argument for Tradition	59	(1)
The Argument for Freedom	59	(1)
Movement or Institution?	60	(4)
Combining Tradition and Freedom	64	(3)
Testing the Spirits	67	(1)
A Continuing Role for Tradition(s)?	68	(8)
Raising Dry Bones: What Can We Learn from Posttraditional Congregations?	76	(27)
Caeat Emptor	77	(3)
Some Lessons from Posttraditional Congregations	80	(23)
Erring on the Side of Freedom: Reflexive Ecclesiology	81	(1)
Strong, Shared Leadership	82	(5)
Hard Eggs or Spanish Inns?	87	(4)
Embodying the Vision: Small Groups As an Example	91	(3)
Strictness or Seriousness?	94	(9)
Notes	103	(8)
Works Cited	111	(7)
Index	118