Raising Ephesus: Christian Hope for a Post-Christian Age

The church in the West is undeniably a church in crisis. Most of Europe is already post-Christian, and Christianity in the United States is quickly following suit. One in five Americans identify themselves as nonreligious, much of public Christianity defines itself in terms of political stances rather than holiness or discipleship, and churches in Africa, China, and Latin America are now sending their missionaries to us. As Christians, we are losing our place as influencers of western culture. This is not the first time the church has faced such a challenge, however. Reading through the letters penned by Paul the Apostle to the early churches, we discover that the overwhelming majority of them were in similar crisis. The Corinthians were being consumed by the hyper sexual culture in which they were embedded. The church in Galatia was abandoning the faith and turning to follow false teachers. The Thessalonians and Colossians, too, were facing travail and challenge and internal strife. In the midst of this, we discover Paul's letter to the Ephesians. This letter stood apart. Rather than a letter of correction, it became a letter of praise, uplifting a body of Christians that seemed to get it. To these people, then, Paul unpacks his theology of the church. It is here that he begins communicating what it means to become people who stand apart, who embody holiness, and who become the hope of a broken world. And hope they became. We stand as recipients of their legacy, of the power of the people of God who lived in ways that changed an empire and then the world. These were people who planted their feet in a hostile world surrounded by a church in crisis. These are people who can still speak to us today. ~