Conference glimpses church possibilities

Friday, January 21, 2011

Nathan Brown
Book editor
Signs Publishing Company
Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia

“This conference is about changing mindsets,” said presenter Pastor Rudy Dingjan, director of church growth for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Netherlands. “There is no point in talking about church in the 21st century if we are planning to just keep doing things in the same way we have always done them.”

Pastor Rudy Dingjan uses a visual aid to demonstrate the alternatives of faith dominated by the intellect—Brainy Smurf—or the heart—Smurfette—urging the need for a balance between the two in the church. Credit: Ben Turner.

Such was the challenge posed—and addressed—by each of the presenters to the 80 academics, church members, ministers and students who attended the international conference on Church and Adventist Identity in the 21st Century, hosted by Avondale College, January 16-18.

“This is something Avondale needs to do as a gift to the church,” says president Dr Ray Roennfeldt. “As an educational institution, we should be stirring up people’s minds to think about issues such as this.”

Fresh expressions
But the conference was not just about stirring minds, there was also a strong emphasis on heart and hands—how the church shares and lives out its faith in the circumstances, culture and society in which it finds itself. Pastor Dingjan drew on his experiences as a church planter and leader in the secular society of the Netherlands, while Pastor Peter Roennfeldt, a church planting leader and departmental director for the Adventist Church in Victoria, gave a theological summary of Christian movements of “fresh expressions” in Australia, describing these as a “convergence of inspiration.”

“I don’t think the established church is going to disappear,” he reported, “but this is an opportunity for new life and new outreach. It doesn’t take a lot of power and a lot of money—but it needs an environment of affirmation and encouragement.

Conference presenters—(left to right) Pastor Rudy Dingjan, Pastor Peter Roennfeldt, Dr Richard Rice and Dr Reinder Bruinsma—field questions from conference participants. Credit: Ben Turner.

“If Adventism is defined by its message and mission, such ‘fresh expressions’ can be Adventist. But if Adventism is defined by its expectations, symbols and institutionalism, we face some difficult questions.”

Theology of Adventist identity
Dr Richard Rice, professor of religion at Loma Linda University (California, USA), spoke about the theology of Adventist identity, including reflecting on the Adventist understanding of a biblical remnant, but expressed his appreciation of the conference’s practical focus. “I was inspired by the emphasis on church planting and the new vision of what Christian corporate life can be like,” he reflected. “Given that vision on how Adventists could connect, I also see some features of our Adventist culture that mitigate against that.

“It gives me pause to say that maybe my view of connecting with the larger world needs some expansion. One of the things that has impressed me is that Adventists have a mission to the whole world but that is not just in a geographical sense, it also applies across cultures.”

Postmodernism
A significant aspect of the cultural shift in recent decades has been the transition from modern to postmodern worldviews, an experience surveyed by Dr Reinder Bruinsma, an academic, author and retired Adventist Church administrator from the Netherlands.

“I wish more of our church leaders would understand this is not a matter of thinking differently about a few things but a completely different way of looking at life,” he explains. “If they understand they’re dealing with something that is so different, I hope those who have a negative view of innovations might begin to feel some of those things should have a chance.”

The future?
Dr Bruinsma sees contemporary culture and society offering challenges but also great opportunities for the church. “I believe in the future of the church—even though I don’t know what that church might look like,” he said. “The church is God’s church. If it were my church, it is doubtful it would survive. Because it is His church, it is a matter of faith that the church will pull through.”