Comments on: This Weekend in Evangelicalism

By: Anthony Mator

Anthony Mator — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 01:05:55 +0000

My father works in Sewickley.

Not sure why those churches are trying to produce self-esteem and relevance. We get both of those vicariously through the Steelers.

By: Collin Brendemuehl

Collin Brendemuehl — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 21:16:30 +0000

the Strip District
Well, we were down on Penn, s. side of the river. Between 15th and 21st streets.

As for our pagan gods, we have those too. We call them the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Just ask any Browns fan. :-)

the mainline churches themselves have strayed from their roots into spiritual irrelevance
That’s the principle.

Since we were staying at the Fairfield out on Neville Island (a really great Fairfield) we googled churches around the Pittsburgh area. The E Free looked like it was into relevance. The Mennonite church looked like it was into self-esteem. So this morning we went to the OPC church in Sewickley.

By: Anthony Mator

Anthony Mator — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 17:31:54 +0000

As a native Pittsburgher, I have to say that there are a lot more “old” things in the city than you may have realized. For starters, it looks like you were shopping in the Strip District. That is an area with a lot of history and a lot of nostalgia, and if you look hard enough you will certainly find “elders” hanging around. Western PA has one of the highest percentages of elderly people in the country.

As for our pagan gods, we have those too. We call them the Pittsburgh Steelers.

As for the empty churches, you’re visiting the wrong ones. The old historic buildings are the property of Catholics and mainline Protestants, both of which have a chronic difficulty filling pews. But if you move out into the suburbs, which is where most growth is nowadays, you will find newer church buildings full to the brim with people, because they are the property of Evangelicals, non-denoms, pentecostals, etc. On the surface, this may seem like an old-vs-new thing, and yes that can be a part of it, but that isn’t the whole story. It has more to do with how the mainline churches themselves have strayed from their roots into spiritual irrelevance.

By: Collin Brendemuehl

Collin Brendemuehl — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 13:35:07 +0000

alison,
My comment was not intended to read into individual lives, but into the character and behavior of the church and its response to the Gospel imperative.

By: Alison

Alison — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 21:05:20 +0000

I think it is difficult to look at a picture of a crowd of people and decide they are hedonists, or pagans, or unbelievers, if, in fact, you are doing that. I dress nicely (and try to be fashionable at times), care about my appearance, do not wear religious jewelry, wear make-up, etc. If you saw me shopping at a mall (where I go infrequently), or at my job, or at a coffee shop, I may not look like a believer, but my faith and Christ are the foundation of my life. (You would need to talk to me to find this out, and I would not hide this from you at all.) I think it is always important to remember “… the Lord sees not as man sees; man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7). And I remind myself on a recurrent basis of this because it is very easy for me to look at someone and make the wrong assumptions.