Renewing the Center: Evangelical Theology in a Post-Theological Era. By Stanley Grenz. 384 pages.
The advent of postmodernism has raised many crucial questions for evangelicalism.
Who are evangelicals? What holds evangelicals together? Where should evangelical theological formation and inquiry go in an era in which the legitimacy of theology itself is questioned? In Renewing the Center, Stanley Grenz seeks to renew evangelical theology by examining evangelicalism’s historical, sociology, philosophical, and theological roots and exploring how this evangelical core can be re-imagined and applied in today’s postmodern context.
Evangelicalism, of course, is a child of the Reformation, and the two giants of the Reformation, Luther and Calvin, of course figure largely in evangelical theology. Luther sought to reform the Catholic Church, but his increasing battles with papal authorities led him towards the Augustinian distinction between the true, invisible church and the visible church.
This true church was not found in ecclesiastical structures and authorities, but wherever the gospel was “rightly preached” and the sacraments were observed. This rightful preaching of the gospel was the preaching of the doctrine of justification by grace through faith. Calvin emphasized sanctification, which was the result and sign of a believer’s justification.
Thus, together Luther and Calvin laid the groundwork for evangelicalism’s emphasis upon both the preaching of the true gospel (justification by grace through faith) and the transformation of believers, which will result in the renewing of the Church wherever it is found.
The Puritans and Pietists added to the early evangelical identity an emphasis upon conversion, the new birth, and an inward experience that affirmed one’s status as one of the elect.
Grenz proposes that evangelicals should provide a positive response to the postmodern challenge, informed and shaped by the emphases of the Reformation.
Evangelicalism is by its nature an ecumenical movement, drawn together not by doctrinal purity—the subject of so much current debate—but by its common commitment to proclaiming and experiencing justification by grace through faith, the new birth, sanctification, and church renewal. Rather than seeking structural or doctrinal church unity, Grenz calls for a unity based upon the Spirit and true Christian community.
What application does Grenz’s work have for those in Churches of Christ? While evangelicals and those in Churches of Christ have many similar emphases, both groups have recently sought to explore to what extent Churches of Christ may be called or considered evangelical (see
Evangelicalism and the Stone-Campbell Movement by William R. Baker); however, despite differences within the movement’s sub-stream,
the particular historical and doctrinal center of evangelicalism that Grenz articulates clearly encompasses Churches of Christ.
The Restoration Movement was originally a unity movement that also emphasized conversion, the new birth, piety, and church renewal—all still needed emphases for a postmodern culture; however, the Restoration leaders held that unity could be achieved through a scientific hermeneutic that would ensure mutually agreed upon beliefs, forms, and practices. This method for reaching unity was a modern dream. As Grenz rightly points out, unity cannot be achieved, but it is given by God through his Spirit.
As with evangelicals, Churches of Christ today are experiencing an identity crisis. As perhaps a particular type of evangelicals,
Churches of Christ can experience renewal by going back to the common roots of evangelicalism and the positive aspects of the Restoration Movement, while re-visioning the church as a Christ-centered, missional community united by the Spirit.
Do you think that Churches of Christ are evangelical? Where do the movements overlap and diverge? What do you think of Grenz's assessment of how to achieve renewal? 
