Christianity for a Post-Christian Context

Adult Education Study: Sundays, Oct. 22 and 29, and Nov. 12 and 19, from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m.

Christianity for a Post-Christian Context: New Possibilities for Faith and Practice

On Sunday mornings October 22 and 29, and November 12 and 19, youth and adults are invited to gather in the Hulme Room at 9:45 a.m. to participate in a study led by the Reverend Dr. Scott J. Hagley, Associate Professor of World Mission and Evangelism at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.

Sociologists have tracked the decline of Christianity in the United States for decades. Beginning in the 1960s, Mainline denominations began to grow older and smaller, losing their younger members to a growing population of religiously unaffiliated persons. By the end of the twentieth century, white evangelical communities like the Southern Baptists followed suit. It is now widely accepted that Christian communities in the U.S. are undergoing new pressures and immense changes. But how should we understand these changes? And, what new possibilities for Christian faith and practice do such challenges suggest? Over the course of four weeks, we will seek to understand these dynamics and explore new directions for faith communities in a post-Christian landscape.

  • October 22: “Volunteers and Visionaries: The Rise and Decline of White Protestantism in the U.S.”
  • October 29: “Losing the Plot: Why Isn’t Christianity Believable?”
  • November 12: “It’s Not About You: Re-Imagining Church for Our New Missional Era”
  • November 19: “Hope and Wholeness: New Directions for Christian Faith and Practice”

About Dr. Hagley

Rev. Dr. Scott J. Hagley
Rev. Dr. Scott J. Hagley

The Reverend Dr. Scott J. Hagley is the W. Don McClure Associate Professor of World Mission and Evangelism at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Before coming to Pittsburgh, he served as the teaching pastor of a church of neighborhood-based missional communities in Vancouver, British Columbia. Dr. Hagley received a Bachelor of Arts degree in youth ministry and communication from Bethel University, a Master of Divinity degree from Regent College, and a Ph.D. (with distinction) in congregational mission and leadership from Luther Seminary. He is the author of Eat What is Set Before You: A Missiology of the Congregation in Context and co-editor of Sustaining Grace: Innovative Ecosystems for New Faith Communities. He also serves as an elder of The Open Door Presbyterian Church. While he is known to run, cycle, and hike from time to time, Scott and his wife mostly wait around for their college-age daughters to come home to visit.

Reminder: Nursery care for infants through two-year-olds starts at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday mornings, and Children’s Ministry leaders are ready to welcome older children during this time should families choose to participate.

 

For additional information, please contact the church office.