Over a series of blog posts, I am going to tackle a topic that I have been reflecting on over the last few years: Why most evangelical Christians have less and less theological and biblical understanding and the effect this is having on the Church as a whole.  This awareness is not unique to me but has been observe by many antidotally as well as statistically.

This thought process has been the impetus of a Discipleship Plan that our church is currently working on that we hope, on a some small level, will help to address some of these issues (that being said, most of these issues are cultural and systemic and not program driven.  Consequently, our discipleship plan will take this into account).

On an effectual basis, this problem is currently being evidenced so poignantly through the Rob Bell debate.  Most comments I have read from pastors and lay Christians come from a fear in Rob’s questions.  I think that largely this fear extends two-fold.  First, it is extends because they are unaware that Rob’s questions are not new and that many thinkers that they hold dear have had similar questions and either expressed them to the controversy of the church (John Stott), pushed the envelope a little (C.S. Lewis – i.e. The Great Divorce) or purposely keep them secret and refused to give their personal thoughts on Hell.  That being said, historical context is important and many people don’t understanding that the church has always been asking questions about Hell and will continue to do so – is this not a good thing?  Secondly, I think people have reacted this way because someone like Rob (who is a brilliant questions asker) has expressed good questions that most people would rather ignore than thoughtfully deal with.  Let’s face it, life is busy, filled with pain and brokenness, and most people would rather have simple answers (One blog post I saw had the title: Why Rob Bell is wrong and everything you learned in Sunday School is still correct.) than have to dive into deep subjects (this is a point I will deal with in a future post) – honestly, I don’t blame them sometimes.

This is just the start as they are many dynamic at play (biblical, theological, cultural, historical, etc).  I don’t pretend to be an expert on this but simply want to bring my observations forward on what I see happening, the symptoms that are manifesting and some possible suggestions to help the Church potentially move forward.