McMaster Divinity College Centre for Post-Christendom Studies

01/13/2022

In a recent blog by Dr. Gordon L. Heath, he reflects on John Wesley's sermon, entitled "Of Former Times" and its application for a modern audience confronted with Post-Christendom. Dr. Heath reminds us, "while we may lament what has been lost, we need to avoid creating a myth of a golden past."

To find out more, please click on the link below.

I just finished my World and Writings of John Wesley course and submitted final grades. But even though I am formally done with teaching the course, I can’t stop thinking about a sermon John Wesley preached entitled “Of Former Times” based on Ecclesiastes 7:10.: “Do not say, ‘Why were the ...

11/15/2021

In a recent blog, Dr. Cheryl M. Peterson re-examines the charge that the Reformation has a 'missionary deficiency.' By framing the church's mission within the missio Dei, she looks at Scriptural missionary texts within God's mission of reconciliation.

She writes "these commissioning texts offer guidance to churches in their mission to be 'ambassadors of reconciliation,' through ministries of discipleship, proclamation, witness, and accompaniment."

To learn more, read her blog post here:

The story of the decline of the “mainline” Protestant churches is all too well known these days. These shifts are causing many congregations in North America to wrestle with what their “mission” ought to be in the world. To face the challenges posed by the post-Christendom context, new think...

10/13/2021

In a recent blog, Dr. Mark Ellingsen highlights the need to move away from a theology about our experience and to give a vision that "actually presents God in Christ to us" to a Post-Christian world.

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In my recent article in Post-Christendom Studies 5 (“What to Do About America’s Nones”), I analyze of the stunning growth of the religiously unaffiliated segment of the American population (the so-called “Nones”) and its implications for the Canadian context.

04/28/2021

We are pleased to announce that The Reformation: Past Voices, Current Implications (edited by Steven M. Studebaker and Gordon L. Heath) is available now! Visit our website to learn more:

https://pcs.mcmasterdivinity.ca/news/the-reformation-past-voices-current-implications-is-available-now/

03/09/2021

In case you missed it, here is Lee Beach's recent conversation with Kevin Makins on Kevin’s new book, Why Would Anyone Go to Church? (Baker, 2020).

Recently, Dr. Lee Beach sat down with Kevin Makins (Eucharist Church) to discuss Kevin’s new book, Why Would Anyone Go to Church? (Baker Publishing, 2020).

03/04/2021

In a recent series on our blog, Dr. David Guretzki observed that 1 Peter 2:17 forms a "mini-theology of engagement that tells us how best to be the Church in a post-Christian era." To read the first post in that series, visit:

It’s almost become a cliché to say Canada is living in a post-Christian era. However, in the 2019 installment of its recurring survey of Canadian religious attitudes, The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada found for the first time since it started polling such things almost 30 years ago that the nu...

02/10/2021

Recently, Lee Beach sat down with Kevin Makins (Eucharist Church) to discuss Kevin’s new book, Why Would Anyone Go to Church? (Baker Publishing, 2020).

To watch the interview, visit:

Recently, Dr. Lee Beach sat down with Kevin Makins (Eucharist Church) to discuss Kevin’s new book, Why Would Anyone Go to Church? (Baker Publishing, 2020).

10/07/2020

Curious about the Centre for Post-Christendom Studies? Take a look at this video to learn a little more about us!

09/28/2020

In a recent blog, Gord Heath offers reflections on Bede’s "The Ecclesiastical History of the English People" (c. 731) and what it can teach us in post-Christendom.

As he writes: "There is much to say about the book, with its fascinating descriptions of saints and sinners, relics and miracles, missionaries and monarchs, and church divisions and unions. But what I want to address here is how the text stirs the imagination when it comes to post-Christendom missions and possibilities."

Visit:

I am embarrassed to admit it, but it took me twenty years as a professor of Christian history to finally get around to reading the entirety of the Venerable Bede’s The Ecclesiastical History of the English People (c. 731). But I did it this summer, and it was worth the wait.

09/25/2020

The Centre for Post-Christendom Studies is pleased to announce that the latest edition of our academic journal, Post-Christendom Studies, is available online and in print now. This edition of PCS includes a selection of articles on the theme of “Post-Christendom in Australia and New Zealand.”

To learn more, visit:

The Centre for Post-Christendom Studies is pleased to announce that Post-Christendom Studies 4 is available online and in print now. This edition of PCS includes a selection of articles on the theme of “Post-Christendom in Australia and New Zealand.” Authors include:

08/19/2020

In a recent blog, Steve McMullin reflects on the use of digital technology in the life of the church during COVID-19.

He writes: "Whether the pandemic is short-lived or continues for some time, the Christian church has been changed. Even if an effective vaccine is available fairly soon, congregations and the communities in which they are situated will not be the same as they were in 2019."

To read more, visit:

When I wrote the article entitled “Church Renewal in the Digital Age” (Post-Christendom Studies 3, 81-111), I could not have predicted the changes that congregations large and small would soon be facing because of COVID-19. Congregations that had already adopted digital media were able to move q...

07/21/2020

The latest edition of our academic journal, Post-Christendom Studies, is now available online! Each article addresses the theme of Post-Christendom in Australia and New Zealand.

Visit:

The McMaster Divinity College Centre for Post-Christendom Studies (MDCCPCS) is a research center for both Christian ministry and academic leaders. Its mission is to chart the course forward for post-Christendom churches. To this end, it describes and analyzes post-Christendom contexts and looks for....