9.5 Theses: The Needed Re-Formation of the Church
“Luther hammers his 95 theses to the door,” painting by Ferdinand Pauwels, 1872. (Source: WikiCommons)
I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning! (Luke 12:49 NLT)
History suggests that every five hundred years the church experiences a reformation. Roughly five centuries after the New Testament closed, people like Augustine, Patrick, and Benedict re-shaped the way many were living out the gospel. About five centuries later, the church split into an eastern and a western branch, again causing a re-formation of the way people thought about their faith. In the 16th century the church experienced yet another season of re-definition when Luther, Calvin, and others called the church back to her biblical foundations and re-shaped the way people thought and practiced Christian discipleship.
So, here we are in 2025, five hundred years after the Protestant Reformation, scratching our heads about the state of the church today. Many seem to think the way forward is revival. They want God to breathe new life into the old structures and patterns of thinking. Others are devoted to deconstruction. They believe the forms and functions of the church today are hopelessly irrelevant. “Tear it down,” they say. “Try something else.” We believe there is a better way: re-formation. We are convinced that the Lord of history desires to re-shape his church once again and, what’s more, we believe the work has already begun.
To re-form something means to re-shape it, using the existing parts but arranging them in a new way. The point is not to demolish it. Nor is the goal to reinvigorate the present structures and patterns of thinking so that we can do church like we’ve always done. No. The goal of re-formation is to dismantle and then rearrange the parts so that the new structure fulfills its original intentions.
Make no bones about it, re-formation is revolutionary. And yet, it conserves and highlights the church’s true identity and purpose. The process of re-formation may be painful, yet it is necessary if the church is going to be the body of Jesus in the world today. And if the Lord is the one who leads the way, we can be sure that the outcome will be good, fruitful, and beautiful.
When Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany, on October 31, 1517, he knew it would cause a few ripples. He never imagined that his solitary protest would set off a chain reaction that would re-form the church. His words were like a spark in a powder keg. The volatile elements were already present. For a century or more, others had wrestled with how best to respond to a dysfunctional and sometimes toxic church. John Wycliffe in England (d. 1384), John Hus in Prague (d. 1415), and Savonarola in Italy (d. 1498) had sparked smaller spiritual conflagrations in other parts of Europe, but their efforts seemed to be only spasms of renewal that had little or no future. But in the sovereign timing of God, an obscure monk named Luther, in an undistinguished school in Wittenberg, ignited a movement of re-formation that re-shaped the way the gospel was understood and changed the course of history.
In the spirit of Luther, we humbly offer the following theses as our way of responding to the current situation we find in the church today. We do not write as angry outsiders, throwing stones but rather as concerned insiders. We love the church, warts and all, and are devoted to her service.
Our intent is not to give a complete diagnosis of the problem nor to outline a plan of action. Our effort is much humbler than that. We simply want to let the fire burning in our hearts find expression in words.
Thesis 1. God is doing something new in the world today.
The status quo is not working. But the Spirit of God is moving in new and creative ways across the world today doing something new, something far bigger than local expressions of renewal and revival. The multiplication of church-planting movements in the majority world, a unique awakening among Generation Z at secular and Christian universities, Muslim evangelism and mass conversions, a new expression of global ecumenism, and a resurgence of biblical theology suggest that we are on the cusp of another ‘Luther moment’ in human history. The Lord is re-forming his church.
Thesis 2. More than the church needs revival, she needs re-formation.
In many cases today, the church is not the solution to the problem; she is the problem. We have little interest in tweaking the system. The church needs a total re-formation of both thought and practice. This is big. But we are not in agreement with those who advocate deconstruction. We don’t want to see the church torn apart, but we do long to see her re-shaped and re-formed. Her identity, worship, theology, understanding of salvation, and practice of mission all need to be prayerfully re-examined in the light of Scripture. Although such a process will be threatening and painful for many, we believe it is in complete harmony with the cry of the reformers of old: Semper reformanda!
Thesis 3. The church has forgotten what the gospel is all about.
What is typically understood as ‘the gospel’ in most churches today is the plan of salvation, usually portrayed as a series of steps to follow to receive forgiveness of sins so one can go to heaven. Although the ‘gospel’ preached in some churches is false, heretical, and toxic, more typically it is muddled: that is, it is truncated, anemic, and egocentric. The emphasis is on personal happiness rather than holiness, self-esteem rather than self-denial, Jesus as Savior rather than Jesus as Lord, and life after death in another world rather than life right now in this one. Getting the gospel right is the first priority for the church today.
Thesis 4. Because the church has forgotten the gospel, she no longer understands salvation.
For many today, salvation is understood as a rescue operation that forgives sin so we can be taken out of this world into a spiritual paradise when we die. The New Testament has a much fuller and richer understanding. It would be difficult to find a more helpful definition of salvation than that offered by John Wesley:
By salvation I mean, not barely, according to the vulgar notion, deliverance from hell, or going to heaven; but a present deliverance from sin, a restoration of the soul to its primitive health, its original purity; a recovery of the divine nature; the renewal of our souls after the image of God, in righteousness and true holiness, in justice, mercy, and truth.” (A Farther Appeal to Men of Reason and Religion)
Thesis 5. The local church is ground zero for God’s work in the world.
Many Christians today treat the local church as an optional accessory to their faith, putting substitutes in her place (ministry organizations, online communities, fellowship groups, etc.). And yet the one organization Jesus left to carry out his work in the world is the church. Although Jesus’ ultimate agenda is the Kingdom of God, he is committed to building the church to both proclaim the Kingdom’s present and future reality and to give a foretaste of what life in the family of God looks like. Local churches make up the body of Christ, inseparably united with Christ as the head, animated by the Holy Spirit, through which Christ’s saving, sustaining, and sanctifying grace flows to the world.
Thesis 6. The early church needs to be rediscovered so it can serve as a model for Christians in the 21st century.
Perhaps no period of history offers a more biblically robust example of what the church is meant to be than the first three centuries. Before the Christian faith was defined by buildings, worship styles, the sharp distinction between clergy and laity, or the exercise of political power in society, the body of Christ was a revolutionary movement in the world working for justice, compassion, and truth. In the fourth century, however, Emperor Constantine elevated the church in Roman society, leading eventually to a form of quasi-Christianity that politicized and militarized much of the church. Rediscovering the early church can help contemporary Christians find a new model for being the people of God in the world today.
Thesis 7. A re-formed church will be both different from and similar to the church of yesterday.
The body of Christ will be more defined by the shared life of the community of believers than by the building where they gather for worship. Churches will be known as a place where relationships are deep and authentic. They will demonstrate unity in a rich mosaic of diversity. Corporate worship will experience a renaissance of life-giving creativity as liturgies, music, sacraments, and the ministry of the Word reflect the new thing God is doing both in and through his church. Because change is difficult, many will need time and grace to adapt to the new situation. Some will resist. Where the old patterns are toxic and unyielding, separation may, unfortunately, be necessary.
Thesis 8. New categories and labels are needed to define disciples of Jesus today.
The old labels (e.g. Evangelical, Charismatic, Baptist, Methodist, etc.) are less and less helpful. Many of the battles that shaped the church of yesterday are no longer relevant and new ones are being fought. As Adam named the animals in Eden, we need to find new labels to describe the Christian landscape today. Although it is premature to know what these new labels will be, we can imagine a realignment of God’s people that will produce a rich and creative diversity that will better enable the world to understand those who are part of God’s authentic family and those who are not.
Thesis 9. A re-formed church will find Spirit-enabled creative ways to be present in the world without becoming worldly.
Christians must learn how to live in the tension of being fully engaged in the world while remaining distinct from it. They are called to be residents of the “City of Man” while maintaining their citizenship in the “City of God.” Christians must rediscover the subversive power of holiness and the missiological impact of loving their non-Christian neighbors. God’s people will discover their call is to be witnesses of the transforming power of God in an ever-increasing variety of places and contexts both in and through the church.
Thesis 9.5. Our focus is on our own Wesleyan family, yet we carry a burden for the universal church as well.
Just as Israel had twelve tribes composing a single nation, so our Wesleyan tradition is only one part of the larger body of Christ. We do not presume, therefore, to know what other traditions should do to respond to the re-formation that God is doing in the world today. As Wesleyans, we simply intend to move forward by tending to the distinctives that have shaped us and defined our identity in the universal Church: a trinitarian understanding of God, the primacy of holy love, free salvation available to all, and full redemption from the power and presence of sin.
Jesus is Lord!
Chris Bounds is Professor of Theology at Asbury Theological Seminary.
Hubert Harriman is President Emeritus and Ambassador at Large of World Gospel Mission (WGM).
Stan Key is Former President of the Francis Asbury Society and Minister at Large with OneWay Ministries.
Dave Smith is Associate Professor Emeritus of New Testament at Indiana Wesleyan University.