Remnant Theology

The Bible’s remnant theology is a way of explaining what God is doing in the midst of catastrophic circumstances.  When the historical people of God experienced the destruction of their homeland the prophets assured the faithful that even if they had suffered defeat and their population had dwindled, they could trust that God would continue to guide and bless the few that remained.  

Another purpose of remnant theology is to purify the people of God and to remind them that God’s ultimate will may be accomplished regardless of human ideas of success.  The story of Noah is but one example of God’s willingness to use a remnant to restore God’s purposes.

As I look at the religious landscape of the United States I hesitate to describe it as a catastrophe.  In many ways there is still great vibrancy in the Christian church in America.  We have not experienced the tremendous decline of the church that has taken place in Europe where remnant theology is certainly both encouraging and necessary.  However, my observation of Christianity in America leads me to conclude that we are in a crisis of sorts - we may need the purification that remnant theology   brings as well as a reminder that our success as God’s people is not dependent on our human methodology and striving.

I am suggesting that in large part the church in the U.S. has lost its way,  and the ways we are lost are manifold.  For instance, we have adopted the characteristics of consumerism as the church’s measure of faithfulness, rather than applying the principles of the gospel to redeem and temper capitalism.  We have bought into models of business success as templates for church fruitfulness.  We have embraced technology as the vehicle for gospel proclamation without adequate consideration of whether the means actually leads to the end God would desire.  Some of us have become so weighted down by formal institutionalism that we have lost our missional flexibility.  And some of us have been straining at gnats while neglecting the weightier matters of the law.  I could give specific examples to support each of these statements, and I may do that in subsequent articles, however, my purpose here is simply to sound an alarm.

But even in alarm, I want to assure my few readers (A remnant, indeed!) that all is not lost.  There is hope.  After all, at the heart of remnant theology is the insistence that God is not done with the whole human experiment.  As I have said previously, God will have a people.  And in such a time as this we should be on the lookout for the redemptive work of God that may be taking place in unexpected and unsuspected ways.  The church in the U.S., and even around the world is in flux.  There is more to be said about this, but it just may be that God is doing a new thing in the world in order to purify us, to address our sense of desolation (if not catastrophe), and that what God is doing is not dependent on human strategies and plans.  

One example, in recent years there has emerged what some call “the new monasticism.”  This movement is not monolithic in nature for it is being manifested in numerous forms.  But one common feature is a call to community, sometimes associated with an established church but often not, in which persons voluntarily join with others for the sake of mission and discipleship, often locating themselves in and among some of the poorest neighborhoods in both urban and rural settings.  What it means to be a Christian in these new monastic communities is demonstrably different from what the church has been for a few hundred years in the U.S.  Could it be that these new monastics are an example of the remnant God is using to redeem the present age?  Let’s explore some more!