The Rural Church's Special Vocation | CT Books

[Also: Pietism's Pitch] Also: Pietism's Pitch | [View online]( [ChristianityToday.org]( [CT Books newsletter]( Tuesday, October 31, 2017 The Rural Church's Special Vocation Wheaton, Illinois—just down the road from our offices here at CT—is often described as a kind of evangelical Jerusalem. The newcomer in search of a church home will find no shortage of flourishing congregations from which to choose. Having lived here now for nearly seven years, and having settled in with one such flourishing congregation, it's easy to lose sight of what it's like for churches in small-town or rural contexts. I think, for instance, of Charlton Baptist Church, where I spent my formative years in Massachusetts. Or—now we're talking really rural—a place like tiny Birchardville Baptist Church, hidden in northeast Pennsylvania's Endless Mountains region, where my mother grew up. (If you'll pardon a small personal remembrance: Once, on a family trip, my younger brother spotted an old man with a long white beard in neighboring pew and asked, audibly, "Is that God?") These churches don't have the celebrity pastors, the state-of-the-art buildings (or "campuses"), or the slick social media platforms. For many, it's a struggle just to keep the lights on. Where do they fit in today's religious landscape? Brad Roth, a pastor on the plains of Kansas, has dwelt on this question for some time. The November issue of CT carries an [excerpt]( from his book, [God's Country: Faith, Hope, and the Future of the Rural Church](. Reflecting on the role of prayer in the life of God's people, Roth writes: "Leaders in the early monastic movement envisioned their monasteries as special houses of prayer sustaining the global church. They left the city and tucked themselves away in rocky nooks and crannies in the desert of Egypt. They didn't head for the sticks for fear of city life. They went out into the desert not as a flight but as a vocation—to pray on behalf of the city. They had a calling, and they took it with profound seriousness. What if the rural church were to claim a special vocation to prayer like these ancient desert warriors?" Pietism's Pitch This is the season of "options"—possible answers to the question, How can Christianity cope with an increasingly unfriendly culture?—with Rod Dreher's "Benedict Option" emerging as the most prominent. Elsewhere in the November issue, Hannah Anderson [reviews]( a new book called [The Pietist Option: Hope for the Renewal of Christianity](, written by Christopher Gehrz (a historian) and Mark Pattie III (a pastor), who see their own reformist tradition as the best way forward. "While evangelicals may not know the history of Pietism," writes Anderson, "we would quickly identify with its commitment to a personal relationship with God, biblical literacy, spiritual formation in small groups, and active lay ministry. 'How goes your walk with Christ?' was a classic catch phrase of those early Pietists who believed that broader cultural change began in the hearts and lives of individual Christians." [Matt Reynolds](mailto:ctbooks@ChristianityToday.com), Associate Editor, Books Christianity Today To reply to this newsletter: ctbooks@christianitytoday.com Add newsletter@lists.christianitytoday.com to your address book. [Featured Articles]( [The Rural Church: A Special House of Prayer]( An excerpt from "God's Country." Brad Roth [Today's Church Needs the 'Timeless Spirit' of Pietism]( Why a centuries-old reform movement might hold the key to transforming our world, one renewed heart at a time. Hannah Anderson More from Christianity Today [Saturday is for Seminars and Church Signs: Monterey, Manhattan, and around Illinois]( Please tweet your church signs to @EdStetzer! [A Call to Faith in Action: Mass Incarceration & The Church's Response]( IPM, CACE, and FPE hosted the GC2 Summit on Mass Incarceration [Love Thy Neighbor: South Asia Christians Advocate for Rohingya Muslims]( Believers in Bangladesh and Pakistan aid fellow persecuted minority fleeing Myanmar (Burma). Follow Us [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [RSS]( [Subscribe to this newsletter]( IN THE MAGAZINE [Current Issue]( [Inside the Museum of the Bible]( [The Truth about Suicide]( [The Promise and Failure of Antibiotics]( [View Full Issue]( [Subscribe Now]( Related CT Newsletters [CT Entertainment]( Reviews and perspectives on movies, TV, and music. [Sign Up Now]( [CT Connection]( The official newsletter of the global media ministry. [Sign Up Now]( [CT Books]( Delivered via email to subscribers weekly. [Subscribe]( | [Email Preferences]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Advertise]( | [Subscribe to CT]( You are currently subscribed as: {EMAIL} Copyright ©2017 [ChristianityToday.org]( Christianity Today, 465 Gundersen Drive, Carol Stream, IL 60188. All rights reserved.