The FaithX Project

Strategic Missional Consulting

FaithXperimental Spotlight: Breakthrough, Chicago, IL

In our travels around the U.S., both digitally and physically, we at FaithX like keep our eyes open for examples of people, programs, communities, or ministries doing creative, innovative, and experimental things in the area of faith. And when we do find one, we like to shine a spotlight on them in a FaithXperimental blog post.

Today’s Spotlight article is about Breakthrough Ministries, based in Chicago, IL. We first learned of Breakthrough from a local news story by Chicago’s WGN 9, discussing their Broadcast Camp where they expose public school children to the life of public broadcasting. Because of Breakthrough’s repeated outreach and activities with local youth, it’s no surprise that they were involved with the summer camp. Naturally, of course, we wanted to learn more about Breakthrough and their other programs.

Breakthrough is a nonprofit organization that partners with those affected by poverty on Chicago’s West Side. Since its founding in 1992, Breakthrough has remained grounded in its mission to partner with those affected by poverty to build connections, develop skills, and open doors of opportunity. The organization currently has four locations in the East Garfield Park neighborhood, providing wraparound services such as housing, workforce development, health and wellness, and education. Breakthrough intentionally serves a diverse group of individuals, targeting those living within a 40-block zone in East Garfield Park, one of the most underserved neighborhoods on the West Side of Chicago. Each year, Breakthrough serves over 5,000 children, teens, and adults through these ministries with a dedicated staff of 100 people and 3,000 annual volunteers who increase the impact of their programs.

[Read more…]

Leaving Liberty University Behind

My Journey toward Renouncing America’s
Largest Christian College

Student graffiti in support of Donald Trump that covered the entirety of Liberty campus ahead of the 2016 Presidential election.

In this deeply personal blog post, our research director Darren Slade recounts the journey of discernment that led to his parting ways with Liberty University, the institution from which he received his PhD. in Theology.

By Darren M. Slade

In a nutshell, this post is simply my explicit and public disavowal of the ideology and outspoken teachings of Liberty University, particularly the Jerry Falwell dynasty that still controls it. Why do I feel the need to make such an explicit and public disavowal of my alma mater?

It’s not because I am disgruntled, opportunistic, or backslidden. On the contrary, like anything else, my experience with Liberty University was a mixture of wonderful growth through great joy and turbulent hardship. I made some amazing friends and (probably) some enemies, too. Most importantly, I learned a lot about myself and the Christian tribe I once ascribed to (this in spite of Liberty’s teachings, not because of them). I eventually learned what I always knew: I am a man of strong conviction and have a passion for truth and justice. As such, I learned that I needed to separate myself from the political ideology and prejudicial theology behind Liberty University. Thus, this disavowal comes from a genuine disappointment in having chosen to attend Liberty in the first place, as well as a grave concern for what the university symbolizes today—religiously, academically, and politically.

[Read more…]

Victimizing the Flock: What Sex Assault Victims Mean for Christianity

by Darren Slade, Ph.D.

Darren Slade is director of research at FaithX, general editor of our sponsored acedemic journal, Socio-Historical Exploration of Religion and Ministry, and a regular contributor to the FaithXperimental blog. Darren holds a PhD in theology from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. Today’s post is a critical analysis of sexual assault in the Southern Baptist and Roman Catholic denominations.

If there was ever a sign that something drastic needs to change within the Christian religion, it is the countless thousands upon thousands of sex assault cases that have been brought to light in the last few decades. How many more victims have there been? How many more churches are harboring sexual predators? How many more will suffer in the future?

If there was ever a sign that Christianity needs another reformation (or perhaps an outright revolution), it is the countless sex assault victims who have demanded change but have been ignored by their religious leaders.

In June of 2008, at a Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) meeting in Indianapolis, a committee representing a number of sex assault victims pleaded with SBC leaders to put in place measures that would prevent SBC churches from hiring and concealing sexual predators. These sex assault victims accused numerous SBC churches of deliberately hiding sex assault allegations and litigation from the public.

Unfortunately, every one of their pleas fell on deaf ears.

[Read more…]

FaithXperimental Spotlight: Compassionate Austin

by Darren Slade

In our travels around the U.S., both digitally and physically, we at FaithX like keep our eyes open for examples of people, programs, communities, or ministries doing creative, innovative, and experimental things in the area of faith. And when we do find one, we like to shine a spotlight on them in a FaithXperimental blog post.

FaithX founder and principal consultant, Ken Howard, bumped into (almost literally) Compassionate Austin in late March while presenting MapDash and FaithX consulting services at the New Story Festival in Austin, Texas (they were back-to-back in the exhibit area). While Compassionate Austin is not an officially religious program, there are many people and communities of faith involved, and Ken was struck by the underlying sense of spirituality that subtly infused the organization.

Compassionate Austin describes itself as a growing grassroots movement united to promote, strengthen, and celebrate compassionate action in Austin, Texas and its surrounding areas. Their vision is to exemplify and champion empathy in its purest form by creating a livable, vibrant, inclusive, and caring community in which all have the opportunity to thrive. By their actions, Compassionate Austin hopes to inspire everyone to become aware and conscious of the importance of showing compassion in the world today (taking care of others, yourself, and the earth). They seek to strengthen people’s empathy skills, tenderness, charity, and accountability toward meeting the needs of their community.

[Read more…]

As Pastors Get Older, Churches Start to Die: An Epilogue

by Darren Slade

Having received a larger than expected response to the blog post, “As Pastors Get Older, Churches Start to Die,” I have decided to address a few concerns that have come up. I am personally surprised at some of the negative reactions to what was written, which I thought was quite straightforward (and uncontroversial). What is apparent is that the blog post has struck a nerve with many people, most notably among older ministers and clergy. In one sense, I appreciate the sensitivity surrounding the topic. There appears to be a push in some areas of the church to oust older ministers and recruit younger, more “trendy” leaders. I can see this causing frustration and heartache for a lot of clergy, especially for those who sacrificed their entire youth and devoted their entire life to ministry. It begins to look like a pink slip that reads, “Thank you for your time, but your services are no longer needed. We found someone better.” Older pastors and older congregants start to feel discounted, shoved aside, and forgotten all for the sake of attracting “young blood.”

While this concern is both reasonable and expected, my bewilderment persists. A couple of responses received last week accused me of not valuing the wisdom of older pastors and even suggested that I must think professional pastors should go away completely. Nothing could be further from the truth, and (to be quite honest) I’m not exactly sure how someone could read those things into such a brief post. Another response demanded to know what I plan to do with older pastors, a strange request considering the blog post is meant to have you think about such questions. It’s not my responsibility to have a plan for your aging clergy. Others seem to view the blog as reductionistic, believing it suggests there is only one causative factor for the church’s death. This, too, is not the case. We must not confuse the reporting of one causative factor with the argument for only one causative factor. The post engages in the former, merely reporting about one problem facing the church and, in no way, argues that this is the only or even primary cause for the church’s decline. In fact, you can read an earlier post of mine here where I discuss the myriad of complex factors that lead to church growth and decline.

[Read more…]

Subscribe