Protecting the Boundaries at the Expense of the Center

July 22, 2015 by John W. Morehead

Continued from Page 1

It's important to remember that bounded sets have centers, and centered sets have boundaries. The difference between these set approaches is one of emphasis. If we apply this to Evangelicalism, it is clear that we tend to pursue our internal social dynamics as well as our interactions with culture from a bounded set approach. But we should ask ourselves whether this produces healthy congregations (the "dones" would say "no"), and whether it results in the best forms of cultural interaction. We certainly need to retain a sense of boundaries, but perhaps our bounded set approach to church and cultural engagement has done more to perpetuate the lack of trust and relevancy, inside and outside the church, than it has helped us to retain our committed members, deepen them in discipleship, and invited others to the center of our bounded set in Christ.

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