“G3 Ministries, a Georgia-based Reformed Baptist organization whose name stands for “Gospel—Grace—Glory,” has named Dr. Scott Aniol as president, effective July 9. The professor, author, and church elder has served as the executive vice president and editor-in-chief at G3 Ministries since 2021.” - C.Leaders
“Whether or not one is convinced of the two kingdoms theology versus a one kingdom framework, this book rightfully guards against an over-realized eschatology that underlies the cultural compromise and mission drift so common in the church.” - P&D
Scott Aniol’s new book, By the Waters of Babylon: Worship in a Post-Christian Culture, argues at length against the architects of missional evangelism—not because Aniol thinks the attractional model (of Hybels, Warren, et al.) is better, but because he doesn’t see cultural forms as neutral, suitable for any message including the gospel.
Here’s what I take to be his thesis paragraph for the book:
Although the missional church seems to correctly recognize the nature of the Christendom paradigm in western civilization and in many cases rightly discerns the integral relationship between Christianity and culture during that period, it appears to view this development in the history of the church as entirely negative, with very few positive fruits. At the very least, most missional advocates see what happened as merely neutral contextualization of the church’s worship to culture, yet their very quick dismissal of worship forms coming out of that period as simply antiquated “relics” reveals what may be a simplistic understanding of the impact of the church upon culture during that period. This perspective limits their ability to recognize the strengths of the cultural forms from that period in expressing Christian values and the vast differences that exist today with regard to culture and contextualization in worship.
