Re-Placing The Church

by Brandon D. Rhodes

The world and Christianity were radically reshaped when humanity harnessed petroleum, particularly as it catalyzed the rise of automobility. The wider anthropological components of this revolution are widely documented, but its ecclesial components are rarely considered. This lack of reflection has prevented more effective responses to diverse ministry problems that find their roots in automobility. Examining the future of oil and automobility converts this lack of ecclesial reflection into a staggering crisis of narrative and preparation by churches. Our problem, then, is that we have hardly discussed any of this as the church. This dissertation argues for the necessity and suggested contours of such a discussion. I review how oil allowed automobility’s rise as society-steering hegemon, reveal its interrelationship with suburbia and consumerism, and propose that web as the locus of automobilized Christianity. I then review the historical development of automobility and suburbia to understand its effects on churches. Looking forward, I summarize what energy experts are saying about the future of global oil production and supplies, and outline the variously proposed trajectories of the future of the world and the church with an eye toward their incomplete consideration of oil’s future. I then review possible ecclesial mitigations of an energy-constricted future with an eye toward pragmatic and ethical integrity. The urgency of American Christianity’s need to begin a conversation about oil and automobility’s past and pending role thus established, the argument is capstoned with outlines of what that future may include and what wise contours should shape that conversation. Accessibility, actionability, and an affirming tone will be the hallmarks of such a conversation, with a particular bent toward adaptive muddling, transition, resilience, and distributed creativity. The dissertation concludes with summaries of the nature, scope, and other details of my Artifact, a book proposal that could launch the conversation about past, present, and future of the petrol-driven church.

276 pages, Paperback

Published April 13, 2013