The Teachers of Today

I don’t know about a collective unconscious, but I do know this. Every generation of Christians chooses a select group of teachers for its own and before the dust settles these men and increasingly women have shaped the church for its day. O.K. perhaps it’s a bit more complex than that.
Now with the rise of “push” media in which the individual user chooses the who, what when and where of the pulpit this has never been more significant for the church. Philip Jacob Spener shaped the church out of a calling to preach the truth yes, but also because he taught from a prominent pulpit in a prominent town. These days Christians click on the pastor/teacher they like best and listen on their way to work.
The most immediate difference is predictably generational. My parents Christian lives continue to be bolstered by radio broadcasts and the names are familiar: Swindol, McGee, McArthur, Dobson, and Andy Stanley’s dad. I forget his name.
In the mean time whether you like him or not Andy Stanley is proceeding to reshape Christian church and the Christian Pulpit without ever broadcasting on T.V. or radio. If you want to know what’s coming in the church in the United States turn off the radio. It’s not there.
Personally I’m listening to Matt Driscoll, Rob Bell, Tim Keller, Matt Chandler and Louis Brenton. Louis Brenton? A great pastor out of Memphis who happens to be my brother.
So, there’s the internet and how that is and will continue to change the church. That’s a conversation or two right there. But, I’m more interested in this question:
Who are you listening to and what does that say about you? What does that say about the church?
I just remembered. Charles Stanley and yea, he’s still really good.