[What Makes a Church Postmodern?] [Aaron O.]
Well, it seems that if you?ve read A Primer on Postmodernism then you don?t need to read any further because you already know what I?m going to say. Stan Grenz was awesome, but most of the information he presented was from his book. Here?s the meat I got from his presentation:
The Intersection of postmodern values and Christianity
1. The value of wholeism
a. I must be faithful and true in all aspects of life
b. Anti-compartmentalization
c. No ?Sunday Christians?
2. The value of diversity
a. Truly reflects multiculturalism
b. Celebrates unique giftedness of members while promoting unity
c. Acknowledges that the Spirit can work in many ways
3. The value of relationships
a. True relationships, not consumer relationships (true sharing, not just taking)
b. Valuing relationships finds its way into the life of the local congregation
c. This value is given expression by drawing the congregation beyond itself
4. The value of spirituality
a. The goal of ministry is not just instilling knowledge but fostering wisdom
b. It understands that at the heart of its mission is the task of facilitating the mysterious encounter between God and people
c. The greatest commonality with society is the quest for abundant life
5. The value of community
a. Not a lifestyle enclave, but communing in all aspects of life
God doesn’t care if we’re modern or postmodern, he just wants us to be his people - genuinely and totally.
Which is why I’m liking Len Hjalmarsson’s title of “NextReformation.com” more and more all the time (aside from the fact that Len’s a good friend of mine).
We’re not talking, ultimately, about starting something completely new; we’re talking about stripping away all the extra’s and add-on’s that have occluded or even corrupted the Gospel. It’s a Reformation not a complete Replacement.
Neither modernism nor postmodernism is Christianity’s friend; they are worldviews that we are called to interact with, but neither is faith-friendly. Both can corrupt the gospel. But as missional people, we are to be in the world but not of the world, contextualizing the Gospel to the language and customs of this postmodern tribe that we feel a part of, and are called to impact.
Reformation. Tied to what? History. The Nicean-Constantinopolitan Creed. Not in a “let’s tack this on to our belief systems and read a few prayers from the Book of Common Prayer” trendiness attitude, but from learning to deeply appreciate what has gone before us, and recognize that we’re stepping into a River that has been flowing through history since Creation.
Great posts, Justin! (And I’m never heard of this Alan guy either…)