The American church is in
danger of missing an opportunity to reach a new people group. This opportunity
must be met with the same resolve, resources and innovation that reaching the
“uttermost” received in generations past. Ravi Zacharias declares postmodernism
to be an opportune occasion for the propagation of the Gospel if the church
will recognize and embrace to the occasion.[1] Just as a missionary to a foreign field is trained for the
purposes of culture and language acquisition the western church must implement
these some principles in their own cultural context. The culture is changing
and, of necessity, the language is changing. This requires the church to accept
a revised mission-strategy and a new attitude or paradigm concerning
evangelism. If the western church is going to avail itself of the opportunity
that postmodernism presents then the church must consider an amalgamation of
topics that cannot be attained through classroom teaching and linear or
formulaic curricula. These topics should be considered contextually per church
or believer as it concerns practice. In principal, there is common ground that
is biblical and universal that churches can embrace. For the purpose of a
concise outline I have chosen to briefly develop five topics for consideration
and practice that may assist the church in reaching people with a postmodern
mindset with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The five topics are cultural
education, creative engagement, collateral effect, church as community and
Christ exalted as Lord.
THE
CHURCH AND CULTURAL EDUCATION
Does a fish know that it’s wet? Does it need to
know that it is wet? The answer is no,
unless the fish has business to conduct in other environs. The church has
business to conduct in a postmodern culture. Therefore, understanding the
postmodern world-view is not a luxury for the Church. Jesus berated the Pharisees in Luke 12:56, “You
fools! You know how to interpret the weather signs of the earth and sky, but
you don't know how to interpret the present times.” They failed to recognize the time of His
coming. The religious leaders were so transfixed on a self-centered,
predisposed mission model that they could not identify their moment in history
on God’s cultural continuum. The church must position itself to respond as the
body of the One who is transcendent, objective and culturally relevant all at
the same time. There are at least three approaches to cultural education that will
help the church to “know that it’s wet.”
The church should encourage cross-cultural
experiences for believers. This too often is understood as short-term mission
trips to other countries to build a church, evangelize or teach believers. These are wonderful and beneficial but a weekly
jaunt to the local rescue mission, nursing home or Hospice House can be just as
eye opening, educational and even more cross-cultural. When believers push
outside of their normal cultural context it gives them a more refined
perspective of their own culture. Postmodernism is most recognizable when
senior adults choose to engage twenty-something’s in their world. If elders,
pastors and senior saints were actively engaged in the lives of “postmoderns”
they wouldn’t need to be convinced of the need or the opportunity that
postmodernism presents.
The pastor-teacher must be abreast of the times.
Pastors and church leaders are to serve as faithful ambassadors of Christ in a
foreign land, “for the purpose of communicating accurately the position of the
policies of the government he represents so that they people to whom he speaks
will be brought into good relationship with the country he serves.”[2] Colin Smith describes the ambassador’s life as immersed in
the culture he is serving so that he can accurately, culturally represent the
interest of his authority in a relevant fashion. The church’s leaders must
teach the congregation through thoughtful illustration and application how to
view our culture in light of the cross of Jesus Christ. The news makes it
evident enough that something is wrong, undone and adrift in the culture. Ravi
Zacharias quotes Os Guinness, “It is truth that gives relevance to ‘relevance,’
just as ‘relevance’ becomes irrelevant if it is not related to truth.”[3]Culturally educating the church demands that her leaders
and teachers demonstrate how the cross of Christ is relevant, powerful and
efficient to reconcile wrongs, complete what is undone and provide a mooring
for what is adrift. Postmodernists may have given up on a transcendent,
objective and absolute truth but that does not negate the power intrinsic to
the message of the cross, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Postmodernists will not come to the church looking for such a truth so we must
take it to them. Is the power of the Gospel observable in those who name Christ
as Lord? This is what is meant by a flesh and blood apologetic.
Another suggestion that can serve to culturally
educate the church is encouraging, advocating and resourcing believers to
fulfill key roles in the local community and society at large. This practice
serves two purposes. It not only keeps the church well informed as it concerns
legislation, policies or community movements but it gives the church a voice.
However, we need not believe that we are going to shift the culture through
macro-involvement but since we are informed we can be more capable of
incarnating the Gospel because we are at the very least involved and relevant to the
conversation.
Educating the local church concerning her surrounding culture mediates the tug to form a Christian sub-culture that can easily lose it's saltiness. Disciples are called to be witnesses. The whole narrative of the New Testament is about our mission calling as believers and a community in a sin-sick, dark and desperate world. "Going to church" is no-longer acceptable language- "We are the Church" captures the missional emphasis that must be re-introduced and fostered in order for disciples to see themselves as a called out community but still very much a transforming agent in the world.
[1]
Ravi Zacharias, “An Ancient Message, Through Modern Means, To A Postmodern Mind
,” in Telling the Truth:
Evangelizing Postmoderns, ed. D. A.
Carson (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000), 26.
[2]
Colin Smith, “The Ambassador’s Job Description ,” in Telling the Truth: Evangelizing
Postmoderns, ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000), 180.
[3]
Ravi Zacharias, “The Touch of Truth ,” in Telling
the Truth: Evangelizing Postmoderns,
ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000), 41.
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