An interesting article from Al Hsu appeared in Christianity Today talking about the multifaceted nature of the Gospel. He looks at the history of the ways the Gospel has been conveyed to demonstrate how various people hear and respond to the One Call in different ways.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/april/17.66.html
Although I fear that his conclusions could cause some to say that any presentation of the gospel qualifies (there is still such a thing as a false gospel), I did appreciate some of his points. Namely how he points out that even Jesus used a variety of metaphors to convey THE good news, that in him the Kingdom of God has been made available to all mankind.
In that sense, the gospel is both timeless, in that it testifies about the God who never changes, and timely, in that it finds people in multiple ways (he juxtaposes the differences in Jesus' message to the woman at the well and the rich young ruler).
He does a better job explaining than I would, so I'll leave it at that.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Consumerism in Community - part 2
Well, I seem to have struck a nerve with my last post and it has caused me to reflect on and attempt to clarify some of the topics brought up in my previous post. The inherent danger in extracting a couple paragraphs from a 15 page paper is that it is very easy (as I've observed) to be misunderstood.
The purpose for the post needs further clarification.
1. It is part of a larger paper on how a missional perspective critiques, challenges, and in many ways encourages the Purpose-Driven church model of ministry (of which I am a part).
2. The section posted did NOT in any way deal with issues of salvation, sin, regeneration, sanctification, or the message of the cross, (Those themes are dealt with elsewhere in the paper) but to identify how a consumeristic nature has become part of church culture that in many ways resembles the American dream more than New Testament kingdom principles.
3. The section then seeks to identify how a postmodern culture (which is becoming more and more dominant in our society) is coming to the question of faith with vastly different questions, assumptions, and aspirations than previous generations. This is not to say that their views are any less corrupted by sinfulness and rebellion from God (for that permeates everything mankind is and does). What I was attempting to make a case for was that the church, as a people representing God's kingdom to mankind, must find themes that are important to the culture to which they have been sent, and to demonstrate God's ability to move through those themes.
This is exactly what Paul did on Mars Hill in Acts 17. Paul, arriving in a culture not his own, found common ground on which to speak about and introduce the true God revealed through Jesus Christ. He spoke in used language and symbols that the Athenians could understand and respond to (i.e. the Unknown god). For a postmodern culture, the unknown god to which they worship are causes (social, economic, or otherwise) that they can invest themselves in. I was in no way saying that these causes take precedence over the cause of Christ (i.e. God's mission), but that a church which seeks to speak the language of a postmodern culture must consider service a part of the language that God will use to redeem a postmodern society. Therefore a church which proclaims the gospel, but never has care to demonstrate the kind of love for one another taught in the Bible, will seem shallow and inauthentic to a people who want to know how what you believe impacts your life today.
This is not to say that "saving souls" is not important (it feels strange to even make that statement). In fact, I have spent my ministry career in that very endeavor. I believe that evangelism is both the responsibility and privilege of anyone who follows Christ. Part of the way we undertake evangelism however is by being a contrast community that demonstrates the kind of love and reconciliation that repentence and regeneration in Christ stimulates. Jesus prays for this very thing for his followers in John 17:21 "that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me." Our oneness as a community of people called around the death and resurrection of our savior is what puts the world on notice that Jesus is the Son of God and that we belong to him. That is why community formation is so vital to our witness, especially to a culture desperate for genuine community. Community is not what saves people, even within the church it is broken and sinful. At the same time, God's people gathered in oneness around the cross is the incarnation of God's activity that shows people the way to that cross. This is the kind of contrast community that was the hallmark of the early church in Acts 2:42-47.
Thanks for your challenging comments. I hope to continue the dialogue with gentleness and respect.
------------------------------
"Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men. At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another." Titus 3:1-3
The purpose for the post needs further clarification.
1. It is part of a larger paper on how a missional perspective critiques, challenges, and in many ways encourages the Purpose-Driven church model of ministry (of which I am a part).
2. The section posted did NOT in any way deal with issues of salvation, sin, regeneration, sanctification, or the message of the cross, (Those themes are dealt with elsewhere in the paper) but to identify how a consumeristic nature has become part of church culture that in many ways resembles the American dream more than New Testament kingdom principles.
3. The section then seeks to identify how a postmodern culture (which is becoming more and more dominant in our society) is coming to the question of faith with vastly different questions, assumptions, and aspirations than previous generations. This is not to say that their views are any less corrupted by sinfulness and rebellion from God (for that permeates everything mankind is and does). What I was attempting to make a case for was that the church, as a people representing God's kingdom to mankind, must find themes that are important to the culture to which they have been sent, and to demonstrate God's ability to move through those themes.
This is exactly what Paul did on Mars Hill in Acts 17. Paul, arriving in a culture not his own, found common ground on which to speak about and introduce the true God revealed through Jesus Christ. He spoke in used language and symbols that the Athenians could understand and respond to (i.e. the Unknown god). For a postmodern culture, the unknown god to which they worship are causes (social, economic, or otherwise) that they can invest themselves in. I was in no way saying that these causes take precedence over the cause of Christ (i.e. God's mission), but that a church which seeks to speak the language of a postmodern culture must consider service a part of the language that God will use to redeem a postmodern society. Therefore a church which proclaims the gospel, but never has care to demonstrate the kind of love for one another taught in the Bible, will seem shallow and inauthentic to a people who want to know how what you believe impacts your life today.
This is not to say that "saving souls" is not important (it feels strange to even make that statement). In fact, I have spent my ministry career in that very endeavor. I believe that evangelism is both the responsibility and privilege of anyone who follows Christ. Part of the way we undertake evangelism however is by being a contrast community that demonstrates the kind of love and reconciliation that repentence and regeneration in Christ stimulates. Jesus prays for this very thing for his followers in John 17:21 "that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me." Our oneness as a community of people called around the death and resurrection of our savior is what puts the world on notice that Jesus is the Son of God and that we belong to him. That is why community formation is so vital to our witness, especially to a culture desperate for genuine community. Community is not what saves people, even within the church it is broken and sinful. At the same time, God's people gathered in oneness around the cross is the incarnation of God's activity that shows people the way to that cross. This is the kind of contrast community that was the hallmark of the early church in Acts 2:42-47.
Thanks for your challenging comments. I hope to continue the dialogue with gentleness and respect.
------------------------------
"Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men. At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another." Titus 3:1-3
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Consumerism in community
Thought I would share an excerpt from a paper I recently wrote for class. This section deals with community formation within seeker-sensitive churches.
Does a missional perspective have anything to offer in terms of the way communities are formed?
--------------------------
One of the key criticisms leveled against seeker-sensitive churches is that they foster an environment where consumerism takes precedence over community. Many of these churches are upfront about their goal of reaching a consumeristic society by marketing the church in ways that are attractive to a capitalistic impulse. The mentality is that because consumerism is the modus operand of American culture, the church needs to tailor its ministry towards that predisposition in order to be relevant to its needs. Consumerism, as the thinking goes, is a given within church life because either the church markets itself toward the believer or the unchurched. This approach ultimately leads the church towards being a dispenser of religious goods and the gospel as its commodity to be sold in the public forum. The problem with this line of thinking is that it fails to examine whether or not consumerism, by its very nature, is antithetical to the gospel. If it is, then the church, as part of its faithfulness to the gospel and witness to the world, should be seeking out ways to subvert consumerism as an intrinsic value of our culture, not reinforce it.
This may be the reason why many seeker churches find themselves in a situation where they see the very real need of the congregation to be in authentic, transformational relationships, yet have difficulty fostering such relationships. Sunday morning remains the focal point of congregational life, outreach, service, and energy whereby the service is designed to identify the needs of seekers and attempt to convince them that the gospel is the commodity to address those felt needs. Carlson, the pastor of a seeker-sensitive church, explains the irony this way: “Christian leaders have to admit this is the system we have put together. We can’t build churches that advertise ‘tons of ministries to meet your needs,’ then be surprised when people expect us to continually meet their needs.” The community of the church as seen in the New Testament is vastly distinct from the American propensity towards commoditization that is so prevalent in our culture.
In light of the postmodern shift and the permeation of technology into daily life, the need for genuine connection is greater than ever. In particular, people have become disillusioned with the distance Americans have placed between one another and are actively looking for expressions of community that not only meet their needs, but address greater problems in the world. This may be a significant factor in why so many are rushing to such causes as racial equality, environmental conservation, famine and AIDS relief. It is no longer an option for the church to remain inactive on such issues for the sake of winning souls. For in our changing context, it will be incredibly difficult to win souls without inviting people to take part in a cause larger than themselves. We may in fact find along the way that dealing with issues such as these is not a distraction from the gospel, but part of what it means to live as a community which bears witness to the coming kingdom of God.
Does a missional perspective have anything to offer in terms of the way communities are formed?
--------------------------
One of the key criticisms leveled against seeker-sensitive churches is that they foster an environment where consumerism takes precedence over community. Many of these churches are upfront about their goal of reaching a consumeristic society by marketing the church in ways that are attractive to a capitalistic impulse. The mentality is that because consumerism is the modus operand of American culture, the church needs to tailor its ministry towards that predisposition in order to be relevant to its needs. Consumerism, as the thinking goes, is a given within church life because either the church markets itself toward the believer or the unchurched. This approach ultimately leads the church towards being a dispenser of religious goods and the gospel as its commodity to be sold in the public forum. The problem with this line of thinking is that it fails to examine whether or not consumerism, by its very nature, is antithetical to the gospel. If it is, then the church, as part of its faithfulness to the gospel and witness to the world, should be seeking out ways to subvert consumerism as an intrinsic value of our culture, not reinforce it.
This may be the reason why many seeker churches find themselves in a situation where they see the very real need of the congregation to be in authentic, transformational relationships, yet have difficulty fostering such relationships. Sunday morning remains the focal point of congregational life, outreach, service, and energy whereby the service is designed to identify the needs of seekers and attempt to convince them that the gospel is the commodity to address those felt needs. Carlson, the pastor of a seeker-sensitive church, explains the irony this way: “Christian leaders have to admit this is the system we have put together. We can’t build churches that advertise ‘tons of ministries to meet your needs,’ then be surprised when people expect us to continually meet their needs.” The community of the church as seen in the New Testament is vastly distinct from the American propensity towards commoditization that is so prevalent in our culture.
In light of the postmodern shift and the permeation of technology into daily life, the need for genuine connection is greater than ever. In particular, people have become disillusioned with the distance Americans have placed between one another and are actively looking for expressions of community that not only meet their needs, but address greater problems in the world. This may be a significant factor in why so many are rushing to such causes as racial equality, environmental conservation, famine and AIDS relief. It is no longer an option for the church to remain inactive on such issues for the sake of winning souls. For in our changing context, it will be incredibly difficult to win souls without inviting people to take part in a cause larger than themselves. We may in fact find along the way that dealing with issues such as these is not a distraction from the gospel, but part of what it means to live as a community which bears witness to the coming kingdom of God.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
