I love to go on a journey, especially when I hop on my motorcycle and have nothing but open road in front of me. The destination is not the most important; I ride my bike because of the journey. I believe this to be true of most bikers; this is also true of postmodern thinking.
The one thing I have had to get used to since moving to Australia is school uniforms. On any school day the streets are dotted with colour as each school has different uniforms which the students wear. Neil Cole writes: "The days of wearing uniforms in church are gone.... At one time, when you went to church everyone wore clothing of the same color and style as they led worship in a service.
"The modern mind loves answers.... The postmodern is not obsessed with solutions. In fact, mystey is more attractive than answers. The journey is better than the destination." (Neil Cole, Church 3.0, pp. 38f) This messes with me, and I don't know about you.
Neil Cole writes, "Today, people are looking to experience what is important, not just hear about it. This is becoming an experiential culture."(Church 3.0, p. 33) As Reformed Christians and churches, this might be a bitter reality to swallow.
What about our Changing Culture? (2)Neil Cole writes: "Today things have changed. Authenticity is more valued than excellence.... The highest compliment, for a postmodern, is to hear you are real. The greatest offense is to try to be something you are not. Hypocrisy is a crime of high treason. In fact, there is hardly another sin that is worse. Whereas heresy was the worst thing for the modern person, hypocrisy is the unforgivable sin to the postmodern. Hypocrisy is the new heresy of the postmodern world." (Church 3.0, p. 32)
In the April 2010 newsletter I encouraged readers to pick up Neal Cole's recent book, Church 3:0, Upgrades for the Futher of the Church. Check out the book review:http://www.ministryformation.com.au/component/content/article/31-book-reviews/166-church-30-upgrades-for-the-future-of-the-church.htmlCole goes on in chapter two of his book to describe our changing culture and how the post modern mind and values have and will continue to impact the church of the future. In upcoming blogs I plan to reflect on how Cole describes these cultural shifts, and what this might mean for the future of the CRCA in particular, and the church in Australia in general.The first postmodern value that Cole describes is relationship over mission.
When we lived in Canada, before we made our move to Australia in 2007, we enjoyed watching the many birds which visited our bird feeders: a host of common Sparrows, several Gold Finches, and a few Blue Jays. Now here in Queensland our bird feeders daily attract many Cockatoos, flocks of Lorrikeets, and the occasional King Parrot. Now what do birds have to do with rethinking how you read the Bible? Well, pick up a copy of Scot McKnight's book, The Blue Parakeet (Zondervan: 2008).
