Pete Ward, author of Liquid Church and senior lecturer at Kings College, London, spoke at Fuller last night on "All Consuming Liquid Culture, Liquid Church". In his talk, he addressed critics who said he was too positive on culture in his book "Liquid Church". Vincent Miller's book, Consuming Religion, served as his conversation partner.
Pete Ward asks if the dislocation of 'stuff' and symbols from the church is necessarily a bad thing? More importantly, we need to look at where these items are re-located in culture. For example, a CD of church music, recorded by a secular musician, and played by someone in their car, re-locates the sacred in new spaces. As another example, we know about Taize because of its products --
we might decry commercialization, but hasn't the re-location of their
music been beneficial? He asks if God can be in that? If the text mediated Christ at church, does it still mediate Christ in the culture? He wanted us to consider that possibility. He describes this movement as the stretching of "ecclesial being".
He talked about 'stuff' - that stuff means things, maybe more than we know. They often reveal or 'represent' the spiritual state of things. These 'representations' circulate, and we share a language talking about them (discourses). Because we buy certain stuff and not others, we become something, i.e. we form identities around the materials of our lives. Both those who oppose culture and those who embrace it form their identities in this way.
Ward discussed God's presence and how it is mediated in our culture. Episodically, God is 'represented' in our communications, in our discourses, provided this mediation gives rise to contemplation. These mediations stretch ecclesial being and relocate our sense of belonging and identity. In the Liquid Church, we might see Christ mediated through networks, brands, and products.
For Ward, the church is faced with two choices -- Pandora's Box or St. Peter's. We can try to keep all the spiritual things hidden and safe (Pandora), or we can re-think what we formerly thought was unclean and open up our faith to those outside our traditional boundaries (St. Peter's option). Pete votes with his namesake...
WARNING: This is my take on what Pete said, and I am not sure I was always tracking with him. Pete, if you read this, please forgive me for where I completely mis-represented what you were saying!!
Pete is one of the best thinkers on church and culture, and I always love hearing from him. He asks the hard questions and refuses the pat answers. He pushes me to think through the most pressing missiological issues regarding the intersections of church and culture. I found myself in another world after his talk, trying to process all that I heard...
Technorati Tags: consumerism , mission
Last spring there was a great conference in Minneapolis that addressed this same issue. Ron Sider, Sondra Wheeler, Vincent Miller, and Rodney Clapp were the plenary speakers. The audio is up from the conference and is free at www.consumer-culture.org . It is a great resource!
I think this is one of the most pressing missiological issues of our day, and unfortunately it goes largely unnoticed. Thanks for the thought-provoking post.
Posted by: toddh | June 24, 2006 at 02:36 PM
Thanks for that. I was in the same PhD programme as Pete and gave a paper in one of his seminars. His book seems to have recieved a universal roasting (well it looks like that from afar), which may have been a little harsh for what was only ever a premliminary work. I hope soon he follows it up with something more developed.
Posted by: fernando | June 30, 2006 at 05:23 AM
I studied and worked under Pete as a youthworker about 16 years ago. He clearly has a brilliant mind.
I read Liquid Church three years ago, but your (or his) use of St Peter's vision speaks very clearly to me.
I guess he's wrting to a church sub-culture that thinks itself very un-materialistic, but in reality is deeply materialistic. Pointing this out to this sub-culture then trying to explain that it's not necessarily a bad thing is quite a tough brief.
Discerning how to use 'stuff' and then getting beyond it will be a tough call.
I think the danger is we believe we are not consumer driven, when actually in so may ways we are.. ... and as Pete points out... "..hey that's OK"
Posted by: Jim | July 02, 2006 at 08:52 AM
Interesting... Simone Weil says simply, 'Let us love the country of here below. It is real; it offers resistance to love.' Also reminded me of Peterson's comments on "place" in Christ Plays..
Posted by: len | July 03, 2006 at 11:30 AM
wouldnt it be great if Fuller found a way of webcasting or streaming some of its stuff out, at least to its extensions (say, Sacramento??) I brought this up when Richard Hays was there(on campus) last Jan.
Posted by: steve scott | August 14, 2006 at 11:37 PM
This resonates with Alan Hirsch's writings on the sacred and the secular: a Judaic view or Platonic view of life...
Posted by: Neal Taylor | January 24, 2007 at 05:45 PM
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Posted by: pakistan | June 08, 2009 at 07:12 AM
Discover the beauty of pakistan. Learn the culture, heritage, traditions and landmarks of different parts of Pakistan especially sindh, Punjab, Baluchistan and N.W.F.P and far northern areas.
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Posted by: pakistan | June 08, 2009 at 07:16 AM
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Posted by: pakistan | June 08, 2009 at 07:21 AM