In reading an excellent book on a narrative history of mission, Constants in Context, the authors offer their advice to those wishing to do mission cross-culturally. Their encouragements equally apply to those moderns who seek to do (or support) ministry to postmoderns (those who live within an artistic, communal, holistic and spiritual way of life).
Bevans and Schroeder encourage a spirituality that allows faith in Christ and non-faith to encounter each other. It is a spirituality of 'letting go' and 'speaking out', and it functions differently for outsiders (moderns) and insiders (postmoderns).
"For outsiders, the main spiritual task in the inculturation process is letting go -- of superiority, of power, of illusions they understand a culture, of illusions that theirs is the true understanding of Christianity. Only after years of listening, learning, and being evangelized by the context in which they live as strangers and guests might they dare speak out with suggestions for inculturation or with critiques of the context."
In my interviews with senior leaders and Emerging Church leaders, I have seen this to be the case -- where modern leaders came with a teachable and supporting spirit, allowing new expressions of church to exist for several years with very few questions, emerging leaders thrive. Where modern leaders think they understand postmodern culture, or that their modern perspectives of Christianity are absolute and superior, or that leadership is not to be shared with those of different perspectives, then emerging leaders are forced to deny their culture, oppose their pastor, or leave.
This word equally applies to those moderns who are planting churches within postmodern culture -- they must come humbly, recognizing that much of their understanding of their faith is cultural. They must listen for years before speaking, with the understanding that that they are guests.
Bevans and Schroeder also have encouragements for insiders to the culture. "The main spiritual task is to speak out -- to have confidence in themselves and in their own understandings of their cultural and/or social context, and to risk ways of encounter between gospel and context. Only very slowly should they heed criticism of their culture and let go of their intuitions and instincts."
Insiders must feel free to create within that culture, to speak out from within. As insiders, they can push hard on the sides, offering prophetic embrace and critique as those who are truly part of that community. Outsiders may offer support to insiders in this creative task. Where this kind of rare support happens, amazing ministries within postmodern culture are planted.
Bevans and Schroeder conclude, "It is in such prophetic dialogue (between faith in Christ and non-faith) that local communities and their leadership -- whether insiders or outsiders -- will discover new ways of living, witnessing to and proclaiming the good news of healing, reconciliation, and new life."
Amen, let it be so!
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this section really struck home for me:
For outsiders, the main spiritual task in the inculturation process is letting go -- of superiority, of power, of illusions they understand a culture, of illusions that theirs is the true understanding of Christianity. Only after years of listening, learning, and being evangelized by the context in which they live as strangers and guests might they dare speak out with suggestions for inculturation or with critiques of the context.
there is often a superiority/inferiority that accompanies outsider status, particularly when that outsider status is by choice
Posted by: bob c | August 14, 2005 at 04:03 PM
but who is in and who out? in a time of such significant cultural transition i find more often than not that the individual residents of our peculiar time and space are transient in relation to their own identity. indeed, my own feelings about church, culture, and the kingdom are typically characterized by powerful ambivalence, and my heart betrays me daily by its fickle affections for this or that new/old ecclesiastical curiosity; yesterday i was post-modern, today i am modern. i am an "insider" on tuesday and an "outsider" on wednesday - sunday i am niether, i am just a pastor.
i think i found this post striking because lately i find my most reliable sentiment is simply rejection of anyone who exhibits an attitude of exclusive superiority (including those i'm most inclined to agree with), and quite frankly i think if we were honest with ourselves we would have to admit that much of the rejection of the "emergent church" today is fueled by a visceral response to the adolescent spirit of superiority often displayed by those of us who are fond of smugly calling ourselves "incarnational." having spent several years as a youth pastor, and even more time as a father, i can testify from experience that "letting go" is very good advice, not just for the parents, but for the adolescent as well, who are frequently guilty of holding on just long enough to inflict parting shots on their way out the door.
Posted by: jason | August 18, 2005 at 07:01 AM
Jason, I don't know if you misunderstood me -- I'm not talking about attitudes of superiority -- of course that is never appropriate. I'm saying that if we seek to minister in a culture that is not our own, we either need to be a humble listener, often for years, or support those who are native to the culture. I agree that there is alot of flux in culture, but I think we can draw distinctions between groups of people and their practices...
Posted by: Ryan Bolger | August 18, 2005 at 06:17 PM
Jason, I'm writing again because I think I may have misread you...
Were you simply being reflective, saying that all of us need to be careful about attitudes of superiority?
Then I agree and say amen...
The first time I read you I thought you were saying that one's culture is almost impossible to pin down, so what's the point? That you were saying that it is primarily emerging church people who need to think about attitudes of superiority...
I think what I was trying to say in my response is that the point of the post was a missional one -- encouraging church leaders to be honest about one's own cultural understanding...
Posted by: Ryan Bolger | August 18, 2005 at 06:49 PM
yes, that's exactly what i was saying, in fact, i was feeling fairly self-critical. comments here aren't typically reflective, so it probably seemed a bit out of the normal context, perhaps even a bit overly-private. sorry for that. anyway, i really enjoyed and agreed with the post, so, thanks ryan! you always put very thought provoking stuff here, keep it up!
Posted by: jason | August 19, 2005 at 06:17 AM
Thanks Jason for clearing things up for me -- Now that I read it again, I think, why was that difficult?? I read it at the end of a very long day...thanks for the grace...
Posted by: Ryan Bolger | August 19, 2005 at 06:38 AM
thanks. it is really helpful to understand the difference and similarity between missional church and emerging church.
as i am a pastor in Japan, i think ideas of emerging churches fit better than, so called, church growth how-to-techniques.
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