Post Modern Churches

I've been really excited over the last few weeks to discover the realm of Post-Modern churches- churches which share the same values I've been proclaiming, probably for well over a decade now.

As I've thought about the nature of churches, it seems to me that there are 3 general streams of church structure and emphasis.

1. Traditional churches, including the Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian streams emphasise order, rational thinking and Bible reading. Often they are hierarchical in structure and all knowledge comes from the clergy.
2. Modern churches- these are the Pentecostal and charismatic churches. Here experience is the way we draw close to God. The emphasis is on an individual's experience of God through the Holy Spirit. Many of these churches started in the 20th Century, the height of modernity. Worship services are designed to be experiential in terms of music, an upbeat preaching style etc. Often corporate structures and metaphors are used heavily.
3. Post-modern churches. These churches emphasise relationships. There is no watering down of beliefs, but they tend to be more accepting of diversity of understanding amongst members. They see themselves as missional, and look for a diversity of ways to communicate with their community.

The interesting things is that as they mature, the modern churches are taking on many of the values of the traditional churches they once replaced. So many pentecostal churches develop their own hierarchic structures and educational programs.

Both traditional and modern churches use an attraction/ extraction approach to mission. By this, I mean that the building is the focus of all events. The Sunday morning service is the centre piece, but other programmes are designed with the aim of bringing people into the building with the ultimate goal of conversion. Converts are then encouraged (often inadvertently) to sever their ties with the community as the needs of the church programme absorb the new members.

Post-modern churches, on the other hand, seek to infiltrate their community. They use the network of relationships which members have to reach the wider community. Home cells, home based celebrations and community events become opportunities to develop relationships with the not-yet-saved. as the relationships develop in depth and authenticity, then comes the opportunity to share the Good News.

Networks of relationships are vital in this missional approach. We are not relying on the charismatic evangelist or pastor or the hot music team to draw people in. It's down to the relationships established by ordinary people over a period of time. Perhaps two or three different people from the church know the same person. Then they seek to develop a friendship together.

I've noticed that the post-modern churches also use emerging technologies such as blogs and podcasting (especially) to further their networks.

The message that the post-modern or emerging church movement is trying to get across is that we need to walk together with the people in our community. It's not about the church has the answers for your salvation- come and find out how. It's about people- some christians and others not-yet-believers- sharing our lives as people, with God invited to join the conversation.

I find that's an exciting, relevant and potentially fruitful way of doing things.

Of course there are tensions. The main one is this: how do we keep a balance between our responsibilities to the community of faith and our responsibilities to the wider community?

But I'm sure that we will, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit work our way through all these things.

Blessings

Keith