The Post Modern Extension



We sang this morning, “I don’t have to see it too believe it”– a kind of postmodern acknowledgement that faith doesn’t have to be dissected and analyzed using the scientific method to be real. It’s a repetition of the words of Jesus’ “Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” (John 20:29 in the New Living Bible). Our postmodern age certainly brings its own set of challenges, with the authority of the church, the Bible and the clergy all under major scrutiny. Along with its challenges, postmodernism also opens lots of new places where missional people can introduce Jesus and the life of knowing Him.

Just as postmodernism tears down walls of custom and established tradition, it also opens new doors– this season invites people to extend their lives to new places where ideas and relationships take them beyond what they would have been connected to in a more orderly modern age. Not only can we believe without empirical knowledge as the song suggests, but we can explore belief that does not fit into a narrow rational worldview.

On a practical level, people are extending their lives into places that didn’t even exist 10 years ago. 85% of college students and 100 million people use Facebook. Eleven percent of US adults use Twitter– having both a virtual and a real life is now becoming normative. The behavior of people in their virtual world takes them into character they would not likely chance in real life. This cultural extension allows us to meet them there in the virtual world. It requires new skills and a willingness to engage people on terms other than traditional ministry or evangelism. But in many ways now the virtual world is real life.

New Communities are being formed in new ways. These communities bear little resemblance to the brick and mortar neighborhoods of our parents, but they are communities none the less. New rules, new levels of vulnerability (or lack of) all make these gatherings of Craig’s list, twitter followers and Ebay bidders places where people connect. They gather around values of bargain hunting, affiliation around goals and interests or career development on sites like Linked In.

One new gathering point is cause. While cause has always been a gathering place for American’s a new desire to connect around cause seems to be growing. While the causes may vary, the desire to make a difference beyond what is afforded through commercial endeavors is now a common feature of education, virtual space, branding and community. The connection to cause is a significant open door for missional believers– who can join or sponsor causes that benefit communities or special need groups. The cause space is becoming a growing feature of many new churches– they are making serving a standard feature of church life.

In order to really embrace “cause,” two groups of churches and missional ministries need the special support of coaches. Coaches can help these groups apply new approaches to the mission and process to build a service based approach that is met with credibility in a postmodern culture. The first group that needs coaching support are those just starting their new church who want to make serving and cause a major feature, even a core value of their new church. If churches are to avoid the common perception that they are really another “self serving” institution, serving others– and a greater cause focus have to be built into their organizational foundation. The second group are those churches and missional organizations who are making serving a sustainable part of the effort by creating a separate Community Based Organization (CBO) that for many takes the form of a non profit. This is appropriate when the service focus does not have adequate community support already, and the scope or challenges of the service require resources that reach beyond what the church itself can provide. While this is one of many choices for sustaining service, it does help to create an obvious and intentional focus on serving others.

The journey into the life extensions now forming as a result of postmodernism is something that missional people must do– but can best done together. Coaching for both of the two groups above is a passion of mine, and affords me the privilege of taking this postmodern journey with other leaders. Both the process and the outcomes are bearing fruit in important ways. I invite you to join me.