I’ve always avoided trying to understand the definition of “modern.” For me, it’s basically been a type of art that I despise. And avoiding the definition of “modern” makes an understanding of “post-modern” even harder to come by. But we went there last Thursday in class, and I’m glad we did. It gave me some new insight into the progression of the church in culture that I’d like to share. Allow me to offer a simple analogy from the science.
Solid : Modernity
Matter: rigid, inflexible, stationary – like ice.
Church: In the early 20th Century, “church” was a location that people came to – like mission compounds in India.
Liquid : Post-Modernity
Matter: fluid, flexible, mobile – like water.
Church: Mission involves people movements, where people are no longer expected to leave their cultures in order to know Jesus – like participating in the Burning Man.
Gas : Global Information Culture
Matter: chaotic, quick, loose, less visible – like air.
Church: Every culture is integrated, community is no longer attached to a place, the church must participate in various networks (practices) and turn them back to God – like ?????
We are now in a global information culture, where information and relational networks are changing at a rapid rate. The Church must learn to equip people not just for personal enrichment, but for practice-redemption. The question is…how?
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