What do I mean when I say “post-Christian”? I am not saying that Christians are leaving their faith behind; just the opposite in some cases! Because the general disposition of the culture no longer identifies itself on the whole as “Christian”, the culture now views itself in and against the authentic Christian community. This calls for new ways of relating to such a culture:

1. Powerlessness.
This can be seen as a very good thing. For the first time in 1500 years, the church is released from having to be the “moral police” of an entire culture. Now it can focus on what it was created to do - point to the Kingdom of God.

2. Good News to the Poor.
No longer accepted in the “high-class” societies of Western countries, churches choose purposely (no matter what their social status) to be identified with the poor, and the marginalized in a culture. This looks strangely like the “Year of Jubilee” described in the Old Testament, where there was a major redistribution of wealth, freeing slaves, and canceling debts. Unfortunately, what is “good news” to the poor may be bad news to the rich!

3. Humility.
Our post-Christian culture is a pluralist culture, accepting a buffet of all kinds of religions and spiritualities. Many try to blend these faiths together, but this is a disrespect to each of the faith’s identities. The church in a post-Christian context boldly proclaims Jesus as Truth, but refuses to take possession of that truth. We ask for forgiveness from those who have been injured by Christian’s religious arrogance in the past, just as we are forgiven by God.

Among the curses of collegiate education is the various jargon that is disseminated throughout professor-lingo, book vocab, and ultimately systemically saturated in the conversations seen in students. *Yikes, see my point?*

If there has been one concept that has stuck with me more than any other, it is “postmoderism”. Living in an age of postmodernity, I am struck by the mystery surrounding this “ism”. Professors seem to think that the postmodern culture in which America is quickly finding itself will make all the difference in the way we understand church in the world of tomorrow. (Insert trumpet solo here.)

I am particularly intrigued and personally invested in what ideas authors and professors have to give when speculating the future of the church. What characteristics might a postmodern church exhibit?

(Points based from Stewart Murray’s Church Planting: Laying Foundations
1. Doubts and Dialogue.
I believe authentic faith looks more like a winding maze than a “straight and narrow”. Of course, Jesus is the center - what keeps us pointed towards God, but the road from ‘dead in sin’ to ‘eternal life’ is a terribly complicated one. More often than not my most spiritually growing moments happened when I was bold enough to share my doubts with some friends.
2. Spirituality.
The road to a postmodern’s heart is through his soul. The mind was the vehicle of modernity, and full was the well of cognitive arguments and sound reasoning. Postmoderns will find their faith in Christ primarily through spiritual experience, followed by a divine truth that grounds them.
3. Story.
We become part of a bigger story. That is the Good News in a postmodern world, which is deeply fragmented and culturally suspicious of itself. Our learning will be seen through testimony and reflecting together on our place in the next chapter of God passionately pursuing his people.
4. Community.
It would be difficult to conceive of a story without characters. The community of faith are the characters that make up the redeeming story of God. There is truly no place to holistic belong in a postmodern world. Each network of relationships defines itself, thus limiting an authentic expression of its individuals. In our acceptance of Christ, we are clothed in him, wearing his “school colors” denoting our allegiance. He becomes completely how we identify ourselves.

In my next post, I’m looking forward to considering Post-Christian, (the OTHER word I’ve grown to love hearing all about!) and ways churches might characterize themselves in a post-Christian context.

Today is the day. This is it. The day where we make a transistion from an Anchor Team to an LTG. “What in the world are either of those terms, and where did that stain on my tie come from!???” you might be asking yourself.

This past summer a group from my church family met together each week to seek God’s will for our lives as a community; seeking a common mission to live as radical Christ-followers in a lost culture. The problem was, we could hardly get together as a group of 8 or 9 people. Schedules were simply impossible to find a common time to meet. Also, as many began listening to the Lord, they began realizing that they had already been called to a mission in life - one that was specific to them, and not necessarily one that needed a bunch of hands and feet. (One woman had a non-Christian family she felt called to be a light to, another had a leadership role in a university dorm.)

What I came to realize was that there wasn’t a need to pull us out of our existing missions to create something new, we simply needed a context in which we could be made aware that our mission is something that is always around us in our natural relationships. What we needed was a means to stay accountable to seeking our personal missions out.

Thus, the Life Transformation Group (LTG). This is a group of 2 or 3 people who spend time confessing to each other, reflecting on God’s Word and his voice, and challenging each other to stay true to the mission God has given each of us. We found that 2 or 3 can manage a schedule much better than a group of 10-12 like an Anchor Team looked for. An LTG develops natural relationships, and invites needy people to be a part of it (while Anchor Teams remained exclusive and isolated from culture). LTG’s can happen anywhere, anytime. They are more confidential, and offer more chances for burgeoning disciples to grow and lead…and ultimately be transformed. To learn more about LTG’s http://www.cmaresources.org go here!

Today I am calling all those who expressed interest in the Anchor Team this fall of our change. They will be praying and deciding whether or not to be a part of an LTG or not. Ultimately, I am looking for those who are desperately needy, because I know they will be the ones who are most tranformed. I’m also looking for those who are able to reproduce the process. Since it is easy to grow a group from 3 to 4, we will need to split into two groups of two, having people in each group that encourages a continuing transformational process.

We’ll see how it goes!

I am in a program as part of my M Div degree called “Missions Residency in North America” or MRNA. This program is small and dedicated to its participants. This year (the second year of the program’s existence) there are 3 students in the program, along with the two professors and our wives. It is an effort on the part of the university to develop church planting movements all across North America. Technically, “To see a vibrant family of Jesus in close reach culturally and geographically with every person in North America.” Quite a mission statement! Something so big only God could truly accomplish.

Tuesday nights in our weekly schedule are great, because we experience a “simple church” structure. Katrina and I toss some salad in a bowl, and head over to Duane Mackey’s house for food, fellowship, and authentic life. The honesty that is passed around the table is even more delicious than the food prepared! Katrina and I are hungry for this type of community. It’s something we need in our marriage, and something we need in our spiritual walk.

I wonder what it will be like in a few years when Katrina and I are out doing this in another city, without the support of so many great people. It always starts with the discipleship of one person. Tomorrow I’ll be back to write about the process of discipleship that I’ll begin this fall - I’m super excited!

Just between me and my usual place of study is a major road that spans the length of my university’s campus. For about 5 months this road and the buildings that surround it have been under major construction, leaving this road about as dusty and cluttered as one could imagine. I wasn’t particularly looking forward to navigating through the hot tar and molten rock when I noticed someone in the sun’s glare.

It was Keith Robinson. A friend that has strangely woven in and out of my radar screen during my time in abalone. His father is one of the ministers at my church back home. After shaking hands our conversation came to an interesting topic. Organic church! (He brought it up, I swear!)

“Mark, after two hours of discussion, my roommates and I concluded that Jesus were he living today would not be a capitalist, and would not attend any of the local churches here in town.” That’s always a good conversation starter for a GST student like myself. Keith suggested that instead of going to a megachurch, Jesus would find a local and natural community meeting around him; his neighbors. Keith was talking about organic church, but he just didn’t have a name for it.

It is amazing to me how many people (myself included) are beginning to take seriously the idea of a mission outpost for God’s Kingdom. Church is not a spiritual Wal-mart, it is a people sent into the community to embody God-with-skin-on. Critiquing the megachurches, (in all the good that they do with many ministries and mission trips,) they are a front. They say to the Christian nation, “See? We are growing! We are still strong!” When in reality megachurches are the exception, not the rule. The norm for American churches is that they are in steep decline. In fact, I have heard it said that American churches are on “life-support” - still living off the support and resources of a previous generation.

My conversation with Keith wasn’t foundationally about ecclesiology. It was about life transformation. Where would Jesus “go to church”? The place that he could most direct influence others for the sake of God’s holy name. Why would Jesus “go to church”? To be part of a distinct local community that loved and supported one another as a witness to the world.

Needless to say, I had a lot more to think about as I crossed that hot tar and molten rock.