A common misconception about those proposing changes to church structure is that their only (or at least main) reason for suggesting the change is to accomodate culture. When mention is made of postmodern anything, the accusation is immediately levied: You’re selling out to culture! The Church isn’t formed around what the culture would want the Church to be like!
I agree wholeheartedly. Really. I do. Honest, I’m not lying. It’s not some postmodern twist to fool you. My thoughts on reforming church structure do not stem from the desire to make the structure what postmoderns, moderns, or any other types of persons or labels you want to place on them want.
When it comes to the cultural shifts taking place, I value learning from them. That does not mean I want to go plant a church based on what the culture wants. But when a valid critique of church structure occurs due to a cultural shift, we should not hide from it.
Over the past few decades, a growing number of people have realized the established church structure is inextricably tied to modernity. This has led to a reevaluation of the structures and methods used by the Church. Some have found answers in postmodern concepts that modern persons find very disturbing. Unfortunately, instead of providing valuable insight for those embracing postmodernity, most modern critics merely attack by calling the new structures and methods “unbiblical.” In a sense, they’re right. But of course, Jesus said by the same measure we judge we shall be judged, and the established church falls just as short by their standard of measure.
The tension we live in while moving out of the modern era of human history comes as Christians seek to move away from the modern mistakes without embracing the postmodern mistakes. It is possible to accept the critique of postmodernity without embracing the solutions it presents. Church structures can develop, grow, and thrive in the tension between the modern and the postmdoern. We can never fully escape our philosophies, but nor must we fully embrace a system of philosophy to be attractive to those outside of our faith.
By recognizing the valid critiques and seeking out structures which remove or reduce the problems caused by the Church’s embracing of modernity, we will see vibrant local churches emerge where Christians grow together in faith, and nonChristians can see an example of Christ in the world.
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