Communicating and teaching Postmoderns

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Communicating and teaching Postmoderns

• Global Missions ConferenceJuly 20-23, 2005Jim
  Beck, Ph.D.Professor, Lubbock Christian
  University

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3 Types

• Nihilism / relativism / self-destruction
• denies truth, reality and morality
• there is no truth, if true then not true
• propagated by European philosophers, scared
  moderns, and drunk college kids
• Deconstructive
• Any point as valid as any other
• Absolute relativism
• politically correct / non offensive
• Emerging
• opposes reductionistic rationalism (reality
  reduced to mechanistic senses)
• opposes consumerism, elitism, sectarianism,
  materialism, etc.
• seeks to listen to diverse voices (women, poor,
  non-western, uneducated)

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Positives

• Seeking truth and justice and mercy
• Non-sectarian (tolerant of much but not
  intolerance)
• interest lies in breaking down barriers, not
  shoring them up
• Closer to biblical paradigm than modernity
• Accept and appreciate mystery
• Focused on others not self
• Focused on spiritual not physical
• Group or community oriented, not individual
• Value application / pragmatics not simply theory
  (does it work)
• living hermeneutic

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More than generationalCultural
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Teacher know thy audience
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Leading your audienceBecoming a living
hermeneutic

• Lead from the inside
• Convince them you are safe, trustworthy and
  authentic
• Exhibit passion for Jesus and people, not
  patterns and programs
• Inspire them with story (Gods and yours)
• Demonstrate patience, kindness and tolerance
• Build community
• Cast a vision with a purpose

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McLarens community Paradigm

• Move from Believe, behave, belong then be loved

• To Beloved, belong, believe then behave as you
  become...

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Post-modernity and MissionsHow do we respond?

• Missional - The shift has occurred and is here to
  stay. We are now all missionaries living in a
  mission field.
• Who moved my Cheese
• We are a sent people
• Conquerors, not simply consumers
• Welcome the overthrow of modernity's confidence
  in unaided human response.
• Learn and teach the metanarrative of Christianity
  once again.

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Post-modernity and MissionsHow do we respond?

• Live and speak as a witness in the courtroom of
  the public world.
• Spiritual friendships
• Conversations not just conversions
• Living hermeneutic
• The church may have to decrease so Christ can
  increase!
• We must begin to invite people to Christ, not
  just to church.
• We must begin to encourage people to experience
  God, not just obey Him.
• We must rediscover the love for strangers not
  just each other.
• We must become people known for breaking down
  walls of division, not
• building them. Risk diversity.

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Post-modernity and MissionsHow do we respond?

• We must once again become an alternative
  community of believers and not simply another
  church full of worshippers.
• Our faith must become contingent on
  participation in the grand story of Gods love
  for humanity and not simply in believing it.
• We must once again cultivate the ability to
  tell the life changing story and how it effected
  us.
• We must once again learn emotion filled, joyful
  worship.

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Thy Kingdom come on Earth...

• Kingdom people seek first the kingdom of God and
  its justice, church people often put church work
  above concerns of justice, mercy and truth.
  Church people think about how to get people into
  the church Kingdom people think about how to get
  the church into the world. Church people worry
  that the world might change the church Kingdom
  people work to see the church change the world.
• David Bosch