Following yesterday, I post another paragraph from a paper written nine years ago in a grad class on “Postmodern Ministry.” While the landscape has changed slightly since then — how can the daily news of spill spreading not remind us of our sin-soaked hearts and invite us to return and rely on our Creator and Redeemer — the universals are the same. Here are a few more thoughts on ministering the gospel in any culture. Just substitute any subculture for “postmodern” and see if it makes sense.
“In many ways, postmodern ministry resembles any other type of ministry. It should be guided by the attempt to live out the greatest commandment and the great commission through the power of the Holy Spirit. The leading of the Spirit should mean our ministry is creative, multifaceted, variegated, and flexible. We must also remember that while the post-modern era represents a distinct cultural phenomenon, all of humanity shares certain unchanging characteristics which serve as points of contact. We are all created in the image of God with a love for story and a belief that there is something more than this world. Whether we name it or not, we all recognize our sinfulness and we experience guilt over that sin, while we desire cleansing from sin and freedom from guilt. Finally, we all have a longing to live for glory, for the ‘something more’ that we know exists, even if we do not know how to name it. As Christians, strangers in a strange land, belonging neither to ancient, modern, nor postmodern, we have a story to tell to a world that needs a good (and true) story.”
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