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A Senior Pastors Guide to Postmodernism

By Jeff Johnson

A Senior Pastors Guide to Postmodernism

I will start with a confession; I am a Senior Pastor!  There, I feel much better about myself.  As a matter of fact, I’m a Gen X’er who grew up going to French schools in another country and now find myself pastoring an established church in California, (note, established in this sense means years the church has held services, 40 years, but does not mean health or effectiveness).  So, if that does not look like a complete fit, throw this into the equation, I have postmodern tendencies.  I say that because I feel like I have had to discover myself through parallel thought processes my entire 18 years of ministry.  So, what does that make me?  An ordinary guy that just wants to live God’s purposes for his church, that’s all.  So, what does an ordinary guy do when forced to live in divergent realms?  He reads, (a lot) and grows a goatee.  All my readings have brought me to a few conclusions that may or may not be helpful to your situation.  Like many articles and books that serve as wonderful introductions to Postmodernism, there are just about as many definitions as there are opinions.  So, allow me to come at this from another angle, a different perspective per say, and help identify what postmodernism is not, in hopes of discovering the flavor that you may already be encountering in your ministry.

Observation #1: Postmoderns are not defined by a single generation.  Over the last 15 years or so, we have had a heyday placing people into neat little boxes with neat titles, such as baby boomer, buster, builder, gen x’ers, (we obviously ran out of “b’s”), millennials et al.  Each group represented certain characteristics and behavior, with the main determination of category being age/generational.  This type of classification was very helpful and allowed for better marketing by Madison Avenue types, and for the contemporary progressive churches, the opportunity for different service structures.  While I recognize that there is truth in some of the classifications and determinations, there are large segments of the population that do not match the given age group’s supposed characteristics.  There are even segments of the population that are repulsed by these categorizations.  In order to get a handle on postmoderns, recognize their mistrust for such sweeping brush strokes on human behavior, themselves exemplifying a more global, inclusive thought of every age, culture, creed, etc.  An identifying picture here is the internet chat room, with conversing going on irrespective of age, sex or culture.  The fact that individuals are masked by nicknames, and for the most part hidden from view, facilitates in principle a greater openness to everyone.  The playing field of the internet is assumed to be much more level in relation to corporate and segregationist America. 

Observation #2: A contemporary worship structure is not necessarily a postmodern service.  More likely, the service that most call contemporary is really just a generational service.  There is nothing wrong with a generational service, I happen to be a huge believer in this type of formatting.  But to only revise a 1950’s model of church, and put a 2002 spin on it, is most likely not going to reach postmoderns.  Sure, they will probably appreciate the music and the fact that it draws a younger crowd, but that will not suffice.  The truth of the matter is that they are looking for a place of genuine intergenerational community, something that the modern contemporary church rarely structures for.  The postmodern seeker is not looking for a cookie cutter approach to church structure, but rather seeks for a vibrant free flowing community that understands that the gospel is to be experienced in a counter cultural narrative.  In other words, it looks like the church in Acts 2.  How does that equate to a church worship experience?  Well, that is a great question, I do not know really, which leads me to my next observation.

Observation #3: Postmodernism is not a complete thought process.  A postmodern thought process genuinely engages processes that have not yet formed a full or complete theology and believe there are things yet to be defined.  For the person that is firmly entrenched in modernity, this seems like a completely unacceptable hypothesis.  For the postmodern, this is a readily acceptable stage and worldview because it is the launching point from which new processes are discovered (or rediscovered).  In the spirit of a postmodernist, the more you know, the less you understand.  Almost all postmodern writers speak of a growing need for a level of disconnect or even discontinuity with issues that we constantly treat as assumptions.  The discovery process, the experiencing, the coming to terms with faith are milestones the postmodern cherishes.  Intuitively, we have all sensed a need for a debunking of Christian myth from genuine Christian faith.  In the same vein, there needs to be a distancing from holiness and religion that has been created from man’s incomplete perspective.  Honestly, the church can be smug and has been guilty of exercising the sinner from its midst, but not the sin or other like/similiar issues.  Is this not the root of the current crisis in the Roman Catholic Church?  When we allow ourselves to entertain sin that we condemn in others, we in turn become the worst of hypocrites.  When Peter speaks of holiness, he addressed the believers and encouraged them to live in such a way so that no one could make false claims about their life/faith.  I’m suggesting that a good place to begin in relationship to the “more we know, the less we understand,” is that we listen to what the world says negatively about us and allow the Holy Spirit to search our motivations in holding to certain standards and actions.

The other side of knowledge is that the postmodern is uncomfortable explaining everything about God.  God is not fully explainable, imperfect man trying to describe infinite God, ya right!  I believe this is why the narrative is so important to the postmodern; because it helps life stage the things of God in picture form.  In light of how God has been revealed down through time, the postmodern looks for Him to continually reveal himself and thus open himself up to being moved upon by God.  If there is a wind of God’s Spirit blowing, the postmodern desires to be blown away. 

Observation # 4: Postmodernism did not just show up!  Postmodernism has been running in parallel with modernism for sometime, but with changing entities such as education and media, and more recent arrivals like the internet, the postmodern worldview has become much more visible.  As previously mentioned, postmodernism is more than a life stage, and its current form is every bit as monumental as the transition from medieval to modernism.  It is difficult for us to describe fully what is going on mainly due to the fact that this type of transition has not been evident for the last 500 years or so.   It can be said that the construct of the postmodern mindset has been gleaned from the perceived inefficiencies of modernism; conquest/control, analytical thinking, secular/scientific limitations; mechanism and objective relativism.[i]  That being true, then it is obvious that postmodernism was not formed on a whim but has incubated during the time of modernism.  No less angry than Luther’s Reformation, postmodernism now sees itself as the formative answer, with its strengths lying in conservationism and anything to do in conjunction with the word post - post mechanistic (ecosystems, organisms, social systems), post analytical (systems thinking, holism, passion), post secular/scientific (spiritual/scientific) and finally, post objective (intersubjective).  Intelligent design is just one of the emerging realities of science that points directly to a Divine enterprise (God) that is being widely embraced within secular realms as a viable alternative to evolutionary design.  In other words, science and religion are on the dance floor.

Observation # 5: There is no commercial, infomercial, packagable model to follow.  This is good news, because it should cause us to become proactive in further research on multiple levels, such as: implications of postmodernism on ministry, (study of internet sites and getting in the heads of some of these writers is a good starting point, even a cup of coffee at Starbucks can be a learning experience); community focus; theological constructs and cultural church traditions.  The models of church ministry the last few years has focused on two levels, the development of the leader and church structures, such as the Purpose Driven Model.  These models will not necessarily convert to postmodernism, but with anything, these successful models of the nineties and early 2000’s can be scalped for tangible insight.    In regards to leadership, Brian McLaren said, “believe what you’ve learned from leadership, and the opposite.”[ii]   From the Christian standpoint, presenters such as John Maxwell and George Barna have served us well with furthering our appreciation for human dynamics and wonderful treatises on great leadership.  But to the postmodern, laws on leadership do not adequately describe the interdependence that many of them seek.  Besides, leadership laws come off being plastic over time.

Following simple rules or how to guides will not build the church of the future.  The current models of postmodern worship services are diverse, except of course for the amount of earrings worn by men and the ever-present goatee.  Again, this should be recognized as a strength due largely in part to the purity of intent, which is to create a refuge for the world, not just for other Christians.  At its heart, the postmodern movement sees many of the difficult or programmed stages of modern churches as its ace in the hole.  Consider evangelism, with modern constructs and verbiage as soul winner or crusade smacking of modernism and lack of sincerity.  In turn, postmodernism treats evangelism as a natural outgrowth of their existence.  This engagement has become a focal point of most of the emerging postmodern models, along with community, the worship/the experience, and participation.  The fun part for any senior pastor will be to dream the great dream once again.  Frankly, being a senior pastor is sometimes a dream killer.  Here’s a test, how many of you have ever said something like this, “ministry would be the greatest job in the world if it weren’t for people.”  If you have, then recognize that the “job” has taken us away from our calling of serving Christ with abandon. 

Observation # 6: If you are a modern pastor, you do not have to hire a young guy with a goatee.  Why? because there are plenty of sharp postmodern guys out there without goatees!  My assessment for any church leader of either a thriving, stalled or anything in between church, is to begin building bridges to this new world.  Currently, the postmodern world is still in its minority stage, but the day will come in the next 20 years (no one knows for sure how long) that postmodernism will be a the forefront of thought processes in our societies.  Typically, many churches are already behind the times, so this type of bridge building will allow several leaps ahead in time.  Senior pastors must learn to engage the world and understand culturally what is going on, or they are going to see fewer people connecting with Christ.  I recognize that for some this is a scary premise and many will choose to stay their current course.  Surprisingly, that course may actually serve incredible growth for the next number of years, but what will become painfully obvious is the complete disconnect from those that have faith and those that do not.  The gulf is widening, and many senior pastors are helping in the dig towards antiquity. 

            Erwin McManus provoked my thinking with this, “the church begins its decline at its peak.”  Our nation is full of mega-churches, many of them billing themselves as the fastest growing in the nation.  That will end some day, and American churches will begin to look like some of the empty cathedrals of Europe.  (Will any of these mega-churches bill themselves as the fastest declining churches in America?)  If McManus is right, then living at the peak is dangerous stuff.  Fortunately, the postmodern is not worried about peaks, it is concerned about getting others intimately involved with Jesus, primarily in small clusters of people or community groups.  The measures of success are currently different within the postmodern movement, though some of the same trappings of success have begun to taint its idealistic ventures and postmodern superstars are beginning to emerge.

Observation # 7: Moving towards postmodernism does not have to be expensive.  Being a Senior Pastor, I have found the real value is in the team of people you come to depend on, before, during and after the transition.  The real cost as the church moves into the 21^st Century will come in the actualization of declining membership if we miss the shift from modernism to postmodernism.  Upfront cost in the postmodern church will come with the infusion of imagery and technology to serve an image-driven society raised on visual hits.  Image is everything, high church, gothic, ancient architecture are all hot, orange carpet is out, (it was always way out).

            As mentioned, upfront costs such as video projection, broadband internet networks, lighting systems, architectural features, have many grades as per costs and may been seen by many as non-essential investments.  The last 30 years or so, our investments have been directed into programming that may or may not be giving us good bang for the buck.  It may be time to scale some things back, such as Sunday School, Youth Programs, (I’m an almost 15 year vet here), large secretarial pools using old tech, ineffective children’s ministries, (church oriented as opposed to community oriented), etc.  Sacred cows but the fact is money is available if we choose to trim in areas of ineffectiveness.  It is time to recognize that budgeting priorities lay elsewhere and that pet programs of modernity need a pencil sharpening.  Postmoderns will view spending habits with suspicion and may deem them as a perpetuation of things that are ineffective.

            One last thought in regards to cost.  Most churches spend more on themselves than they do on the community at large and many churches are in the practice of sending money to missionaries all over the world, (I need to be careful here, I have a missionary sister).  We attempt to satisfy ourselves with programming that rarely directs us to any form of evangelism, and to satisfy the requirements of Christ’s call of going to all nations, we write checks.  The dirtiest our hands may ever get is with ink while we sit in monuments made for our comfort. 

Observation # 8: It is not necessary to compromise what Christ considers truth.  That is truly a loaded statement and to comment on all its implications usually requires whole volumes.  I bring it up because there is clearly a gap that is growing between professional clergy, the culture and the emerging generation.  Helpful to me is the ongoing commitment of being a lifelong learner, to take on the characteristics of the Biblical tribe of Issachar, who it was said of, “they were men who knew their times.”  Let’s face it, pastors are overworked, under appreciated and have little time for add-ons, such as seminars or extended learning.  But, as with physical costs, maybe, just maybe this is an opportunity for leaders to refocus their priorities.  A few things that need to happen to work effectively in the postmodern matrix are:

Further understanding of our times

New leadership styles to accommodate new pressures and responsibilities 

Willingness to be honest about “sacred cows”, the separating of our traditions from God’s truth

A greater sense of faith that God is not through using us

While reading this, perhaps you have entertained the thought that your ministry direction has already started to flow within a postmodern direction.  Or, your concern is that you will have to relearn your profession.  What I know to be true for my life is this, my journey to serve God’s purposes will take me many places and to many opportunities.  But most of all, my journey should take me to greater heights of love and obedience to the things of God.  The place of ministry I currently serve is God’s blessing for me to lead with purity of heart, purity of intentions, and purity of motives.  As I listen to my community in which my congregation lives, I discover what God has been doing, is doing and is going to do.  This unfolding plan and the witness of God’s Spirit in my life confirms for me, in my situation, that I must embrace the postmodern matrix.  It further means that I must live in parallel universes, serving the needs of the current church while preparing for the new guests to come.  This is more than an observation, this is a God given opportunity which requires more than a goatee.