Thursday, January 31, 2008

Post-denominational

The world has changed. But has the Churched noticed? Culturally it is becoming more and more apparent that people are "post-denominational." By that I mean that people are less likely to choose to connect with a church community because of denominational affiliation than they've ever been before. Simply put - people just don't care alot about this anymore. In many ways, I think this is refreshing. Instead of a focus on institutional moorings, people are interested in God and community and being missional. But this new post-denominational culture is rocking the Church world/culture. In so many ways we don't know how to respond because we have attached ourselves so closely to things that culture just isn't interested in (at least anymore). The Church of the 21st century is faced with a challenge - understanding and moving toward a post-denominational mindset, or risk losing our voice with present and many future generations.

Personally, I'm excited about the challenge and the opportunities. Denominations don't have to die in this wake, but have the opportunity to be re-born. God help us, we pray.

3 comments:

David Carr said...

I really agree with this. I like it too because it turns our attention towards seeking first the kingdom rather than a denominational agenda. It also opens doors to glean from other traditions in ways that we may not have been open to in the past.

Good stuff

joy said...

Wow. We live in a “post-denominational” world. We live in a computer driven world, a world where gas will ever be under $2 again, a world where non-digital tv’s will soon be extinct. Where vinyl records and cassette tapes are nearly obsolete. The world is changing isn’t it? Every day, every month, every year, we use the intellect God gave us to expand our horizons, our world, our faith, ourselves. More and more we learn to “think outside the box”, wrap our brains around something different. It’s awesome to me. To be a part of a community whose numbers I can’t even begin to count.
We don’t have to preach from the lectionary or have communion only once a month. We can express ourselves in ways different from our parents’. Not wrong, just different. More us.

Anonymous said...

If you want to blow your mind as to the potential of reaching a post modern culture look at the books coming out by Tim Keller and one by Reggie McNeal. It will rock your world.