Connecting with Postmodern
Omnicultural People
Facilitated
by DJ Chuang
Postmodernism: The movement in the late 20th
century thought that rejects enlightenment, individualism, and optimism. An
emerging mindset of openness, honesty, discovery, encountered and expressed
through experiences and relationships.
Omnicultural: cultural heritages are becoming more
blended and eclectic in America and many parts of the world due to various
technologies that facilitate interaction in the global village
With regards to omniculturalism,
Liu articulates arguments for individual choice and against the claustrophobic,
lock-step claims of ethnic and cultural traditions. Since “[e]very identity is
a social construction, a drawing of arbitrary lines,” each generation (indeed,
each individual within each generation), must establish his or her own cultural
identity, drawing on traditions of the past, but ultimately deriving
authenticity from the exercise of freedom. Each person has the freedom to choose
the degree of one’s ethnic identity. Liu predicts that the forces of ethnic
synthesis will prevail in this country. “The end product of American life,” he
writes, “is neither monoculturalism nor multiculturalism; it is
omniculturalism.” (Cf. Eric Liu in The Accidental Asian)
Seedbeds of deconstruction:
philosophy (Michel Foucault, Jean Baudrillard), literature, architecture,
society, technology, urbanization, Internet
Areas affected: education, health
care, science, psychotherapy, religion, history, literature, theology/Biblical
interpretation, law/government.
Postmodern dangers: full-blown
moral and ideological relativism, syncretism, cultural instability
Postmodern added values: grace,
mystery, humanity, emphasis on the Body of Christ, honest with limitations,
authentic community, holistic spirituality, non-systematic
Ravi Zacharias: “How do you reach a
generation that hears with its eyes and thinks with its feelings?”
Leonard Sweet: experiential,
participatory, image-driven, connecting
Connecting: relationships, dialogue, story,
transparency, listening, questions (not answers), ambiguity, experiential,
multimedia/multisensory, missional, realistic, arts, poetry, movies
Web sites showing Christians engaging the postmodern
culture:
http://www.djchuangA.com
http://www.next-wave.org
http://www.youngleader.org
http://www.soultsunami.com
http://www.leonardsweet.com
http://www.xenos.org
http://www.mosaic.org
http://www.marshillchurch.org
http://www.ecclesiahouston.org
http://www.crcc.org
http://www.solomonsporch.com
http://www.regenerator.com
http://www.beyondmag.com
Select
Bibliography
(not necessarily the best books, but just some for starters)
SoulTsunami: Sink or Swim in New Millennium Culture
by Leonard Ira Sweet
AquaChurch: Essential Leadership Arts for Piloting Your Church in Today's Fluid
Culture
by Leonard Ira Sweet
Inside the Soul of a New Generation : Insight
and Strategies for Reaching Busters
by Tim Celek, Dieter Zander, Patrick Kampert
Ancient-Future Faith : Rethinking Evangelicalism for a Postmodern World
by Robert E. Webber
Generating Hope : A Strategy for Reaching the Postmodern Generation
by Jimmy Long
An 8-Track Church in a Cd World : The Modern Church in a Postmodern World
by Robert N., Jr Nash, Loren Mead
Reinventing Your Church
by Brian D. McLaren
Virtual Faith : The Irreverent Spiritual Quest of Generation X
by Tom Beaudoin
The Church Between Gospel and Culture : The Emerging Mission in North America
by George R. Hunsberger (Editor) and others
Discontinuity & Hope : Radical Change and the Path to the Future
by Lyle E. Schaller