David Bosch & Christian Mission in North America, revisited
I've been rereading David Bosch's little tome, Believing in the Future. His book is one in a series on Christian Mission and Modern Culture. Bosch was the South African missiologist who died tragically in the early '90s. At the time of his death, he was starting to think through the implications of postmodernism and how the gospel might reach the postmodern world.
I wrote a number of posts on this subject a year or so ago, but I'm beginning to have second thoughts about some of what I wrote. Bosch's little book is about a missiology for the Western world. In layman's terms, he wants to point church leaders toward a construct that will help them become missionaries in their own contexts -- at home, not just abroad. Certainly that is a great exercise.
I have serious doubts, however, about the pursuit of A SINGLE missiological construct for the Western world or even just for North America or even for Fresno. I don't think it's possible. No one really knows if we actually are in a new era called "postmodernity." Even if that term describes the worldview of many who live in our contexts, there are many others who live among us with different understandings of the world -- or who are just trying to put bread on the table or find enough cash for their next high.
If anything, we live in a world of fracturing worldviews. There is no monolithic worldview, not even here in Fresno. Instead, we have worldviews! People, even neighbors, who live in close proximity to one another can have totally incompatible views of life and its attendant values.
So whither the gospel? For one thing, we need to reaffirm the uniqueness of each worshiping community. Every church can have a unique role to play. The goal is not to copy or borrow another church's mission as if our contexts were interchangeable or similar. Even neighboring churches with theological similarity can have different contexts that they reach out to and connect with. God needs us all in our uniqueness.
I am increasingly convinced that each church needs to learn its own special calling and learn to be content with that. Forget about postmodernism or major trends within our society. Just learn the context to which God has called you. And pray that God's Spirit would empower you for God's mission. That on its own should be hard enough!
I wrote a number of posts on this subject a year or so ago, but I'm beginning to have second thoughts about some of what I wrote. Bosch's little book is about a missiology for the Western world. In layman's terms, he wants to point church leaders toward a construct that will help them become missionaries in their own contexts -- at home, not just abroad. Certainly that is a great exercise.
I have serious doubts, however, about the pursuit of A SINGLE missiological construct for the Western world or even just for North America or even for Fresno. I don't think it's possible. No one really knows if we actually are in a new era called "postmodernity." Even if that term describes the worldview of many who live in our contexts, there are many others who live among us with different understandings of the world -- or who are just trying to put bread on the table or find enough cash for their next high.
If anything, we live in a world of fracturing worldviews. There is no monolithic worldview, not even here in Fresno. Instead, we have worldviews! People, even neighbors, who live in close proximity to one another can have totally incompatible views of life and its attendant values.
So whither the gospel? For one thing, we need to reaffirm the uniqueness of each worshiping community. Every church can have a unique role to play. The goal is not to copy or borrow another church's mission as if our contexts were interchangeable or similar. Even neighboring churches with theological similarity can have different contexts that they reach out to and connect with. God needs us all in our uniqueness.
I am increasingly convinced that each church needs to learn its own special calling and learn to be content with that. Forget about postmodernism or major trends within our society. Just learn the context to which God has called you. And pray that God's Spirit would empower you for God's mission. That on its own should be hard enough!
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