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Postmodern
Missions
I've just read a very interesting book which
was put together by Richard Tiplady whom Jo and I recently met. He
was until recently the associate director of
Global Connections
which is the primary umbrella for evangelical mission agencies in
the United Kingdom, very similar to the AEP or the AIM and is now
the UK director for
European Christian Mission. We had a really good
meeting with him and found his personality and viewpoint were very
similar to my own, even specializing in Organizational Development.
Perhaps there are more strange folks like me out there than I had
thought. :-D
The book
"Postmission" is based upon a meeting
of young mission leaders who gathered together to discuss their
perspectives on missons and how they differ from the previous
generation's understanding. Each chapter is written by a different
leader as they examine the new influences in missions today and the
struggle to work within organizations which were established during
previous generations. As I read, I found myself identifying with
many, if not a majority, of the trends which they identified. In
particular, this book looks at what is referred to as Generation X,
which is my generation, born between 1965 and 1980. This generation
is seen by many as the transitional generation between modernism and
postmodernism. Today, this group is moving into leadership and
bringing with them new values and perspectives. Here are some unique
aspects to those of my generation as identified in this book.
This book noted that GenXers are
more interested in reality than in putting on a good face.
They have a tendency to distrust anything that seems too
good to be true and rather than trying to be "good
Christians" who look like they have it all together,
emphasize being real about who they are and where they are.
They also seek this from leadership. If they hear only the
good side of something, they will distrust it as being
false. The well polished messages which organizations used
to send out are highly suspect. If it isn't genuine, they
don't want anything to do with it.
Much as they want reality, they also
recognize their own lack of "having it all together" and as
such seek for input into their lives. Many in this
generation have grown up without parents or mentors. There
is a desire to have someone come alongside of them and help
them through the challenges of life. In the corporate world
this is evidenced by the growth of executive coaching. GenXers aren't seeking to go it alone, though it might seem
like it at times. They want someone of experience and
humility to walk with them.
In the same vein, GenXers desire
leadership, but not in the same way as leadership was
previously viewed. They don't want someone to come and tell
them what to do and how to do it, they want someone wise to
walk alongside of them to challenge them, to help them see
the bigger picture, to help them see the way forward. They
feel that they should be able to discuss and debate issues
with their leadership yet without in any way challenging
their leadership and to have a form of leadership with is
participative and which seeks input. They seek a radically
different type of leader and there isn't room here to begin
to discuss this aspect but it is an area of conflict for
many, as this generation views leadership much differently
from the previous generations.
This generation doesn't do very well
at fitting into boxes. The book stated how the previous
generation of mission agencies focused on taking diverse
people and preparing them to be sent out in a particular
mold, much like a sausage machine. The new generation does
not want to be put in someone else's mold, but instead
believes that they have something unique to contribute from
their own personality and gifting. They believe that the
molds and mission should be adapted to fit them, not them to
the mold. Hence, the face of what it means to be a
missionary is changing, often for the good as people develop
new models and methods which make use of their unique gifts.
In much the same way, they value
diversity. They've grown up in a much more global and mixed
world than previous generations and have learned that there
are a thousand different ways to do the same thing. They are
not threatened by diversity but often see it as a form of
strength. Just as they don't fit the old molds, neither do
they expect others to fit their molds. They desire and
embrace diversity of viewpoints, methods, personalities,
nationalities, etc.
At the same time, they don't liked
to be fenced in, even with their own fences. They are
accustomed to an ever changing world. While previous
generations had jobs or even mission assignments for life,
today GenXers see the world in terms of just a couple of
years. I (Erik) was talking with one GenX mission leader a
couple of weeks ago and asked him how long he would stay in
his present position and he told me he considered it a
long-term commitment; when further questioned he said he
might be there for up to 5 years. :D GenXers are always
looking towards the horizon and ready for change to come.
They are in some ways addicted to change and don't do well
at settling in any one place for too long.
This is a generation which has seen
families torn apart by the glorification of work, even
ministry. The race for success has had time to reveal its
ugly side and most do not want to be part of that. They
generally don't seek leadership or power to the same degree
as others because they recognize its danger. At the same
time they desire to live life and not be ruled by the work
they do. They are a generation which is experimenting with
various models of work and rejecting its previous
interpretations. They want to live much more healthy and
balanced lives and to actually live. That isn't to say that
they don't believe in work or are lazy, quite the opposite,
but they don't want work to be their god.
They desire to be part of a
community. They seek a sense of belonging rather than
individualism. As such, they seek even to have their
organizations be part of community, focusing on cooperative
efforts and a larger understanding of being part of the Body
of Christ. They avoid denominationalism and organizational
individualism preferring to be part of a larger community.
They also seek for their churches to be based on community
rather than simply a place where they are given theological
head knowledge. They long to belong and contribute to a
caring community of believers. At the same time, they look
at things more in terms of community than individuality.
This generation puts greater emphasis on applying biblical
values to issues of global community concern such as world
debt, fair trade, ecology, human rights, etc while previous
generations often seemed to focus more exclusively on
personal application of biblical values.
They also seek to rethink their
faith. They are a generation which asks questions and which
doesn't simply accept the forms of Christianity which were
passed down to them. They question what it means to be salt
and light in the world, what it means to be holy. They take
the teaching of Scriptures and try to apply the meaning of
them to the world in which they live rather than simply
accepting the forms they have been given. This causes a lot
of waves because they often aren't seen to do the "Christian
thing". In their search for authenticity, they often reject
the existing practices and ask lots of questions that
previous generations haven't asked. "Are morning
'devotions' really the foundation of a healthy Christian
life", "Should church revolve around a pastor and a Sunday
teaching service?", "What is a missionary?", "Does worship
just mean singing?", "Why is it this way and not that", etc,
etc.
These
are just a few interesting points from the book about this new
generation. I found myself in there much more than I had thought I
would. The book also does a good job of showing some of the
weaknesses before this new generation as well as the implications
for mission agencies. If you found this interesting, you may want to
have a look at the book yourself.
It can be found on Amazon.com.
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