A Dance with Postmodernism
Anthony Elliot’s Contemporary Social Theory: An Introduction[1]is fascinating and overwhelming all at the same time for me. To consider the amount of effort exerted to define the word ‘society’, let alone all the theories underneath it, is mind-boggling. Humans have been attempting to make sense of our world for a long time.
I was drawn to the section on Postmodernism because of how it helped me make sense of my world years ago. In hind sight, our dance with postmodernism was not a long one but it was an intense one. We moved in 2002 to Dallas to start a Young Adult Ministry for twenty-somethings; we called it The Gathering.
We did not know what a Young Adult ministry was and had never experienced one. But we understood the senior pastor’s vision to provide a spiritual experience for the all the college-age and beyond that had left the church after high school. We had lots of candles, acoustic worship and coffee. We taught from a stool. We were cutting edge and non-traditional. We were ‘postmodern’ or so we thought.
Brian McLaren, Donald Miller and Rob Bell were some of the voices that invited us the postmodern dance. And we could not get enough of it. We did not know about Deleuze, Guatarri, Jameson and Bauman and other postmodern theorists that Elliot refers to. We would not have said it this way but we felt its effects:
‘The postmodern confounds modernist hierarchies – with its dislocating subversion of ideological closure, its interpretative polyvalence, its self-reflexive pluralism.[2]
We were experiencing a liquidity and lucidness we had never known. Everything seemed up in the air; we felt wide open. When McLaren’s New Kind of Christian[3]came out in 2007, we devoured it. Individually and as a leader community, the idea that postmodernism was a way forward between conservative evangelicalism and liberalism was a lifeline. It made sense and provided ‘structure’ for the deconstruction process we were in. We had so many questions. We did not know where we were going to land with all of this but it seemed like our only option was to leave our modern charismatic church for a more postmodern one.
As I reflect on this, I was reminded of how this intense, scary journey came to some conclusion. Near the end of this tumultuousness, a divine encounter of sorts helped me move forward. We were on the same missions trip at Mardi Gras that we had participated in for the last 6 years. But this time I was deep into our postmodern church crisis. I secretly questioned everything. And I was exhausted. I could not worship or enjoy or lead like previous years – how could I? I thought I was a completely different person with too many questions and not enough answers. How could I participate in church experiences, let alone evangelize, when I was no longer certain if the Church was even good any longer?
I thought all I had was unanswered questions. It was in this frame of mind that some gentle questions came to my consciousness,
What do you know? What are you certain of?
It was not a rebuke for having deep questions or doubts. It was not a lecture about doctrine or absolutism or the evils of tolerance. It was not a defense of all I had experienced in church but it was a way forward.
It was an invitation to return to what I knew for certain without ignoring the very real questions I still held. As I sat there, surrounded by the very familiar church culture I had always known but now was unsure of, I realized I did know some things. Deep down, I still held several deep beliefs. But the list was much smaller than it was in Bible college. Much smaller.
There were only a few things I could hold to now – the kinds of things that could be found in the Apostles Creed[4]. I held church practices and doctrinal distinctives much looser. I no longer needed to be right or pretend to know all the answers. There was new room for faith and the unknown.
To stay with this metaphor, I am glad I danced. I believe I am better and lighter for it. It enabled me to realize that both modernism and postmodernism are insufficient anchors for my life. And I now know that whatever is next in the inevitable waves of social theory, when handled critically, will also be useful to me to that end.
[1]Elliott, Anthony. Contemporary Social Theory: An Introduction. Routledge: New York, NY, 2014.
[2]Ibid., 286.
[3]McLaren, Brian D. A New Kind of Christian: A Tale of Two Friends on a Spiritual Journe. SPCK, 2013.
[4]https://www.crcna.org/welcome/beliefs/creeds/apostles-creed
About the Author
Andrea Lathrop
I am a grateful believer in Jesus Christ, a wife, mom and student. I live in West Palm Beach, Florida and I have been an executive pastor for the last 8+ years. I drink more coffee than I probably should every day.7 responses to “A Dance with Postmodernism”
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Andrea, your story was all too familiar. I can remember those same feelings of freedom and long-awaited answers, followed quickly by confusion concerning the church and my place in it. I am thankful for that season and for the simplicity it brought to my faith, but I would not wish the years of cynicism on anyone. I must have been such a difficult person to be around during that time of discovery. God bless the true friends and mentors who stuck with me!
I am curious…do you see a similar pattern in the church leaders you have been leading recently? Are they traveling through the same crucible of discovery?
Rhonda, I am not surprised you were on a similar journey with us. I take comfort in that. This is the time, by the way, that Earl Creps became even more important in our lives. I almost mentioned him in the blog.
What is interesting about your great question as I reflect on it, is that I don’t see the same kind of struggle and deconstruction in our young leaders here. The more I think of it, the more difficult it is for me to find an example of a young leader that is deeply wrestling with these same kinds of questions. I spend much more time with them on their own personal developmental & calling challenges and almost none of their issues with the institution of the Church. So interesting. I would love to know your experience and thoughts on the same thing?
Andrea,
I am thankful that you came to hear the still, small voice of the Lord call to you in the midst of your avalanche of questions about everything. What has worked best for you to maintain a life-giving balance between being open to questions while staying connected relationally with what you know and who you know? Blessings, H
Harry – I so appreciate you. What an excellent question. Reflecting on that tumultuous season has deepened my gratitude for the leaders in our lives.
We did have some courageous conversations with our senior pastor, who was very loving and open to us. I remember a specific conversation about cigar smoking by a brilliant leader in our YA ministry. We didn’t want such demands placed on our leaders – that was so passé. And honestly, we were resisting the notion that there were all these external requirements for leadership. He loved Jesus & people – wasn’t that good enough? Our senior pastor listened to us and stayed calm. He then offered to take the issue of cigars and social drinking to the board of elders if we wanted. We backed down. I think we wanted & needed to be heard by someone who we felt represented the modern way of doing church. You can appreciate that this was 90 year old A/G church context. 🙂
Again, thank you for your question because it helped me realize that one of the things we did right (and that we’ve encouraged other young leaders to do) was to stay connected. Don’t jump ship too soon – and don’t assume the grass is greener where there are more candles and coffee. We were better together. There are times to transition of course but we were not ready or in a mature, reasoned place to make that decision. I’m glad we didn’t. Much appreciation!
Andrea thanks for the open and honest post. I have to admit I have never read any of McLaren books as the denomination I was in at the time said he was not good! They were very much tied to their own “social theory” and anything outside of that was evil.
You bring out some important aspects of life and spiritual life but the one that sticks out to me the most is that at some point you will experience a crisis and how you come through it will shape you deeply. I have heard many in your same crisis walk away from their faith totally while you grew to a new degree. This leads me to the question of the evolution of faith. Many times we hear about “the good ole days” and while I appreciate that if we are trying to “get back” to something are we missing another? On the flip side, we must always “remember” what God has done in this modern world and new cool hip church.
Andrea, I understand what you are saying in this post. I think that we all go through a crisis of faith from time to time. New theories come and go but as the Holy Spirit made known to you, the Word of God stands forever. I remember a young professor challenging my beliefs in seminary and I really had to think about things, going back to the basics. I was able to stand on what I knew without question. I embrace these new theories, but I believe it is good to be just a little skeptical when they go against what the Holy Spirit has planted firmly in our heart.
Andrea, I agree with you that as you think more about postmodernism and the time we are living in now, you generate so many questions without answers. It is true no one can answer for you these questions because we seem to have accepted a lifestyle that irreversible. This is a point where faith in God now takes place. But you have to realize that you look at things from a different lens of a different generation and as time goes the situation continues to get worse and worse to our generation. But the new generation all is well and they live their time no comparison. There are good and bad things because we can make comparisons with the past. Thank you for this sharing.