I am currently reading a book called "The Great Giveaway: Reclaiming the Mission of the Church from Big Business, Parachurch Organizations, Psychotherapy, Consumer Capitalism and Other Modern Maladies. It is available from Amazon.com for about $20.
This is no easy read - let me throw that out at the start. While I believe that he has some really great critiques of the church and how we can do things differently in the coming generations, it is dry and laborious reading. Since this is the case, I will try to distill his points to the best of my ability, because they really are good. I may have to correct myself in future posts as my understanding of the material grows, but I trust that you will bear with me.
For the sake of clarity in future posts, I need to define some terms.
Modern (Modernity) - The philosophy that was dominant from the Renaissance until the last ten to twenty years. Modernism is characterized by individualism, consumerism and the elevation of science. It tends to be humanistic (Man is the measure of all things) and bound to what can be seen, perceived and handled in the physical world.
Post-Modern - The current emerging philosophy of life that is the combining of reactions against modernism and new realities brought about by changes in technology. Post-modernism is hallmarked by distrust of authority, desire for community and experiential reality. This is a very rough approximation because post-modernism is still in its formative period. I will not attempt to be a spokesman for the movement as a whole, though I would consider myself more in this camp than the other.
Ok, terms are done for now. Another post will follow soon to get this discussion started.
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