I have been reading “A New Kind of Christian” by Brian MacLaren. If you’re not familiar with the work, it is a fictional conversation between a pastor and his daughter’s soccer coach about the changing face of the world from modernism to post-modernism and that transition’s impact on the Christian faith. The book reflects (and in many ways summarizes) a larger conversation in church leadership circles about what post-modern Christianity might look like and what our role as Christ-followers is in it all. It is a good book and I would recommend it for any follower of Christ who finds the current American expression of the ancient Christian faith uncomfortable and even incomplete.

In the book, much time is spent in a discussion about our approach to theology – the failures of our current methods as well as the beginning of a new approach. It’s interesting stuff.

Just before I got to this section of the book, I had this discussion in real life with a pastor friend of mine. We talked of the differences between the conservative evangelical Christianity we had been raised (and trained in) and new emerging theological perspectives from emerging church leaders around the globe.

Our conversation focused on the question of theology. After my suggestion that modern Christianity possibly approaches theology with a set of assumptions (mainly the need to fit the whole of biblical theology into a nice/neat systematic package) that possibly we miss some true perspectives of the creator. I also suggested that we probably need to approach the training of Christian leaders differtently as well. My friend listened patiently to my rants (I appreciate it more than he knows) and then calmly asked a difficult question (I am paraphrasing), “So if you don’t think we are getting it right when it comes to ministry training, what do you think it should (will) look like in the future.” It’s a great question and asking good questions is one of the reasons I so appreciate this friend of mine.

I had to think about that one. I will admit, I tend to be a bettter deconstructionist than a futurist, but so is the case for most of us who have found ourslelves engrossed in the discussion of “what could/should be”. It’s easier for me to tell you how the way we do things isn’t right, but very hard for me to give you some solutions to improve/reform it. I am working on this.

My answer went something like this, “I think that we have to move from a early-ministry-career training posture (a learn all you need to know for the first 10 years and then spend the next 40 others teaching that very info without change or question) to a lifelong-learning posture (one that is seen as a journey that will never end and is embraced with a healthy dose of humility). While I am not sure how to structure this type of learning (and maybe that’s just the point!). I think it’s important that we humbly each try to seek God through his revealed word (the Bible), through what theologians call general revelation (the natural world around us that communicates and explains pieces of the Creator), and through (some of you will not like this one!) our experiences of God himself. And we will do ourselves a favor if we embark on this journey in community with others doing the same – rather than with an individualized approach.

The interesting thing is these answers to my friend’s question seemed intuitive. I had no frame of reference, no written material I had read to support my answer, I just tried to answer the question based on my evolving understanding of God in my life/experience. I was pretty fearful (as I often am!) that I had dumped a load of crap on the table that was illogical and irrelevant at best.

Then I recently read the chapter in “A New Kind of Christian” where the two main characters have an almost identical discussion. The solutions that they mentioned were very similar to my thoughts/suggestions. That learning needed to be approached from a more humble stance and with a lifelong-learning posture. And that seminaries need to evolve in their mentalities/styles/approaches to be successful and relevant in the future.

You might check this book out – it’s extremely interesting. What do you think about new approaches to theology? Are our current approaches irrelevant to a new post-modern world, having been formed seemingly in a very modern void?

– Z