“Post-Church” …

Reading through some different blogs I came across a post by Doug on whether or not we really can consider ourselves living in a “post-Christian” context. On another blog I read an argument suggesting we are certainly living in a “post-Christian” America.

It may be some time before we can be too definitive either way. Doug offered an interesting description of our day – we are “post-church.” People may indeed be interested in God, knowing God and being spiritual. But, they are not necessarily drawn to the church. So, if post means something after that discards the former then certainly we could be described as being in a “post-church” environment. What may be offered to us is a way forward to thinking about how we could be “post-church” in the sense where we take apart what is considered church, dispense with those things that reveal our preferences (that may be in lock-step with a given age/day/period of time) and cut them away from those things we find important/significant about what it means to “be” the church. Making this move may indeed come close to bringing us into a “post-church” environment where the church is not dispensed with but rather a particular way of doing/being church culturally connected to a former day may be set aside for a way of doing/being church more intent on transformation of a different time and space.

About the Author
Husband to Patty. Daddy to Kimberly and Tommie. Grandpa Doc to Cohen, Max, Fox, and Marlee. Pastor to Snow Hill Baptist Church. Graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Reading. Photography. Golf. Colorado. Jeeping. Friend. The views and opinions expressed here are my own and should not be construed as representing the corporate views of the church I pastor.

1 comment on ““Post-Church” …

  1. Anonymous says:

    I don’t know if we are “post-church” yet, but I do think that we are increasingly “post-denominational” which seems to have a similar effect.

    In thinking back to Robert Weber’s Ancient-Future Faith I see a definite trend to do away with some of our contemporary traditions in favor of some ancient ones. It seems to me that many of the current traditions in “separatist” churches, or the free church movement, are not much more than reactions to some of those old practices. The problem is, it is more and more difficult to say, “We don’t do that here because that’s something the Catholics do and we’re not Catholic.”

    I believe our religious practices are much more meaningful when we do them for a positive reason than for a negative one.

    Maybe that’s somewhat of what you are getting at here.

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