Chapter 3 is Walt’s take on postmodernism. I must confess that I was really excited to read this section because I believe Walt has been the loudest voice in the church imploring youth workers, parents and teachers to know the culture the students in their ministry are being shaped by.Walt suggests that there are at least 11 common threads within the postmodern worldview that are helping to shape the soul of teenagers. He cautions that these elements will vary within each context. Finally he suggests that, “In the postmodern world we can expect consistent inconsistency from person to person and within each individual as he or she changes from moment to moment.” (pg. 62)
1. Stories and words are power grabs.
2. Use feelings, not reason.
3. Embraces moral relativism.
4. Celebrates pluralism, diversity and tolerance.
5. Replaces immorality with amorality.
6. Promotes an agonizing pessimism.
7. Displaces hope with despair.
8. Fosters a longing for connections and permanence.
9. Advances interest in spirituality.
10. Dismisses Christianity.
11. Sees faith as a smorgasbord.
Each one of these points could be a topic of discussion for a month! Do you agree? Disagree? What is he missing? Which one stands out as most prominent in your context?
Here’s where this is getting me today in our context. Do our families know these elements? Do the students know these elements? Does our pastoral staff know these elements? Do our high school and jr. high leaders know these elements? And if they know them, can they see them working out in the lives of the students in our church and in the culture? And if they see them working out in the lives of the students in our church and in the culture, do they know how to address it from a Biblical worldview? One more thing, where in our ministry are we allowing students, who have never been to church to see how the Bible interacts with these elements?
Additional resources for this chapter are HERE!
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4 comments:
I've been thinking about the longing for connections lately. I think this longing is there, but it is idealized and wanted without work or patience. People want to be connected to others if they can have those connections as fast as a webpage loads. So I think while the longing is there, the patience and endurance to actually pursue lasting connection often is not.
Great thoughts Trevor! I think we are experiencing that issue in our group. Students show up twice a month and if they don't feel loved by a hundred people immediately they bail and say the group is unloving. This probably has been an issue for years in youth ministry but the culture adds a different dynamic that makes those connections all the more important!
I was going to say that I think the "No patience" factor could be another element on that list...although it's not really exclusive to the postmodern view. I've seen both the longing for connection and the lack of patience within our group as well. So it's starting at a young age!
I think you're all on to it. We live in an instant society. If it doesn't happen now, it's not worth waiting around for. I'm loving this conversation and am hoping more will get in on it. Thanks, Dan, for your thoughts
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