 CHRIST-NO MORE, NO LESS
In this book Milton Jones proposes to teach us "How to be a Christian in a Postmodern World." It was published by Leonard Allen's New Leaf Books, a familiar name in "change" literature. The author's stated design is to help us understand postmodernism so we can be more effective witnesses for Christ. Discerning readers will conclude however, that the author himself has embraced postmodernism and is molding his ministry to its canons in order to attract and keep young postmoderns under his influence.
He asks, "how do we fit Christianity in a postmodern world?" (p. 20). This is surely the wrong question. We should be asking how can we help those lost in the maze of postmodernism escape and find salvation in Christ?
On page 20, the writer relates how "many churches" are trying to adapt and survive in the postmodern world. Some "are taking more of an Eastern approach to religion by emphasizing an inner subjectivism and allowing for the validity of all religions." "Others are changing or softening their core beliefs. Congregations are giving in to the intellectual marketplace where whatever is popular becomes the rule of thumb for the church." "The new trend is to create a church that is more pleasing to people of the postmodern mind, while avoiding those who do not fit into the postmodern philosophy." In these quotes Jones paints a vivid picture of the change churches among us that are willing to sacrifice everything and try anything to attract or hold on to people who want religion without the demands of Christ revealed in he Word.
He knows and states the correct answers to the postmodern challenge: "In the postmodern world, Christianity must be seen as distinctive and not something that can be changed to fit an ever-changing mold." "Christianity and postmodernism, in many of their foundational tenets are mutually exclusive" (p. 20). "In postmodernism we are to leave everyone alone and celebrate diversity..." "The heart of the Christian message is not the celebration of diversity..." (p. 33). How truly said! But his problem is in following his own better judgement. His practice is to change the church to fit the ever-changing mold of the world. Paul plainly says, "Be not conformed to the world" (Rom. 12:2).
He says, "The church itself started to act as if it had everything figured out." (p. 74). "In the postmodern world, no one can be sure of anything. But it goes deeper than that. No one can tolerate anyone who is sure of something." (p. 49). It is a cardinal rule of postmodernism that no one can be sure of anything, or be certain that he has figured out anything, especially in the realm of moral and spiritual truth. One of the chief complaints of change agents against us is that we are too sure of our faith! They are intolerant of those who refuse their program! Thus he joins them in this conclusion. "In the church of my heritage,(i.e., Churches of Christ, JHW), we tried to figure out everything it took to be the right church. ... It was called Restorationism... But too often we put the emphasis on our work of discovering the ancient pattern rather than God's revelation of his current movement" (p. 75). Perhaps he would explain just what kind of revelation from God concerning his current movement he and his tribe are looking for? Have they received such revelations? If such are available, why do we need the Bible?
He quotes Mike Regele, "Thousands of churches are about to die..." "A local church has only two options as it's surrounding culture moves from modernity to postmodernity. It can die because of its resistence to change or it can die in order to be reborn as something new. Either way the church as we know it will die. Most churches are choosing the first alternative. The second choice is possible only if old structures and approaches and perspectives give way to new ones" (p. 87). From this quote we can deduce that Jones believes that churches that resist the change movement are doomed to die. This, by the way, is what the progressives said a hundred years ago of our fathers who refused to embrace their call for instruments of music in worship and missionary societies. Strangely they survived and flourished and the change agents (Disciples of Christ) have been in decline ever since. We agree that those church embracing the change agenda will be changed to such an extent that they will "reborn as something new," i.e., a new denomination, even if, God forbid, they still use the name Church of Christ. Many churches will die as a result of change agents sowing seeds of discord that splinter and scatter their members.
Jones says, "In reality, society needs someone to stand up and say when something is wrong" (p. 93). This is true, but such is contrary to the change philosophy. They only have criticism for the Christians and congregations that refuse to follow them into the world of change.
He reminds us, "In our culture today, the facts are not enough to convince. In fact they may not even be heard coherently by the masses. Without a story there is little change for belief" (p. 101). One wonders, who told him this and on what authority? "You don't have to prove the story or analyze it to death-just tell it" (p. 103). But I Thess. 5:19-20 says, "Prove all things...."
He glowingly speaks of "Fred Craddock, the great teacher of preachers" (p. 102). Mr. Craddock is the darling of the change professors and preachers. He is a minister of the liberal Disciples of Christ denomination and a professor at Emory University. By giving heed to teachers of this stripe many good men are now enmeshed in the snares of the postmodern change movement.
He tells us, "Post modern worship must be something altogether different. It must celebrate the joy of life in Christ. It must be centered in the retelling of the story in such a way that the worshipers find themselves inside the story even as they worship" (p. 103). Perhaps he could explain why it took some 2000 years to discover that man must have a postmodern type of worship? The result of postmodern thinking and behavior is a society of chaos, confusion and disintegration. Whey should Christians even think of following their crooked path? "The focus in a postmodern world must be upon participating in the story that rests at the heart of the Bible" (p. 105). Does he mean we must give them a role in a drama program for the worship service. "The story then become the shaping influence in our lives and the evidences of their truth resides not in scientific proof, but rather in the fact that Christians pattern their lives by them" (p. 105). To teach sinners the gospel in the words of and by the example of Christ and his apostles is distasteful to postmodern change agents. They seek to discredit such old fashioned efforts by likening them to dry scientific experiments. What if Christians pattern their lives after false stories? Does such matter in a postmodern church?
To Jones, "A blessing of postmodernism is that it will create a culture unresponsive to legalistic, works-oriented churches" (p 122). In case you haven't understood, it is us who refuse to follow the pied-pipers of change to whom he has reference.
"Change has been extremely difficult for churches as the modern world has given way to the postmodern. However churches that are interested in evangelism will do more than change for the sake of change. They will have to change for the sake of the mission. They will have to change in order to help younger people find Christ" (p. 124). Millions have been taught and brought to salvation through the preaching of the gospel such as was common among our brethren. It is a venture fraught with risk to assume the church will prosper by abandoning the tried and proven Bible mandate of preaching the word (II Tim. 4:2) for postmodern story-telling.
"Older church members, accustomed to modern thought and modern churches will be reluctant to change. But that reluctance may thwart the church from accomplishing its mission" (p. 124). It grieves agents of change to think that any Christians are so stubborn in their faith as to resist their calls for change.
"One of our problems as Christians is that we may have spent too much energy maintaining our umbrage against postmodernism. Our approach has been that we are right and they are wrong. Such an inflexible tactic in dealing with those of another viewpoint doesn't work well in our current age of tolerance" (p. 124) A change agent does not protest, because he has embraced this new world view and is willing to adjust his Christianity to fit into its mold. The following quote verifies this conclusion. "Christians who actually want to see change should not react in a hostile way to postmodern people" (p. 124-125).
"Paul's unique realization is that there are indeed, many other Christians, but they are not all exactly alike" (p. 134). Note his implication that Christians may be found in all sorts of denominational bodies. Does he include Catholics, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Scientists, The Jonestown Cult and David Koresh's Cult?
"Postmodernists tend to have a negative, irreverent spirt towards the church and even toward people in general" (p. 135). So do change agents. An entire book could be assembled of negative, irreverent quotes directed at Churches of Christ and their past and present ministers, who did not and will not accept the change agenda.
He cites columnist George Will, "Today, however there also seems to be s small-minded, mean-spirited resentment of those who rise, a reluctant to give credit where it is due, a flinching from unstinting admiration, a desire to disbelieve in the rewarded virtue of the few" (p. 136). Mr. Will was writing about baseball, but Jones applies these words to those of us who fail to appreciate the efforts of change agents to capture and redesign the church into a worldly denomination! He continues from Will, "We have a swamp of journalism suited to such an age, a journalism infused with a corrosive, leveling spirit..." (p. 136). These lines Jones directs at those who dare to express in print their objections to his change proposals.
"We could conclude that postmodernism is the ultimate end of human arrogance" (p. 140). We add our Amen. In the spirit of America's liberal political establishment, he writes, "It would be hard to argue with the opinion that the people of the modern West became the most arrogant people in history of the World." (p. 140). What a broad, derogatory generalization. Most of the Christians in the world, including all the change agents, are among those he labels as "arrogant!" I suspect the author excludes himself and fellow-change agents from this judgment.
He says, "The church needs a prophetic ministry that will mature, nourish and evoke a consciousness and perception alternative to the consciousness and perception of the dominant culture around us" (p. 144). Having read sixteen books promoting change, I am impressed at the repetition I find in them, both in ideas and phrases. "Prophetic ministry" is one of them. I wonder from whom they borrowed it?
Because of its watery content and opaqueness, this book is not the serious threat that some change productions are. The author failed in his purpose to inform us about the threat and challenge of postmodernism because he, knowingly or unknowingly, is in it up to his neck. In reality, the author is an apostle, for a postmodern version of Christianity.
JHW |
