I just finished reading Dan Kimball’s The Emerging Church: vintage christianity for new generations. It’s one of those books that has been on my shelf for some time. I’m wishing it hadn’t taken me so long to get around to it! I don’t agree with all of what Kimball suggests, but I think he has some great points about the challenges for Christianity in reaching “new generations”.
I especially found his chapter on “preaching without words” interesting. Among the points that Kimball makes are these:
- While a more modern/traditional mindset moves through a faith process of FACTS influencing BELIEF which influences BEHAVIOR, Kimball suggests that in post-modern/emerging cultures the faith process shift looks much more like EXPERIENCE influencing BEHAVIOR which in turn influences BELIEF. Acknowledging that change means that we need to rethink the ways we seek to communicate the message of the gospel. Kimball concludes that we can no longer assume that the spoken word – in a 20 minute message - is what impacts people the most. “Art preaches, Scripture preaches, Music preaches, Even silence preaches”, says Kimball.
I’m wondering what our worship service would be like if we followed a model that saw EXPERIENCE and BEHAVIOR preceding BELIEF?
- Kimball says that for emerging cultures there should be an importance placed on developing a culture which encourage questions and thinking. In the emerging church, he says, we need to “cultivate a culture that allows dialogue. The church needs to “learn to ‘struggle with the scriptures’ through the example of midrash” that allows for thinking through scripture using a variety of interpretations.
I’m wondering what our worship service would be like if we not only allowed but actively promoted questions, dialogue, and doubt instead of blind obedience or unthinking acquiescence to a set of beliefs?
- Finally, Kimball maintains that emerging churches are more comfortable with an image of the “preacher as shepherd and fellow journeyer instead of a message giver and problem solver”
I’m wondering what our worship service would be like if we preachers would be vulnerable enough to allow ourselves to be experienced as co-journeyers rather than the ones who have the answers?
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Hey Eric -
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff... This statement, in particular, is going to stick with me for a while: "While a more modern/traditional mindset moves through a faith process of FACTS influencing BELIEF which influences BEHAVIOR, Kimball suggests that in post-modern/emerging cultures the faith process shift looks much more like EXPERIENCE influencing BEHAVIOR which in turn influences BELIEF."
You mentioned this in regards to preaching and worship, but I would tend to apply the model (Experience, Behavior, Belief) towards the whole of Christian discipleship. Rarely do I find anybody who is interested in the facts of faith until after some experience has left them wanting more depth. So, when I talk with people outside of the Christian faith, I invite them to join me in service instead of come to worship--promoting more of the experience than the belief, I guess.
And I learning to take that approach with teaching some of the spiritual disciplines--just go and do it and then we'll talk about it later...
Ryan -
ReplyDeleteAnother appealing model for me that Kimball lifts - one that I'll have to confess I wasn't familiar with - comes from a book from a few years ago by George Hunter called "The Celtic Way of Evalgelism". Hunter plays off what he calls the "Roman model for reaching people" which is: 1) Present the Christian message; 2) Invite people to decide to believe in Christ and become Christians and 3) If they decide positively, welcome them into the church and its fellowship - with the "Celtic way" which is to 1) establish community with people, or bring them into the fellowship of your community of faith. 2) Within fellowship, you engage in conversation, ministry, prayer, and worship. 3) In time, as they discover that they now believe, you invite them to commit.