CONTEXT OF OUR PREACHING Part Four: Word

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• CONTEXT OF OUR PREACHINGPart Four Word

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TWO KEY PROBLEMS

• 1) BRIDGING THE GAP2) PREACHING TO POSTMODERNS

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PREACHING TO POSTMODERNS
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POST-MODERNISM In Brief

• Thomas Oden defines the modern period
• As the period from 1789 to 1989, from the
  Bastille to the Berlin Wall.
• Postmodernism is used in a chronological sense,
  that which comes after the modern period.
  Erickson, PTF, 53
• Postmodernism is that which follows modernity
  modernity has run its course and is exhausted,
  intellectually and spiritually bankrupt
• Oden argues for paleo-orthodoxy, a return to the
  classical orthodoxy of the early undivided church

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POST-MODERNISM In Brief

• David Wells argues
• Somewhere between the middle of the nineteenth
  century and the middle of the twentieth century
  we moved from a Eurocentric world to a world
  centered on America, a period he calls Our
  Time. Wells, No Place for Truth, 53-54
• Our time is based on urbanization and democratic
  tendencies it is dependent upon technology and
  capitalism

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POST-MODERNISM In Brief

• For Wells, powerful forces bring about
  sociological modernity which leads to
  intellectual postmodernism. Wells, NPFT, 61
• Belief in progress, in transcending the past,
  leads those who are sociologically modern to
  become intellectually postmodern. Erickson, PTF,
  27.

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POST-MODERNISM In Brief

• Francis Schaeffer argues that a line of despair
  bisects history, occurring in Europe around 1890
  and in the U.S. after 1935. Schaeffer, The God
  Who is There, in The Complete Works, I8
• This despair began in the discipline of
  philosophy, and spread successively to art,
  music, general culture, and finally, theology.
  Erickson, PTF, 65

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POST-MODERNISM In Brief

• The roots of despair began with Hegel and his
  dialectic, an attack on the older rational model
• The meaning of life can no longer be dealt with
  in terms of a rational explanation, but instead
  the real things of life must be dealt with by
  a nonrational leap of faith. Erickson, PTF, 67

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POST-MODERNISM In Brief

• Chronologically a development beyond the rational
  worldview fostered by the Enlightenment
• Represents a dissolving of an orderly, structured
  view of reality
• Represents the abandonment of a metanarrative
  and the embracing, instead, of many (mini)
  stories (in community)

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POST-MODERNISM In Brief

• Is thoroughly anti-foundationalist and suspicious
  of the objectivity of knowledge
• Rejects the secularized notion of progress (a
  Christian heresy) and questions whether knowledge
  is good
• Embraces ways of knowing, other than by reason
  intuition, experience, feeling

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COPING WITH POSTMODERNISM

• Acknowledge the paradigm shift
• The church is no longer part of the
  establishment
• We are living in a Post-Constantinian era
• In many ways, the Post-Constantinian era is
  remarkably similar to the Pre- Constantinian era
• How did the early church live?

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COPING WITH POSTMODERNISM

• The early church
• At the minimum, sought to transform the
  culture, rather than assimilate it
• At times, stood against the culture
• Demonstrated the reality of the Christian faith
• By their love for one another
• By their consistency of life
• By their commitment, even unto death
• By their willingness to share the faith with all

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COPING WITH POSTMODERNISM

• Connecting to Postmoderns?
• Remember this is the MTV generation
• Multi-tasking, non-linear learning
• Short attention spans
• Make use of story and personal witness
• Be willing to dialog- not pontificate
• Remember that faith comes by hearing the Word of
  God!

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PREACHING TO POSTMODERNS

• The importance of imagery
• The postmodern age is an image-rich age
  therefore postmodern preachers should draw on
  image-rich narratives and stories to present the
  gospel and make it clear. Craig Loscalzo,
  Apologetic Preaching, 22

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PREACHING TO POSTMODERNS

• The importance of authenticity
• Apologetic preaching must offer the Christian
  faith without attempting to sell the church. AP,
  24
• The presence of God is missing
• The institutional church is no substitute for the
  reality of Gods presence
• The preacher must be a loyal critic of the
  institutional church

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PREACHING TO POSTMODERNS

• The importance of authenticity
• How something is said is as important as what is
  said. Graham Johnston, Preaching to Postmoderns,
  127
• We must be aware of the importance of language
  in either affirming or marginalizing people.
• Sermons which are illustrated only by stories
  about men, quotations from men, and portraits of
  men receive an increasingly unfavorable response.
  Neither do they reflect a biblical reality.
  Haddon Robinson, A Voice in the Wilderness

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PREACHING TO POSTMODERNS

• The importance of theology
• Apologetic preaching requires ministers to be
  servants of the Word. To neglect this theological
  task ranks paramount to ministerial malpractice.
  AP, 26
• Lecture style sermons, with the preacher removed
  from the realities of life, do not communicate
• Preaching is a conversation grown large

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PREACHING TO POSTMODERNS

• The importance of theology
• The preacher is to give meaning to a culture
  that desperately seeks significance but does not
  know where to turn to find it. AP, 26
• 21st century life presents multiple ambiguities
  and contradictions people still seek, at some
  level, an understanding of life
• Make connection between doctrine life

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PREACHING TO POSTMODERNS

• The Possibility of Dialogic Preaching, Johnston,
  Preaching to Postmoderns, 150
• Use the Socratic method
• Use of conversational style
• Use of body language, informality, openness
• Use of Inductive Preaching, Ibid., 151
• Ask the question, pose the problem- start where
  listener is!
• Lay out the evidence and consider possibilities-
  engage listener in dialog
• Work towards a solution- maintain suspense

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PREACHING TO POSTMODERNS

• The Possibility of Storytelling, Johnston,
  Preaching to Postmoderns, 155
• The gospel is a story
• Consider the Jesus' use of parables
• The Movement
• Introduce the story with suspense
• Use specifics and vivid imagery
• Personalize (what does this say to you?)
• Maintain flow!!
• Internalize the emotional
• Summarize your point

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PREACHING TO POSTMODERNS

• The Possibility of Multi-Media
• How does our culture conveys its message???
• The role of drama
• The use of contemporary music
• The rediscovery and employment of the arts
• The opportunities afforded by digital and
  electronic technologies
• The role of humor

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• CONTEXT OF OUR PREACHINGPart Four Word