the place just beyond words

Ok, I promised to explain a bit about my last rant and clear some things up. As I was reading a book for school just now, I came across a section that seemed to reinforce what I was trying to communicate. Each page I read had more and more. So I'm gonna quote a few lines and offer my thoughts... BTW, the book is Postmodern Youth Ministry by Tony Jones and this section is primarily addressing how important community is in our world today.


"We have to remember that most kids need an authentic relationship with us before they walk through the youth room doors. When they get up the courage to come, it's because they literally want to meet the God they've been sensing in our lives. Amazingly enough, that's what they assume church is about... connecting with God. If we make the mistake of equating technology with a high-impact, spiritual experience - if we forget that technology is a tool - we've missed the point. Concentrate on the "L" of worship... on going vertical (meeting with both the transcendent and imminent God) and horizontal (connecting with each other)."

Most of us grew up in entertainment-based youth ministries. Loud music, exciting videos, big budget, special effects. And it was the best show in town. Everyone wanted to be involved because it was exciting and presented Jesus as relevant. Some were more seeker sensitive, where you don't really talk about God, or you lure people in by saying it's one thing, and then try to sneak Jesus in at the last minute. And really, it worked., and there's nothing inherently wrong with it. But times are different now.

A church just can't compete with entertainment these days. No church I've ever heard of has a light show to compete with U2. A church worship band is just not as good at writing or playing music as the best artists in the world- sorry, but it's true. And even though the Thorn pushes the envelope in production and new ideas every year, and they do a fantastic job, they are still about 15 years behind Cirque du Soleil. So we have watered down entertainment that is 5 years behind the times and cheaper but hey it's Christian. And the message we are sending is that Jesus is just another filler to temporarily distract you from your hopeless 8-5 job, overwhelming house payment, and broken family.

Now I know you are thinking "But that isn't what Church s really about. Worship isn't just songs! Exactly! So why do we keep throwing all our effort into things that we openly admit are distractions?

And the truth is, a lot of people are sick of entertainment period. They want something real. Something lasting. Something that addresses the realities of a broken world. They want real relationships, not fake plastic smiles.


"I recently visited a huge youth ministry in another part of the country. The place, centered in a former warehouse, is amazing: a diner, video games, pool and foosball, skee ball, air hockey, and basketball... The dissonance occurred during the youth pastor's message to the 500 or so youth in attendance: "Do not be conformed to culture", he preached, "but be transformed by the renewing of your minds."...The whole first hour was rife with cultural influence - and then the students were chided for immersing themselves in secular culture. We must beware of these kinds of double standards."

And we might say that they shouldn't have video games and pool, or that the youth pastor shouldn't make such a big deal about culture. But the point of this quote is not to find the right formula, but to point out how easily double standards can sneak in. This is where my comments about clothing come in. I'm not saying that style is bad. I'm saying that we are sending mixed messages when we tell these students "All you need to belong and have identity is Christ", but the leadership is dressed in the latest fads. When we tell people that we need to give more to the poor (and we certainly do!), and then we try to sell them our cds, clothes, and books! Do you see the disconnect in that?


"Students - and I would suggest adults, too - want the church to deal with the issues that the church should deal with. They want to see religious, spiritual people who are useful in our world. 'Caring for orphans and widows in their distress and keeping oneself from being corrupted by the world.' "

If we agree that this is the heart of the gospel, then again, why spend our time, money, and energy on things we would all agree are NOT the heart of the gospel?


One value of the Baby Boom generation was relevance. Boomers thought the church had lost the ability to speak into day-to-day life (and sadly, many churches had), so churches were built to look like shopping malls and services were designed to be friendly and nonthreatening...But postmodern students want real more than relevant. The church needs to be what is is: a sacred community of persons who follow a mysterious and demanding Lord... The church is different.

This should make us ecstatic! Now we can be open and honest about our faith. We don't have to feel like freaks for saying we talk to God. This is what real Christianity looks like anyway. Jesus never let people get away with fitting him into a corner of their life. He demanded everything. He demanded that they lose their life for his sake. Maybe this is why Christianity always grows where people can't take it superficially...


The Charismatics, Pentecostals, and the Eastern Orthodox church have won... None of them do worship services - they do worship experiences. To these believers, worship is not an activity - it's an epic-tivity. It's both timely and timeless. They're experiential, participatory, image-based, and connective. Everybody else is rational, passive, word-based, and highly individual.

Again, this is fantastic. And that is part of what NLC does so well. Yes, there are lights and smoke and cameras, but they aren't the focus. The focus really is on experiencing the Living God. But as I've discovered while trying to find a good church here, it's rare. Postmoderns are hungry for experience, not for more rules or beliefs or thoughts. And being that we have a God who loves to be experienced, we have exactly what people want. Over and over and over, the Bible tells the story of a God who want to be with his people. And how they keep finding ways to disconnect and separate from him. But now, look at this! People are desperate for something spiritual! Check out Extreme Prophetic for examples of how some people are using this to reach out to newagers, mystics, and even people in the occult.

What a tragedy if we run away from postmodernism because we don't understand it and are afraid of new ideas. People are asking for an encounter with someone supernatural. This could be the greatest opportunity to reach the world that we've ever been given.


The trouble with writing about postmoderns is that they don't like to be categorized, explained, observed, limited, reduced, dumbed down, isolated, or put under a microscope. Postmoderns resent our obsession with definition. This generation is longing for relationship, mystery, experience, passion, wonder, creativity, and spontaneity. In other words, they want to go past where the "sidewalk ends." They long for the place just beyond words, the shore of mystery. In other words, they're looking for Jesus. What else do we need to know?