Varying Worldviews

With Christianity in the midst of its largest migration in a century (out of the church) the question on most radar screens is how does the body of Christ connect with a post-Christian culture?

WARNING! If we live out of old containers we constrain what God might be doing in preparation for the future.

In a recent conversation with a co-worker I explained that sin had separated us from God and Jesus came to bridge the gap. He quickly replied, “Why do I need to believe in Jesus for eternal life? I don’t think there is a gap between me and God.”

His comment was a slap in the face.

Immediately I realized that we were operating out of different assumptions. The Bible was my authority and foundation of truth but his truth came through personal, tribal, and village experiences. A web of interconnections rooted in experience; the more interconnections the more coherent the belief system. It was a two-way dialogue in which experience shaped belief and belief shaped experience.

In one sense I wasn’t trying to convert him to Christ but to my modern worldview. It was at that moment I realized I was bound by an outdated evangelistic model.
So as we grapple with new paradigms in this new era it’s important we:
· be real
· be deep
· be curious about the new thing God might be doing
· listen and ask great questions
· be a life long learner
· don’t get trapped in people pleasing, work for the audience of One
· and last, be aware of the two main events of this decade: spiritual formation and spiritual cartography