On Postmodernism (2002)

This repost from 2002 is a bit odd. after writing a couple de-tox rants Spencer Burke of theooze.com invited me to write a weekly rant. This was both good and bad for me. Good in that I had a group of people who gave immediate feedback and additional thoughts on what I'd written. Writing something weekly became the spark I needed to start writing which was something I didn't do often at the time. There's a definite edge to what I wrote at the time and a more healthy me feels an urge not to post this kind of thing. For whatever reason what I was writing at the time connected with some people and we were good for each other as we detoxed together. But I won't apologize for what I wrote. It was who I was at the time and what I needed to say. It was in some way healing for me and God seemed to use it to make me more whole as harsh or bitter as some of these rants may have been.

Then an internal shift happened. Like a scale with "good for mark" on one side and "bad for mark" on the other had shifted. The good no longer held the advantage for my soul. At this point I realized that writing a Rant every week was going to cut a cynical groove in brain that would run really deep. So I stopped. I knew that it was breeding in me something that was ugly and it was time for rants to end in me. At least weekly.

This post was written specifically for theooze.com in 2002.

Re-reading this post today is interesting because today I almost never use the term postmodern. I don't like how I come off in this article. And I'm obviously talking about myself here, as most of my writing is autobiographical, but I'm not sure I fully understood this at the time. Reading this now gives me one of those moments that I have everyone once in a while, that you never tell anyone about. Those moments when you meet someone and they make you completely crazy and you want to escape their presence, AND they remind you of yourself in some small way, and you leave them thinking, "Dear God, do I sound like that?? Do talk like that? Do I present myself like that?" and your friends tell you that you don't, but you know they're just nice. Yeah, I have that in this moment about myself. I know I posture like this too often still today. It's an arrogant posture and I've still not reconciled this part of me, I know. But there are some parts of this that I still enjoy reading.

The last paragraph makes me laugh out loud still today. (Yeah I'm the guy who laughs at his own jokes.)

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If you are completely fascinated with the word Postmodern or your primary source of research material on Postmodernism is a book by Len Sweet then you are probably not a Postmodern. Just because you can use the term Postmodernity in a sentence doesn’t mean you are an expert. My wife, however, says I sound “dirty” when I use it. I’m not sure what that means. The same goes for “hip pastor” slang. For instance. Pomo. Or the initials PM.

It seems that recently Brian McLaren’s name is getting slung and tossed around more than a snake at a Pentecostal church or a [little person] at a biker rally. Surprisingly when talking about him, no one refers to him by his initials.

Reading a lot and agreeing with opinions expressed on theooze, next-wave or guidepost for teens does not mean anything until something is done. A great tragedy in the American church is the recognition of the need for change, and the miniscule desire in pastors to do anything. I know, I know…. You’ve read “A New Kind of Christian” or “Aqua church” and it changed your life. 8 years ago you read Purpose Driven church and “rediscovering church” and it had the same effect. Nothing. The goal is not a collection of knowledge, but the advancement of the kingdom.

Oh and the world doesn’t need another church named Marshill, Mosaic, Jacob’s Well, Axis, aXcess, Xtreme or any name abusing the letter X. The poor X has had a rough 15 years. Give it some rest. Pick another letter to abuse. Try the letter “Q”. Q is a cool letter.

Just because you are tired of youth ministry doesn’t mean you should be a pastor of a postmodern church. Come on people! You gave up NASCAR, 2 dozen Jeff Burton T-shirts, your Mullet and tighty whities for Black leather pants, silk boxers, aviator sunglasses, a shaved head and one thrift store shirt so you could “relate to people in an authentic way”????? Try being yourself.

Let’s face it. Postmodernism is a shock on the Modern person’s senses, like waking up to the smell of your 14 year old, 180 pound Bull Mastiff “Limbaugh”, (who has had most of his colon removed and doesn’t Rush anywhere anymore), and how he has inexplicably got into the wholesale grocery size “Spicy Bean Dip” value pack. While it remains a mystery how “Limbaugh” was able to open all twenty 12 oz. cans to eat them, it is obvious that the runny excuses for piles on the floor, furniture, and walls were going to be picked up by your roommate… if you could just get out the door without passing out again. But I digress.