Postmodernism expert addresses Ontario leaders

Brian McLaren Photo: Tim Miller Dyck, Canadian Mennonite

“To invite a person to become a Christian in a postmodern world is like asking them to be an Aztec or a Viking,” stated pastor, author and expert on postmodernism, Brian McLaren, at Waterloo (Ont.) MB Church May 28. “It’s not something people do anymore.”

Some 180 pastors and church workers of all ages had gathered to explore paradigm shifts in contemporary culture such as these with McLaren. The seminar, described by one participant as more like a conversation than a lecture, was organized and hosted by three Anabaptist denominations: The Canadian Conference of the Brethren in Christ, Ontario Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches and the Mennonite Church of Eastern Canada.

One of the organizers, Mark Johnson, commented, “We invited Brian because he has a lot to say to churches that are wondering how to reach the next generation. My hope was that he would challenge us missionally to look beyond ourselves and people like us; that we would feel the need to do something about it.”

McLaren presented several specific challenges that revealed his affinity for and awareness of the Canadian Anabaptist milieu. From his perspective, for example, Anabaptists are strong in being “spiritually forming community” but weaker in being “transforming agents in the world.”

Ontario MB church planting director Terry Wiseman later shared his view that “a far larger percentage of the Canadian church is beginning to value redemptive ministry than Brian is aware of. We need to bring these social expressions of the gospel, however, closer to the heart of what it means to be the local church.”

McLaren said further that Anabaptist systems are not designed to make disciples of non-disciples, since they have a history of isolation and preserving people in a somewhat closed community. He also urged his audience to be “truly Anabaptist and start another radical reformation” and to plant churches that innovate. New church plants innovate, he said; renewed churches potentially imitate what innovators have done successfully, which inspires new kinds of innovation for church planters.

A summary of McLaren’s key points:

• the relational factor: count conversations, not just conversions.
• the narrative factor: it’s about their story, your story, God’s story.
• the process factor: think disciple-making as a holistic process, not just an event.
• the communal factor: the greatest hermeneutic of the gospel is the community that lives by it.
• the learning factor: disciple-making is as much about your own discipleship as those you’re trying to reach.
• the Holy Spirit factor: believe God is already at work out there.
• the service/neighbour factor: words must be accompanied by deeds.
• the missional factor: recruit people for God’s mission on earth, not just souls for heaven.

When asked why he came, Kris Braun, a young MB IVCF staff worker, responded that he wanted to hear the ideas for “innovation” McLaren collects as he travels.

The day’s sessions ended with a time for questions. Much of the conversation focussed on the challenge of accepting and blessing each other as modern and postmodern disciples of Jesus.

—Sharon Johnson, director of adult ministries, Canadian MB Conference