Another obstacle to Postmoderns acceptance of our message...
We value the DOing of the institution over BEing in relationship:
Modernity says that community is in the methodology and ways we DO church; Postmodernity says that community is about BEing church.
We Presbyterians are gooooooood at this one. Our Book of Order is "clear" and we can use polity to create community. We can structure our way into being the body of Christ. Buzzzz. Thank you for playing. Now don't get me wrong. I love our polity, the spirit in which it was and is written, the guidance it gives, the bounds it helps to set, etc. but it will NOT create community. The ways we DO church should only be lifted up in as much as the DOing helps to sustain the BEing.
At the same time, if a church community believes that it's ministry is worth outliving the people who are there at a particular moment and time, some kind of structure and DOing church must take place in order to create sustainability. In the end though, every time we face a choice, we should be about BEing church.
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