5.08.2004
Rules for Revolutionaries
I followed up on the urban legend quoted in Guy Kawasaki's book, Rules for Revolutionaries: The Capitalist Manifesto for Creating and Marketing New Products and Services on the QWERTY keyboard being designed to slow people down. I checked this 1998 book out at the library for historical interest and discovered this little gem in the Conclusion. This is a list of rules for "Kicking But" such as "You have a good idea, but…" or "I would love to help, but…" and other maladies of "But-headed" thinking as he calls it. I thought these two were particularly pertinent to Pomoxianity:
Increase the level of truth
In her book Women's Reality - An Emerging Female System in a White Male Society, Ann Wilson Schaef explains the concept of "levels of truth." It means that people have attained different levels of understanding along a continuum, and whatever level they are at is their "truth." The challenge is that each successive level is usually at odds with the previous level. If you look at naysayers this way, your goal is to get them to the level where they understand the viability of your revolutions.
Rp: This assumes that we want to accomplish a revolution. I'm wondering if we want to do that. I have a buddy involved in Reformation of the church. Why bother? Why not start fresh from where we are in our generation and create our revolution from outsiders. We aren't competing with the Institutional Church, we're replacing it. We aren't reforming it, we are re-inventing it. We aren't restoring it as our CoC brethren wish us to, we are re-creating it from the un-evangelized. Aren't we? Otherwise we are applying band-aids. Sure we may want to enlighten the naysayers in the established denominations, but why?
Judge your results and other people's intentions.
This prevents you from judging people harshly because they "don't get it." Most people judge their own intentions and other people's results - which usually mans they accept their own failings (because they had good intentions) but not the failings of others (because the results were lousy).
Rp: If this doesn't summarize the Emerging conversation, I don't know any quote that does. Emergents are quick to criticize the Moderns and vice versa. This never-ending cycle of blame-casting and vituperation and even "humble breast-beating of chastened PoMoXian converts" who admit to having done it "wrong" all these years and are just now seeing the light isn't very productive. "They" have a role to play in God's economy just as "we" do. Let's judge the intentions of Moderns in the best light rather than judging their failings. Why? Because the day will come when the post-Emergent generation will say, "What happened to you guys? You started off well but you ended up failing miserably in your attempt to save Christianity from the Christians."
I followed up on the urban legend quoted in Guy Kawasaki's book, Rules for Revolutionaries: The Capitalist Manifesto for Creating and Marketing New Products and Services on the QWERTY keyboard being designed to slow people down. I checked this 1998 book out at the library for historical interest and discovered this little gem in the Conclusion. This is a list of rules for "Kicking But" such as "You have a good idea, but…" or "I would love to help, but…" and other maladies of "But-headed" thinking as he calls it. I thought these two were particularly pertinent to Pomoxianity:
Increase the level of truth
In her book Women's Reality - An Emerging Female System in a White Male Society, Ann Wilson Schaef explains the concept of "levels of truth." It means that people have attained different levels of understanding along a continuum, and whatever level they are at is their "truth." The challenge is that each successive level is usually at odds with the previous level. If you look at naysayers this way, your goal is to get them to the level where they understand the viability of your revolutions.
Rp: This assumes that we want to accomplish a revolution. I'm wondering if we want to do that. I have a buddy involved in Reformation of the church. Why bother? Why not start fresh from where we are in our generation and create our revolution from outsiders. We aren't competing with the Institutional Church, we're replacing it. We aren't reforming it, we are re-inventing it. We aren't restoring it as our CoC brethren wish us to, we are re-creating it from the un-evangelized. Aren't we? Otherwise we are applying band-aids. Sure we may want to enlighten the naysayers in the established denominations, but why?
Judge your results and other people's intentions.
This prevents you from judging people harshly because they "don't get it." Most people judge their own intentions and other people's results - which usually mans they accept their own failings (because they had good intentions) but not the failings of others (because the results were lousy).
Rp: If this doesn't summarize the Emerging conversation, I don't know any quote that does. Emergents are quick to criticize the Moderns and vice versa. This never-ending cycle of blame-casting and vituperation and even "humble breast-beating of chastened PoMoXian converts" who admit to having done it "wrong" all these years and are just now seeing the light isn't very productive. "They" have a role to play in God's economy just as "we" do. Let's judge the intentions of Moderns in the best light rather than judging their failings. Why? Because the day will come when the post-Emergent generation will say, "What happened to you guys? You started off well but you ended up failing miserably in your attempt to save Christianity from the Christians."
5.04.2004
My Pilgrimage So Far
I was immersed in pomoxianity through NKOC and TSWFOI by McLaren but have been exposed to it far longer. Like you, I have found that it has failed to deliver on its promises and I am curious to see where Brian takes Dan & Neo in his third installment. Like he & Tony Campolo say in Adventures in Missing the Point on Postmodernity that it isn't about "being postmodern." I fear that if we view Postmodernity as something to which we belong or to which we owe allegiance or even a cause for which we stand, then we are still carrying the very same bags with different labels.
I think there are some things by which people in and out of Postmodernity identify postmodernism but to say, "that's it, right there" is misguided. Sure we may have candles, rituals, dim lights, quiet music, liturgical services. But those are trappings, window dressing. Can we have bright lights, loud music, clapping in church and some hearty Amens! and Praise the Lords! and still be postmodern? If we can't then I think someone has missed the point.
And this is where I think I can very comfortably say I am a postmodern fundamentalist. And if that sounds contradictory to some, then they either have a narrow definition of postmodern or fundamentalist or both. I assent to the propositions that have come to be called the Fundamentals. But to say that is all I do and to define me as one who gives propositional assent as the be-all and end-all of Christian experience is woefully short of the mark. To say I am postmodern and an incurable skeptic and deconstructionist as all that I am is just as woefully short. Just because one can deconstruct fundamentalism, does not mean that one must abandon it. There is a great deal of baggage associated with being a fundy and I don't have any trouble dropping that. But of one thing I am certain and that is my relationship with the risen Christ. Of that I have no doubt. But it isn't propositional logic that convinces me, it is the Holy Spirit that bears witness with my spirit that convinces me.
I was immersed in pomoxianity through NKOC and TSWFOI by McLaren but have been exposed to it far longer. Like you, I have found that it has failed to deliver on its promises and I am curious to see where Brian takes Dan & Neo in his third installment. Like he & Tony Campolo say in Adventures in Missing the Point on Postmodernity that it isn't about "being postmodern." I fear that if we view Postmodernity as something to which we belong or to which we owe allegiance or even a cause for which we stand, then we are still carrying the very same bags with different labels.
I think there are some things by which people in and out of Postmodernity identify postmodernism but to say, "that's it, right there" is misguided. Sure we may have candles, rituals, dim lights, quiet music, liturgical services. But those are trappings, window dressing. Can we have bright lights, loud music, clapping in church and some hearty Amens! and Praise the Lords! and still be postmodern? If we can't then I think someone has missed the point.
And this is where I think I can very comfortably say I am a postmodern fundamentalist. And if that sounds contradictory to some, then they either have a narrow definition of postmodern or fundamentalist or both. I assent to the propositions that have come to be called the Fundamentals. But to say that is all I do and to define me as one who gives propositional assent as the be-all and end-all of Christian experience is woefully short of the mark. To say I am postmodern and an incurable skeptic and deconstructionist as all that I am is just as woefully short. Just because one can deconstruct fundamentalism, does not mean that one must abandon it. There is a great deal of baggage associated with being a fundy and I don't have any trouble dropping that. But of one thing I am certain and that is my relationship with the risen Christ. Of that I have no doubt. But it isn't propositional logic that convinces me, it is the Holy Spirit that bears witness with my spirit that convinces me.
5.02.2004
Fulfilling Frustrations
I never realized the depth of my frustration as a fifth grader until I finally found my niche at church. When I was attending Mound Park Elementary School we used to watch movies from time to time. You know the kind - 8 mm reel-to-reel movies that were usually black & white and had to be threaded through an old style movie projector. These projectors were somewhat complex and required a level of technical expertise that seemed to be beyond many elementary school teachers. So what did they do? They found a bright, technically adept youngster to thread the projector, load the reels and jog the machine whenever the film would get off track. These were usually young man and had the unofficial title of Projector Boy.
And I was never one of them.
Disappointment filled my little heart every time I was passed over for Projector Boy as others who were better students than me were selected. It wasn't until later in life as a lab technician where I would while away my days playing with technical gadgetry that I understood the source of my frustration. All I knew at the time was that I wanted desperately to be the Projector Boy and never once had that deep longing of fulfilled.
When I was in college learning to be a teacher there was a workshop we were required to attend. It was on multimedia usage in the classroom and we all had to demonstrate proficiency at all the tools teachers had at their disposal. It was almost like being in heaven. I say almost, because as soon as we showed the professor that we knew how to use the filmstrip projector, the cassette player with multiple headphones, the overhead projector, the opaque projector and of course my favorite, the 8 mm film projector, we were rushed on to the next piece of equipment. I had no difficulty operating any of it and was ushered from the room so the students who were going into elementary education could get more practice time. Us high school science teachers in the making were not allowed to do what we wanted to do most - play with the equipment.
Sadly, I entered the teaching profession at the cusp of a revolution in education. Filmstrips and slide projectors were going the way of the dinosaur and I never once in my professional career had a chance to use the piece of equipment I loved the most - the film projector. Everything was now VHS tape and involved simply wheeling the television cart into the room, putting in the tape and hitting "Play." Where was the technical savvy in that? I never had the opportunity in my five years of teaching school to redeem myself or relieve my frustration.
As time went by and I went from science teacher to scientist to adult educator, there was a transformation occurring in the realm of multimedia presentations. With the rise of powerful presentation-ready laptop computers and compact projection systems, PowerPoint provided a way for me to redeem myself. I adopted the new technology with abandon and found myself transported into techno-geek paradise as I hooked up wires and cables and network connections, booted up systems and ran diagnostics. I adjusted keystones, color and white balance to my heart's content. I had arrived. I had found my niche. I was in the ultimate Projector Boy heaven.
But God had plans for my frustrations. When the church purchased a projection system and a computer, they also needed someone to run it. The choir director approached me with an offer that I could not turn down. So now, a frustrated fifth grader has gone to Church Projector Boy where I use my skills far more than I dreamed. The Lord is merciful in fulfilling my desire on a weekly basis as I turn my talents to His service.
Now this may sound trivial to some but for me it only highlights the attention that our God pays to details and seeming petty concerns. Who would have thought that the Sovereign Creator of the Universe would pay the slightest attention to the angst of an elementary school urchin? But the same God who takes the utmost care in crafting subtle beauty in a dandelion that gets mowed down on Saturday morning also cares for the delicate tracery in our souls. And the very things that start as tiny torments, He can redeem for His own as a way to minister to His church.
I never realized the depth of my frustration as a fifth grader until I finally found my niche at church. When I was attending Mound Park Elementary School we used to watch movies from time to time. You know the kind - 8 mm reel-to-reel movies that were usually black & white and had to be threaded through an old style movie projector. These projectors were somewhat complex and required a level of technical expertise that seemed to be beyond many elementary school teachers. So what did they do? They found a bright, technically adept youngster to thread the projector, load the reels and jog the machine whenever the film would get off track. These were usually young man and had the unofficial title of Projector Boy.
And I was never one of them.
Disappointment filled my little heart every time I was passed over for Projector Boy as others who were better students than me were selected. It wasn't until later in life as a lab technician where I would while away my days playing with technical gadgetry that I understood the source of my frustration. All I knew at the time was that I wanted desperately to be the Projector Boy and never once had that deep longing of fulfilled.
When I was in college learning to be a teacher there was a workshop we were required to attend. It was on multimedia usage in the classroom and we all had to demonstrate proficiency at all the tools teachers had at their disposal. It was almost like being in heaven. I say almost, because as soon as we showed the professor that we knew how to use the filmstrip projector, the cassette player with multiple headphones, the overhead projector, the opaque projector and of course my favorite, the 8 mm film projector, we were rushed on to the next piece of equipment. I had no difficulty operating any of it and was ushered from the room so the students who were going into elementary education could get more practice time. Us high school science teachers in the making were not allowed to do what we wanted to do most - play with the equipment.
Sadly, I entered the teaching profession at the cusp of a revolution in education. Filmstrips and slide projectors were going the way of the dinosaur and I never once in my professional career had a chance to use the piece of equipment I loved the most - the film projector. Everything was now VHS tape and involved simply wheeling the television cart into the room, putting in the tape and hitting "Play." Where was the technical savvy in that? I never had the opportunity in my five years of teaching school to redeem myself or relieve my frustration.
As time went by and I went from science teacher to scientist to adult educator, there was a transformation occurring in the realm of multimedia presentations. With the rise of powerful presentation-ready laptop computers and compact projection systems, PowerPoint provided a way for me to redeem myself. I adopted the new technology with abandon and found myself transported into techno-geek paradise as I hooked up wires and cables and network connections, booted up systems and ran diagnostics. I adjusted keystones, color and white balance to my heart's content. I had arrived. I had found my niche. I was in the ultimate Projector Boy heaven.
But God had plans for my frustrations. When the church purchased a projection system and a computer, they also needed someone to run it. The choir director approached me with an offer that I could not turn down. So now, a frustrated fifth grader has gone to Church Projector Boy where I use my skills far more than I dreamed. The Lord is merciful in fulfilling my desire on a weekly basis as I turn my talents to His service.
Now this may sound trivial to some but for me it only highlights the attention that our God pays to details and seeming petty concerns. Who would have thought that the Sovereign Creator of the Universe would pay the slightest attention to the angst of an elementary school urchin? But the same God who takes the utmost care in crafting subtle beauty in a dandelion that gets mowed down on Saturday morning also cares for the delicate tracery in our souls. And the very things that start as tiny torments, He can redeem for His own as a way to minister to His church.
