The Experience of Studying Hebrew as a Student Who is Blind
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In Church Next, Eddie Gibbs discusses the impact of postmodernism on the church and what this means for the way that the church operates in the twenty-first century. In the first chapter, Gibbs explains what postmodernism is and compares postmodern ways of thinking to modern ways of thinking. He explains that the church tends to be made up of people who are older and thus it is important for the church to be able to relate to "postmoderns." In chapter 2, he explains why the "market-driven" strategy of church growth that was successful in the late twentieth century will not work with postmoderns. His discussion includes a list of twelve indicators of a missional church (p. 52). He ends this chapter by emphasizing the fact that the church must be sensitive to criticism from outside its ranks (pp. 53, 63-64).
In chapters 3-5, Gibbs proposes changes in church leadership structure, leadership training at seminaries, and leaders' character. He proposes that new leadership structures be based on the apostolic model in ch. 3, explaining that many denominations lack the financial resources to support existing leadership structures. He introduces several models which have been successful in various locations and explores possible reasons for some of these successes. In chapter 4, he proposes that seminaries work alongside churches to train leaders, noting that the M.Div. is not required by most denominations in order for a person to serve in leadership. He encourages students to think about their attitude regarding the function and purpose of education and provides a number of practical ideas for changes in seminary curricula which would enable seminaries to partner with churches as well as conserve financial resources for themselves and students. In chapter 5, Gibbs confronts the tendency of the church to create celebrities of its leaders in order to attract people. He encourages leaders to develop lives of genuine integrity and to examine the practices of people from other traditions in order to learn what we can about living lives characterized by devotion.
In chapters 6-9, he examines new ways of practicing as a church. His propositions encourage churches to build authentic community that reaches out beyond itself rather than planning programs designed to bring the community to church as spectators. In chapter 6, Gibbs examines worship styles that are effective, placing focus on being “theological integrity, evangelistic passion and pastoral sensitivity.” (p. 148). He discusses the role of the seeker-sensitive church as a missionary church and differentiates this model from the market-driven church. In chapter 7, he differentiates between “attracting a crowd” and “seeking the lost.” In chapter 8, Gibbs proposes that revivalism will not work with postmoderns as it did with the past and proposes new ways of communicating that address the importance of relationship-building for sharing the gospel. He explains that postmodern thinking is often characterized by suspicion, and people need evidence in order to believe. Furthermore, people no longer have a cultural exposure to biblical knowledge which would allow them to respond to a call to “wake up.” In chapter 9, Gibbs reviews information previously presented and calls for the church to balance out its concerns and learn to relate critically with culture rather than existing apart from or against it.
This book is engaging and presents a very compelling discussion of including an overview of postmodernism, reasons why the Church needs to make changes, and the fact that postmoderns are often attracted to other religions because of their holistic nature. Gibbs points out that the church-going population is 20 years older than the general population. Between the fact that they are older and the fact that they are sometimes entrenched in long-held ways of doing things due to the church’s fear of change, it is important for church leaders as well as members to understand the need for change. Otherwise, the Church will simply continue to minister to its own people and will rarely make new disciples. This book should be widely read.
I think that many of the changes proposed could be quite effective. On the other hand, I felt that the book did not address the needs of small churches. It was biased toward the use of larger seeker-sensitive churches as points of change and resources for planting new churches. A number of people I have known have found the most appropriate community during their seeker stage in house churches. While the large church attempts to make this kind of community possible, the person must still go through the large organization in order to locate a small group. This is a very different process from walking into a small church which is housed in a home and offers the immediate opportunity for small group interaction. The process of getting plugged in can take time; and this can turn some seekers away from large churches. In summary, Gibbs’ proposals are intriguing and hold significant promise; but they will not work for every church, and his information about seeker-sensitive churches should not be read as the only formula for reaching postmoderns.
Gibbs, Eddie. Church Next: Quantum Changes in How We Do Ministry. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000.
Sarah J. Blake