The Postmodern Church

The postmodern world is an eclectic mishmash of varying philosophies and ideologies. The West is now faced with a number of different religions, spiritualties and ideologies. This means that the church is faced with the challenge of diversity and difference. The only way Christianity can survive the current cultural shift is to be more tolerant and open to difference. Diversity or tolerance does not mean that the church loses its identity, missional purpose and its Christocentric vision. Diversity means that the church is firmly rooted in its identity found in Christ whilst at the same time being comfortable to coexist with difference.

The West used to send missionaries into the global field but today the mission has come to the West. I am mainly concerned with the churches ability to show hospitality to diaspora communities in our neighborhood. My passion is to see a church that is more welcoming to people who do not look like us, speak like us, believe like us, dress like us or think like us. The opportunity to be the church of Pentecost is already at our doorsteps. Sadly, it is still true that the day Christians go to worship the one God is still the most segregated day of the week. Though many have joined established congregations, diaspora people are still forming “ethnic churches” (e.g. Spanish speaking churches or Hmong churches), not multicultural-multi-ethnic congregations. For many years we have been worshiping in “ethnic enclave congregations.” But Jesus did not come to create a Latino Church, Black Church, or White Church. Jesus came to create one body, one faith, one baptism, one universal or Catholic Church.

I know that many congregations have expressed their desire to be open and affirming and multi-cultural/multi-ethnic. I believe that we are not comfortable just being by ourselves. Some claim to be hospitable but maybe we need to examine how hospitable we are? We must hold these truths to be self evident that all men were created equal. It is true what apostle Paul said in Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you all are one in Christ Jesus.”

There is no shadow of doubt that there is no longer one western table were the West invites others to eat of their doctrines, dogmas and philosophies but rather there is now many other tables; the table of the repressed traditions, feminist theologies, liberation theologies and the theologies of Asia, Africa, South America and the Middle East that need to be heard. They need to be heard not as the marginalized but rather as the equal other. David Tracy in his book On Naming the Present reflects on the Eurocentric history. Tracy identifies these conflicting views of the present as being at the heart of the warped view of Western Christian theology and Western history. Tracy highlights the deepest need of the West philosophy and theology is to move from a Eurocentric theology to what can be named as pluralistic or polycentric theology. Tracy establishes that there are now many centers for authentic theology globally. David Tracy raises the point that the Western academic institutions deprive themselves from and their theology by willfully ignoring the central fact of polycentrism. According to Tracy the West has the pride of calling their philosophical and theological positions the center whilst every other position is marginal. Tracy provokes the white supremacy mindset by asking challenging questions that definitely shake the perceptive boots of the White Bourgeois. Tracy implores the West to hear the voice of the otherness and oppressed. The voice of the other churches of Latin America, Asia, and Africa; in the feminist theologies throughout the world; in the African American and Native American theologies of North America. Tracy insists that the voice of the voiceless, the poor, the suppressed, repressed and oppressed must be heard. I agree with Tracy that we need to move out of our comfort zones and embrace the challenge of our times.

In conclusion it is time for the church to begin becoming Christ like. It is time for us to listen to the voice of the weak, the lost, the least and the last. We must look carefully at the kingdom template that Jesus Christ gave us. Jesus came with the preferential option of the poor, the disenfranchised and the discombobulated. It is time for us to be more welcoming, hospitable and loving to those who do not belong to our circle. Lets be more hospitable, open, affirming and loving. This does not mean that we lose our identity it only allows us to be more aware of who we are that is the ‘universal’ Church of Christ.

By Simbarashe Sigauke.