On Ramp to Postmodern Discussion
16 Mar 2004
Heidi e-mailed me a great question, “…I’m new to this, and I keep coming across phrases that I don’t understand – is there a primer? Is there a site, or book that I can read that will help define the catch words that are being used by most of the “fellows” for us newbies? Kind of like a “EC for dummies” (or newbies). If this doesn’t exist it would be so helpful to those of us who are sincerely trying to enter the dialog but don’t know the terms. I know that post modern definitions are important, so I truly want to understand the full impact of the words that are chosen…”
So for all of you reading this like Heidi, wanting to get on ramp with the emerging church discussion, here are my recommendations. What would you recommend??
1. A New Kind of Christian: for the best easy to read overview of the issues and how they affect the church, and christian faith, you can’t get better than this book by Brian Mclaren.
2. Primer on Postmodernism: this book by Stan Grenz is a must, an overview of the philsophical changes from modernity into post-modernity, with an explanation of the key words and terms.
3. Church in the Emerging Culture: Just looking at the list of contributors should be enough to make you want to pick this book up and read it. What should the church look like today? What should be the focus of its message? How should it present that message? This book explores these crucial questions.
Those 3 would give you a great overview, by some of the best people engaging in more than just theory, ie people thinking and doing church.
5 comments
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Comment by Heidi
4.48 pm on 16 Mar 2004
Thanks Jason! That will be a great start – appreciate it!
Heidi
Comment by jonny
6.04 pm on 16 Mar 2004
only concern i have is that all the books are american so you’re getting a take on it that relates to that context which i still think is very different to ours! having said that there are not so many books published over here. hirsch and frost’s book gives a view from down under that is another welcome voice…
cheers
Comment by gareth
8.40 pm on 16 Mar 2004
Good list – would echo Jonny’s comment that it is rather stateside orientated, perhaps chucking the Draper brothers, ‘Refreshing Worship’ into the mix may give a bit of a brit flavour.
I think for me the a really key book on postmodernity that had impacted my own thoughts is Middleton & Walsh’s ‘Truth is stranger than it used to be’.
Trackback by chrismc
5.13 pm on 18 Mar 2004
On Ramp to Postmodern Discussion
I have such a huge reading list right now… These are all in the queue. On Ramp to Postmodern Discussion Heidi e-mailed me a great question, “…I’m new to this, and I keep coming across phrases that I don’t understand – is there a primer? Is th…
Comment by Heidi
11.07 pm on 21 Mar 2004
those are great suggestions, thank you!
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