poised postmodernism

We are all reactionary beings. Something happens and our impulse is to react, to move in the opposite direction. This is true in our relationships and in many of our experiences. And–as my friend John Smulo reminded me recently–a portion of the emergent movement is a reaction (often, rightly so) against modern thought and practices.

This got me to thinking about whether there is a better way to react. That is, in our revolt against some of the faulty assumptions of modernism, is it possible to do so in a manner that is more level-headed and balanced? In our aversion to certain traditional “bath water” is it feasible that we might restrain ourselves enough to be avoid throwing out the “baby”?

You can believe me I say that I have often been anything but a “model”of theological equilibrium, but I do recall a number of situations that challenged me to pursue some sort of balance. When I left a church where I had been a pastor for many years, I struggled with some of its agenda. Thus, for instance, they advocated and preached long and hard on Calvinistic themes. It’s not so much that I disagreed with what they said so much as I thought they were sometimes a bit too overconfident and didn’t give enough weight to other truths. After I had left, it would have been easy to reject these Calvinistic influences entirely and to adopt some radical “other end of the continuum” view. Instead, I recall being very conscious of what the best Calvinists had said and very determined to retain anything that was true. As a result, though I don’t like many of the labels people use, I still retain a strong belief in divine sovereignty. I just can’t escape the fact that Luther, Calvin, and others still have lessons to teach us. To provide another example, I recall growing weary of the extreme confidence of certain modern types, feeling that life and truth are just not as simple as some have led us to believe. In reacting against the hubris of modernity, it became clear that humility is an often neglected commodity. This admitted, however, I don’t think that we should allow a stance of humility to degenerate into a wimpy approach in which pretty much anything goes. Take a look at Jesus, and you’ll quickly see that he could be quite dogmatic at times.

So it is with the postmodern turn. There are plenty of things that are wrong with a modernistic brand of faith, and there are things that, quite frankly, drive me crazy about traditional presuppositions and habits. But this doesn’t mean that we ought to ignore everything that came before us, relegating it to the category of antiquity. How, then, can we pull this off? In what ways might we learn to be discerning postmodern sojourners? To be honest, I have no “set in stone” strategy (Would that be too modern? :-) ). Still, here are a few suggestions:

+ Spend time with lots of people, including modern types.

+ Acquaint yourself with some of the key figures and writers of the modern era. Understand their world and the manner in which they sought to be faithful. You’ll find mistakes, of course, but you’ll also find some impressive statements and stances.

+ Try to spent at least some time “looking in the mirror,” to borrow James’ imagery. Over time, you are likely to notice some tendencies that are troubling and some ideas that are imperfect. When we don’t have all the answers, we hope that others will be patient with us. Likewise, other imperfect types (that’s all of us!) require our patience.

Let’s face it. We are travelers. By God’s grace, we follow “the Way,” but it is also true that we are merely on the way. No one has arrived just yet. Journey is one of our mantras. Thus, even if it is the case that we live in one of those special (and dangerous) times between eras, it is also true that we are not likely the last ones to traverse the landscape of a new world. I want to feel the heat and energy of what God is doing in our age. I want to experience the excitement of it all. But I also want to be–with God’s help and yours–at least occasionally aware of my tendency to exaggerate (if it fits my current theory), neglect others (if they don’t do it just like I do), and treat my own perspective (ironically so, given our supposed postmodern enlightenment) as automatically superior. I want to be postmodern (in the best sense of that term) but also discerning and truth-seeking. I want to embrace and give expression to a wise, balanced, poised postmodernism.