so being a christian is about coming to understand the life that God desires for us to live and then doing that. In the beginning of time there were no issues in understanding that. Adam and Eve all rocked it in the garden... maintianing the garden... and eating fruit (whatever i sterotyped them). Then the fall happens and man instantly is put in this place where living a life full of the things God desires is completely over clouded by the shallow (but intensly deep) desire we humans have. Now there is this battle between flesh and spirit.

and the tough part is society keeps changing and that change results in massive culture shifts... premodern, modern, to now a postmodern world... when the culture goes through massive transformation, the way people find identity changes too. in a premodern world it was all community context identity, the modern era brought the self-contained identity where people didn't let the social context they live define them, but found identity through individual interest. now as we move to the postmodern world we are experience yet another transition of how people find identity... and its a weird throw back to premodern (desire for community identity) as well as to the modern era (desire for individuality), with this added mix of .... what!?!?

i dare say the postmodern world is giving rise to an identity through hope of an Ancient Future (to borrow the phrase). what does this mean and what is the church doing about this!?!?!? for years we have been living in a church society that has pushed the idea of a personal jesus (at the risk of loosing vital focus). The famous "quote John 3:16, but this time take out the phrase 'the world' and insert your name ... 'For God so loved Tina Aurand that he gave his one and only son'..." what was the church thinking!?!?!? i'll tell you... they recognized the cultural state the world was in. A modern world that called for a modern identity to self... if the church wanted to stay relevant they need to run with this culture and run they did... and it was a good go... loads of good happened from the church making people understand how personal our God is... but did they over emphasize it!?! what did they loose focus of!?!... again i will tell you

they forgot about 'the world' ... a vital, VITAL, component to Jesus' teachings. The idea to run with how the culture was transforming around them was a good idea... where they went wrong was loosing the main focus. Is it any wonder that today, especially in America, the large majority of church members are people only seeking how to better themselves... to attain more self fulfillment? they just bought into the marketing stratgey the church was using... one all focused around self-contained identity. Again is it any wonder that the church is dying!?!?!?!

The phrase Ancient Future pulls at the idea that people are beginning to appreciate the power of a new kind of community like never before. The new community people are being faced with is one of global context. No longer do we live within premodern small communities, nor the modern era and individuals within communities, but now is the time of people recognizing the global world and how they find identy on the individual community level as well as within a global context.

The idea of Ancient Future is bringing hope that we can learn and accept our past as well as develop a new way of life within a new global context.

The church must recognize the change if she wants to remain relevant to our society and live! The beautiful thing is that the culture around us is screaming "we need to pay more attention to 'the world' as a whole" (i.e. globalization and the way it finds worth in all people and places) which also just so happens to be the message that Jesus preached. John 3:16 For God so loved THE WORLD that he gave his one and only son... (hey if the christians are not going to step up and recognize that God wants us to be more concerned with how the world is living and then our own personal development... then God is just going to inspire the 'unrighteous' shall we say... to get the job done... God isn't limited by us.. and our whack interpretations of his word).

So what is the church doing... anyone!?!?

Lately i have been fascinated with the Emergent church movement... (seriously if you want a taste check out http://www.emergingchurch.info/index.htm) and am blown away by how they have accepted this world in its postmodern state. i have sooo much more to say... but this is getting crazy... so i will take a day to chew and then post a part two on what my views are on the emergent church... this is where it gets good... so just wait...