Whether it is a show or a circus, it is not a community. The shift to postmodernism has shown us that the real work of Christian pastoring is to be a real, known person who leads a real, known community in life and faith. The weekly gathering of representatives of the real, known community combats the “cult of celebrity.” It anchors the journey of faith to reality. An authentic, postmodern pastor is able to publicly say to his community, “Cut me some slack,” because he is a member of the community, not an expert or a celebrity. The ministry of a pastor is not a performance, but a sharing in the journey of life and faith. His task is to help create Christ-centered community.
Another modernist cult that a communal approach to listening to the Word of God combats is the “cult of individualism.” Individualism and all its consequences are in direct opposition to the interest of God’s Holy Spirit in building the united body of Christ. The rugged, self-reliant individual of American lore and the polite, private individual of Canadian society are modernist enemies to the Christ-centered community. The postmodern preacher must model the kind of relationally interdependent, life-on-life communal enmeshment that will help the Word of God be attended to in this new era.
The actual public presentation of the Bible teaching must also model the communal aspect of authentic postmodern Christianity. The message cannot be a lecture. There can be no invisible wall between the speaker and the congregation. It must be a conversation. Sometimes there must literally be interaction between speaker and listener. It must me done in a natural, friendly, relational way.
At our church, we may begin with a question related to the theme of the passage of Scripture we are listening to that week. The question gets the congregation interacting relationally. The speaker may then engage in answering the question himself. This bridges the preacher into the dialogue. Likewise, throughout the message there may be interaction through questions, invitations to reflect on a subject, the sharing of a humorous anecdote, an interview with someone, or even just a conversational tone.
The tone of the message it set by the attitude of the speaker. If one believes that this is a lecture or performance, one will project that kind of formal, divisive atmosphere. If one assumes that these are a group of friends who have gathered to listen to the Word of God together, one will project a casual atmosphere of friendly, warm, mutual respect and familiarity that invites others into the faith community on a journey in communal conversation. For preaching to be both authentically Christian and authentically postmodern, it will need to cultivate that kind of a sense of community.
