Abstract
The church finds itself in an evangelical-sacral cocoon. However, this alienation is nothing new, but through the centuries shows the church’s inability to adapt and stay relevant during changing cultural situations (Regele 1995:48). It is however not strange that time and again when there was a big cultural shift, new denominations came into being. In the history, during every cultural revival the Christian theological discourse was reflected on.
Postmodernism is the new intellectual climate which is descriptive of a new upcoming culture (Erickson 1998:13). This new intellectual climate caused the church and culture to become more and more estranged. Postmodernism set a “new” sacral-profane dichotomy within the church, which clashes with the modernistic imperialism of the church. Any effort to renewal would be futile if the new upcoming culture is not taken into account.
The seeker-sensitive movement originated in the late sixties when an increase in post modernistic thinking in the culture came to life. The methodology was taken over by the Evangelical Reformers who were saturated with modern thinking. The seeker-sensitive model showed strong post-modernistic characteristics, but in its development became more and more closed towards the new upcoming post modernistic culture. I am of the opinion that in its core the seeker-sensitive model is modernistic and that it will not be able to communicate the gospel effectively to a post-modernistic generation. There are clear signs within the kerugma, diakonia, leitourgia and koinonia where the modernistic agenda is revealed.
The accentuation of biased aesthetical preferences in any form of culture will lead to exclusivistic churchism which ignores the riches of the postmodern culture. We should rather talk of postmodern cultures and the multiple expressions of diakonia, koinonia and leitourgia which contextualise the gospel. If the seeker-sensitive model within a postmodern society does not move towards a post-dualistic, post-rationalistic, post-individualistic and post-noeticentric methodology, the model will become irrelevant within a postmodern society. The gospel cannot be packaged within a rational persuasive and marketing methodology, but the congregation must live the Missio Dei culture in a relevant way within cognitive, affective, visual, creative and interactive real relations. If the congregation cannot enter into discussion with the postmodern culture, the congregation stays a missiological centre where a person must be culturally circumcised to be able to hear the gospel. Not only the congregation, but the world as well, should become the missiological centre of the church.
Most of the concepts were developed in the congregations of Randburg and Stellenbosch where I have ministered during the last 13 years. There we strove to practise praxis-theology where the normal church member could also do theological reflection. I have done a literature study about the subject and Stellenbosch Congregation is used as example to illustrate some of the transitions to the postmodern dispensation. The purpose is not to establish a new model, but to show principles for the development of a missionary relevant approach. There will be an endeavour to practise theology within the praxis of the congregation where members of the congregation can listen to the Word and the world believingly, to be a church that is not only in the world, but also with the world.
The purpose of this study was to find parameters with the seeker-sensitive church model in a critical dialogue for the practical-theological ecclesiology which is free or less contaminated, with the ideological bases of modernism.
Dr. G.J. Bosman