If we were going to be missionaries, say in Kenya, we would take seriously our need of entering another land, other cultures (one or more of scores of tribes and clans and sub-cultures), learning their language, customs, ways - likes, dislikes, religious beliefs and actions, etc. We would go there - missionally, incarnationally - rather than asking them to 'come to us' - to our language, music, culture, ways, preferences, etc. (oops, we've not always got this right have we, even in our missional attempts overseas)?!
But who will reach out missionally, seeing him or herself (or the local church on this-here corner) ? - to: those of new religious movements (like New Age); those in whole communities of differently defined sexual identity (gays, lesbians, transexuals, etc.), those immersed in sports communities, those who define themselves by alternative ideologies (neo-Marxist, neofascist, eco-rats, etc), those who define themselves as metrosexuals or 'urban grunge,' etc., work types (computer geeks, hackers, designers, etc.). Or - how to be incarnationally, missionally present to at least 50 discernable youth subcultures (like: computer nerds, skaters, homies, surfies, punks, etc.) ?
But who will reach out missionally, seeing him or herself (or the local church on this-here corner) ? - to: those of new religious movements (like New Age); those in whole communities of differently defined sexual identity (gays, lesbians, transexuals, etc.), those immersed in sports communities, those who define themselves by alternative ideologies (neo-Marxist, neofascist, eco-rats, etc), those who define themselves as metrosexuals or 'urban grunge,' etc., work types (computer geeks, hackers, designers, etc.). Or - how to be incarnationally, missionally present to at least 50 discernable youth subcultures (like: computer nerds, skaters, homies, surfies, punks, etc.) ?
Each group takes its subculture-identity with utmost seriousness, and hence any missional response to them must as well. They are as unique and different as are (in Kenya) the Kikuyu, Kamba or Masai tribes, or Somalis of the refugee-diaspora there . . .
How can one local church possibly reach out to all of the cultures around and among us ? . . .and, now, how to do that from the margins (liminally)- not any longer from the privileged, Christendom-cum-Western-Cartesian centre. No meta-story, no overarching (dominant) culture and story any longer exists for the nation. So, now what? How ?
