Doing Church Now, in the Light of Yesterday with Expectance for Tomorrow

Doing Church Now, in the Light of Yesterday with Expectance for Tomorrow.... Well Ive been making skippidy skips on my essay which is I think been the hardest since Ive been at University...but anyway Im writing this to get away from that for a second.... I want to briefly pick apart a quote I used yesterday on an Island of Methodology: "This has affected the way we experience reality, and the way we do church. We are far more open to the past, more aware of the present (and less infatuated with the future). We celebrate the moment and redeem the time. Firstly This has affected the way we experience reality obviously I have to precursor this to explain it properly the following quote is what has "affected the way we experience...." Modern Theologians and missiologists, just like other social scientists of their day, were guilty of abandoning history and geography in their attempt at creating or translating universal truths. Pastors developed ministry programs to be universally appropriate in any place or time. Even much of the argument today about modernism vs. postmodernism happens in empty space, in the world of abstract theory and not in the real world of people, events, lifestyles and culture. Postmodernism interupted the abstract time and space of modernity. Andrew Jones, Time and Space: Being Now(h)ere. Now I don't want to start a huge debate about post-modernity but first of all lets just say that I resonate with a change in understanding of reality in being local... basically in not jumping on the bandwagons of ministry ideals: the change in relaity was one in which we read 10 ten tips of leadership took it, thought about it, then adapted it or wrote it off, not uplifted it as "the way". Recognising that church happens in reality, in time, in cultures not in the grey, blank, default world of theories, this is outworked by what I would call "living the life" not just "theorizing or thinking about the life" We are far more open to the past, more aware of the present (and less infatuated with the future). We are far more open to the past Its a new thing, Its a new thing....to be honest Ive heard that so many times in churches, mostly charasmatic and it makes me cringe, Ecclesiastes 1:9 (New International Version) 9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. now I understand the idea that God will bless something to fruition but I think the church needs to come out of the mindset that says that until the 20th Century, the Church was dead, and we have nothing to learn or bring to the contemporary setting of church. More aware of the present - We live NOW, not 50 years ago or even 5 years ago, now Im not advocating that we hold up "relevance" as the no.1 aim of the church, but Jesus talked about peoples lives in a language they could understand, he was accesible and I think as disciples of him we have a duty to be too. Check this out, I hope you understand the link to what Im saying less infatuated with the future We celebrate the moment and redeem the time - I really struggle with the revival mindedness of Church sometimes, probably I am recoiling from not such great experiences in the Charasmatic Church but I think in order to be aware of the present we need to get out of our revival prayer meetings sometimes and be salt and light, see if that makes a difference! What do you think??