Missional Leadership’ and Its Challenges Become Contextually Obsolete and Irrelevant
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CROSSROADS Churches in many Western countries are faced with an adaptive challenge. Adaptive chal- An Exploration of the Emerging-Missional lenges arise when deeply held beliefs are challenged, when the solutions that once worked well become less appropriate, and when legitimate, yet competing, perspectives emerge. Conversation with a Special Focus on Adaptive problems will not go away by ignoring them, or by making technical adjustments. Many churches in the West need to change their vision and practices thoroughly, in order not to ‘Missional Leadership’ and Its Challenges become contextually obsolete and irrelevant. Since this has to do with innovation and change, for Theological Education Robert Doornenbal it will require leadership. Change seems to be especially necessary in the areas of theological envisioning; worship, spirituality and (local) church culture; and organizational structures. These areas have a direct impact on leadership, while also having consequences for leader education. This study aims to describe and analyze views on these topics in the so-called ‘Emerging- Missional Conversation’ that is currently under way in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, among other countries. Based on an exploration of this Crossroads ‘conversation’ and views therein on missional leadership and leader education, challenges are formulated for protestant institutes that aim to educate future leaders of the church. This ground-breaking book is essential reading for anyone wanting to refl ect on the identity and calling of the church in the twenty-fi rst century, and be involved in working this out in reality. This includes ministers and other leaders in the church, particularly those working in theological education. Robert J.A. Doornenbal (1966) is senior lecturer in Theology & Culture and certifi ed super- visor in the Academy of Theology at Ede Christian University of Applied Sciences (Christelijke Hogeschool Ede). He lives in Ede, the Netherlands, close to the crossroads that is pictured on the cover of this book. Crossroads is his practical theological PhD dissertation, defended at the DOORNENBAL VU University Amsterdam. ISBN 978-90-5972-623-9 9 789059 726239 CROSSROADS AN EXPLORATION OF THE EMERGING-MISSIONAL CONVERSATION WITH A SPECIAL FOCUS ON ‘MISSIONAL LEADERSHIP’ AND ITS CHALLENGES FOR THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION ISBN 978 90 5972 623 9 Eburon Academic Publisher P.O. Box 2867 2601 CW Delft The Netherlands [email protected]/www.eburon.nl Cover photograph: Crossroads seen from the air at Ede, The Netherlands © Karel Tomei Cover design: Studio Hermkens, Amsterdam © 2012 R.J.A. Doornenbal. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, sto- red in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photo- copying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing from the proprietor. VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT Crossroads An Exploration of the Emerging-Missional Conversation with a Special Focus on ‘Missional Leadership’ and Its Challenges for Theological Education ACADEMISCH PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad Doctor aan de Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, op gezag van de rector magnificus prof.dr. L.M. Bouter, in het openbaar te verdedigen ten overstaan van de promotiecommissie van de Faculteit der Godgeleerdheid op vrijdag 29 juni 2012 om 13.45 uur in de aula van de universiteit, De Boelelaan 1105 door Robartus Jan Albert Doornenbal geboren te Voorburg promotor: prof.dr. R.R. Ganzevoort copromotor: dr. S. Stoppels Jeremiah 6:16 — Thus says the Lord: Stand at the crossroads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls... God help us to change. To change ourselves and to change the world. To know the need for it. To deal with the pain of it. To feel the joy of it. To undertake the journey without understanding the destination. The art of gentle revolution. Amen. Source: Michael Leunig, Common Prayer Collection (North Blackburn: HarperCollins, 1993) quoted in Darren Cronshaw, “Australians Beyond the Church: Growing Fresh Expressions of Church Today” (Canberra: University House, 5-7 October 2009), 1. I will try to fasten into order enlarging grasps of disorder, widening scope, but enjoying the freedom that Scope eludes my grasp, that there is not finality of vision, that I have perceived nothing completely, that tomorrow a new walk is a new walk. Source: A.R. Ammons, finale of “Corsons Inlet,” in Collected Poems: 1951-1971 (New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1972), 151. vii CONTENTS FOREWORD XVII CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION: ‘EMERGING-MISSIONAL’ CONVERSATIONS ON CHURCH, CULTURE AND LEADERSHIP 1 1.1 The Adaptive Challenge and Dutch Protestant Churches 1 1.1.1 Two Movements: ‘Emerging’ and ‘Missional’ 2 1.1.1.1 The Missional Church Movement 4 1.1.2 The Term ‘Emerging-Missional Conversation’ (EMC) 7 1.1.3 The EMC and Its Relevance for Practical Theology and the Church 9 1.1.4 Vision(s) on Leadership and Leader Education within the EMC 12 1.2 The Problem, Purpose, Objectives and Research Questions 14 1.2.1 Research Question(s) 16 1.3 Methodological Issues 17 1.3.1 Methodological Approach: Hermeneutical, Critical, Theological 17 1.3.1.1 Hermeneutical 17 1.3.1.2 Critical 19 1.3.1.3 Theological 20 1.3.2 From Methodology to Strategy 22 1.3.3 Sources 24 1.4 Content of Chapters 25 Figure 1.1 Overview of the Dissertation, Chapters 2-12 27 PART A. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EMERGING-MISSIONAL CONVERSATION AND ITS DISCOURSES 29 CHAPTER 2. A CHOIR WITHOUT A CONDUCTOR: HISTORICAL ROOTS AND (THEOLOGICAL) CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EMERGING-MISSIONAL CONVERSATION 31 2.1 Introduction 31 viii 2.2. Historical Roots of the Emerging Church Movement 33 2.2.2 Emergent Village and the Wider Emerging Church Movement 36 2.2.3 A Network of Grassroots Ecumenism and Innovation 37 2.2.4 ‘Reactive’ or ‘Proactive’ 39 2.3 The Theological Spectrum in the Emerging Church Movement 40 2.3.1 ‘Relevants’ 41 2.3.2 ‘Reconstructionists’ 43 2.3.3 ‘Revisionists’ 45 2.3.4 A Spectrum of Views 46 Figure 1. Three Streams of the Spectrum within the Emerging Church Movement 46 2.3.5 Convergence with the Missional Church Movement 48 2.4 The Nature and Task of the Church 49 2.4.1 The Nature of the Church 50 2.4.2 The Vocation of the Church 53 2.4.3 Convergence with the Missional Church Movement 55 2.5 Critical Discussion 57 2.5.1 Negative Rhetoric 57 2.5.1.1 Positive Rhetoric 60 2.5.2 What Kind of Trinity? 61 2.5.3 What Kind of Community? 63 2.5.3.1 Communitas 64 2.5.3.2 A Theological View on Community 66 CHAPTER 3. LOOKING UNDER THE SURFACE: ‘PARADIGM’ IN THE EMERGING-MISSIONAL CONVERSATION 69 3.1 Introduction 69 3.2 The Use of Paradigm in the EMC 70 3.2.1 Three Levels of Paradigm 72 3.2.2 Paradigm Shift(s): Favoring Change 73 3.2.3 Paradigms: Incommensurable, and Heavily Defended 75 3.3 Critical Discussion 78 3.3.1 Communication Breakdown 80 3.3.2 From Macro-paradigm to Ideology 81 3.4 Concluding Remarks 84 ix CHAPTER 4. DISCERNING THE TIMES: THE ‘POSTMODERN’, ‘POST-CHRISTENDOM’ CONTEXT IN THE EMERGING-MISSIONAL CONVERSATION 89 4.1 Introduction 89 4.2 Postmodernism and Postmodernity in the EMC 90 4.2.1 Stanley Grenz and John Franke on the Postmodern Turn 91 4.2.2 Brian McLaren’s Criticisms of Modernity 92 4.2.3 Mark Driscoll and the Postmodern Turn 93 4.2.4 Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost and the Postmodern Turn 94 4.3 Critical Discussion 96 4.3.1 ‘Enlightenment’ as Stereotype 97 4.3.2 ‘Enlightenment’ as Grand Narrative 98 4.3.3 ‘Modernity’ within Revisionist Discourse 99 4.3.4 Postmodernity 100 4.3.5 The Postmodern Turn: Conclusions 103 4.4 ‘Post-Christendom’ and the Emerging-Missional Conversation 105 4.4.1 ‘(Post-)Christendom’ in the EMC 105 4.4.2 On the Label ‘Post-Christendom’ 107 4.4.3 ‘Post-Christendom’ and Alternative Labels 108 4.5 Insights from Historical and Sociological Scholarship 110 4.5.1 The Decline of Christendom in Western Europe 110 4.5.2 ‘Secularization’ and the Transformation of Religion 112 4.5.3 Religious Transformation in the Netherlands 113 4.6 Summary and Concluding Reflections 115 4.6.1 Postmodernity 116 4.6.2 Post-Christendom 117 CHAPTER 5. DANCING DINOSAURS: METAPHORS WITHIN THE EMERGING-MISSIONAL CONVERSATION 121 5.1 Introduction 121 5.2 Metaphorical Language in Relation to Mission and Epistemology 123 5.2.1 Metaphors and Epistemology 125 5.5.2 Metaphors and Change 128 5.3 Heuristic Metaphors in the EMC 129 x 5.3.1 Leaders and the Wizard of Oz 131 5.4 Metaphors and (Macro)Paradigms 133 5.4.1 ‘Chaos’ and Metaphorical Linking & Thinking 135 5.4.2 Holistic Metaphors, Rhetoric, and Power 137 5.5 Summary and Critical Discussion 139 5.5.1 Critical Discussion 139 5.5.2 Metaphor, Rhetoric and Ethics 142 CHAPTER 6. “OBSERVE THE ANTS...”: COMPLEXITY THEORY AND THE EMERGING-MISSIONAL CONVERSATION 145 6.1 Introduction 145 6.2 Concepts in Complexity Theory 146 6.2.1 Complex Adaptive System 148 6.2.2 Self-organization and Nonlinearity 149 6.2.3 Emergence 151 6.3 Complexity Theory and the Emerging-Missional Conversation 153 6.3.1 Complexity Theory and Worldview 153 6.3.2 Complexity Theory and Church 154 6.3.3 Complexity Theory, Church Structures, and Change 155 6.4 Critical Discussion 157 6.4.1 Epistemological Issues 157 6.4.1.1 Lack of Conceptual Rigor and Realism 160 6.4.1.2 Complexity Metaphors 161 6.4.2 Ontological Issues 162 6.4.3 Closing Remarks 163 PART B.