LIFEdevelopment.info - Jon Paulien

The Post-Modern Audience for LIFEdevelopment.info

Dr Jon Paulien is Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Andrews University Theological Seminary, Michigan. The paper below was written for the LIFEdevelopment.info project, October 2002. It provides the philosophical background to LIFEdevelopment.info by examining the post-modern audience which we are trying to reach.

Dr Paulien presented these concepts verbally at three meetings in England on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, 20-22 October 2002. These meetings were: the North England Conference Workers' Meetings, The LIFEdevelopment Board, and the South England Conference Workers' Meetings, respectively.

Dr Paulien's paper on the LIFEdevelopment.info Audience is approximately 19,000 words in length and has therefore been broken down into eight separate web-pages. You can also download it as a Microsoft Word document. Note that it is approximately 200k in length and may take a while to download. To save it directly to your hard disk you will need to right-click on the link above and select "Save Target As..." from the drop-down menu.

INTRODUCTION
ONE - WHY KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE?
     The Biblical Evidence
     Experiential Reasons
     The Bigger Picture
TWO - CHARACTERISTICS AND VALUES OF SECULAR POST-MODERNISM
     Defining "Secular"
          1) Contingency or Naturalism
          2) Autonomy
          3) Relativity
          4) Temporality
          Summary: The Five Senses
     The Rise and Fall of Modernism
     Defining "Post-Modern"
          From Confidence to Suspicion
          From Stability to Disorientation
          From One Truth to Many
          From Individualism to Identity Crisis
          From Religion or No Religion to Spirituality
          From Atomistic to Wholistic
          From Exclusion to Inclusion
          From Knowledge to Experience
          From Truth-Telling to Story-Telling
     The Values of Post-Modernism
          Relativity
          Altruism
          Integrity/Authenticity
          Personal Freedom
          Community
          "Right-brained" Emphasis
          Global, Environmental Consciousness
          Tolerance
          Summary
THREE - THE UNIQUE CHALLENGES OF SECULAR POST-MODERNISM
     No More "Great Controversy?"
     Dis-Organized Religion?
FOUR - OPPORTUNITIES AMONG SECULAR POST-MODERNS
     A Need for Commitment
     Release from Guilt
     Genuine Relationships
     Life-style Direction
FIVE - KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE (PERSONAL)
     Personal Qualifications (General)
          Expanded Horizons
          Identify with People
          Creative Witness
          Biblical Knowledge
          Common Language
          Conclusion
     Personal Qualifications (Post-Modern)
          Clear Vision
          Humility
          Respect and Deference
          Fairness
          Encourage Experimentation
          Gentleness
SIX - STRATEGY FOR ONE-ON-ONE OUTREACH
     Creative Listening
     The Point of Contact
     Patience
     The Engel Scale
     The Secular Post-Modern Path Toward Decision
     Openness to Change
     Gaining Knowledge
     Changing Beliefs and Attitudes
     Encouraging a Decision
SEVEN - KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE (AS A CHURCH)
     Educate the Church
     Multiply Ministries
     The Role of the Workplace
     Encourage Constructive Change in Worship
          1) Everyday Language
          2) Take-Home Value
          3) Excellence
          4) Grab People's Attention
          5) Strong, Spiritual Tone
          6) Authenticity
     A Strategy for Reaching Secular Post-Moderns
          Demographics
          Visiting Community Leaders
          Door to Door Listening
          Transitioning Secular Post-Modern People Into the Church

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