David Hopkins, editor of Next-Wave, suggests that the church ought to stop trying to ‘save’ people. Or at least, he argues that the sort of ‘personal salvation’ on offer in the church today simply doesn’t work in a postmodern climate. It doesn’t make sense to people. What people are looking for is ‘to have a sense of wonder restored’. You can read what he has to say here.
This has got to be worth thinking about. We have assumed for a long time that Christianity is a religion of salvation: you start off being lost, you welcome Jesus into your heart, you get saved, and you go to heaven rather than to hell. If that simple narrative is defunct, what do we replace it with? What do we do with all those metaphors? What is the narrow path that leads to life? What does it mean to move from darkness into light? What sort of condemnation or judgment should people fear? What does it mean to be saved? Can we still go out with the gospel and honestly claim that we are offering people the same deal that the first disciples offered to the world? Do we think anyone really wants it?