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ron
jackson
The
EDGE
1.
how do you define "postmodern" in
relationship to culture and theology?
Frankly,
to me the term postmodern is getting kind of worn
out. Most of the people I know use it to sound
like they are “hip” with what’s going down
and such. With that said it is helpful to have a
word or phrase that sort of defines what is
happening in our culture. Since I have spent most
of my ministry in “age-level” work in the
church, for me Postmodernism (is that a word?) is
basically a new package on an old concept.
“Nobody has a right to tell me what to think or
do or feel!” (That goes back to the Garden,) For
me it is a shift in “authority.” As a culture
have moved from an organizational
authority, the church, the government, the school,
the administration, whatever, to an individually
based authority. “It is what I feel, what I
think, what I want to do.” Therefore most of the
old “tricks” do not work. When I started out
in youth ministry you could “GUILT”, students
in to doing just about anything or you could call
their commitment to the organization into question
and they would jump right back into line and do
what they were supposed to do. That just does not
work any more. My students by in large have been
told since early childhood that they don’t have
to do anything they don’t want to and if anyone
tells them different, then Mom and/or Dad will
come to the rescue.
All that said the needs and behavior of my
students has not changed that much over the last
20 years, what has changed is NOW the culture
(schools, society, media, etc.) tends to support
the behaviors that the church has ethically,
morally and spiritually frowned upon. (What was
the question? Did I answer it?)
2.
what makes "the edge" different
from other churches in the area?
First,
we are not a church. Although some of our students
see us as “their church”. The EDGE is an
extension of College Church of the Nazarene and as
a leader of the College-age ministry, here at
College Church I work very hard to communicate and
teach that we are a PART of the greater church
here in Olathe as well as the Church of the
Nazarene and the Church of Jesus Christ at large.
With all that said what makes the EDGE distinctive
are two things. First, we have a large number of
college and college age students in one place.
That in itself is unusual and a whole lot of fun.
Second, everyone who is a part of what we are
doing WANTS to be here. Let me explain, most of my
adult life I have worked with teenagers in a local
church setting. At any given event or activity we
have always had 5% -10% of the students in
attendance who were “compelled” to be there,
compelled mostly by their parents, but sometimes
by a boy friend or girl friend or to fulfill some
obligation. The EDGE on the other hand, is
composed of college aged young people that by in
large only do what THEY WANT to do with their free
time. Whether we have 50 or 300 at an event or
worship service everyone there wants to be. The
energy that creates is difficult to explain, but
wonderful to enjoy.
3.
do you find being connected to a
denomination hard?
Not
at all, I came to the full realization of who
Christ was and what he did for me just before my
senior year at the University of Alabama. After my
conversion, I spent the next 4-month looking for
churches. The Nazarene church in Tuscaloosa did
more that reach out to me. They were a part of
God’s transforming work in my life. God AND
the Church share in that transforming work in me
and I would have been lost without them BOTH. Yes,
God could have used another congregation and/or
group of people to accomplish his work in my life.
However, the fact of the matter is I, am a
Nazarene because God directed me to this church
and I believe in her doctrines and polity because
I have chosen to. That does not mean I am blind to
her faults and problems, it does however, mean
that this is not someone else’s church it is my
church. That
is a choice I have made and one that I encourage
the students in my ministry to make.
4.
where do you see "the edge" in 10
years?
I
had a discussion yesterday with our junior high
pastor we were talking about where our youth
ministry at the church was 10 years ago and the
huge difference in what we are doing now. I cannot
say what we will be doing in 10 years, but I can
say one thing. If I’m here, I am committed to
keeping what we are doing culturally relevant. It
very well could be exactly the same thing
we are doing now, more that likely it will not but
it could. The thing about “keeping up” is,
sometimes it means just keeping. (Does that make
sense?)
5.
how does the "bible belt" culture
effect "the edge?" - both positively and
negatively -
Positive
is, I have a lot of students who are at least
familiar with the church and the gospel.
Negative
is, I have a lot of students who are at least
familiar with the church and the gospel.
6.
is "the edge" connected to a
wider emerging church community (excluding
denominational connections)?
I
am not sure what you mean by “emerging church
community”. However, we try to keep what is
happening in what I call the “church at large”
and participate when we can in the inner faith
stuff that is happening “out there.”
7.
what have been some of the "hard
moments" you have had to deal with at
"the edge" that helped form the
community?
We
are in the process of one of those hard moments
right now. Two weeks ago, Dr. Tom Lytle, one of
the brightest young professors I have ever known,
passed away. Tom taught at the University that
about 2/3rd of our students attend.
Less than a year ago, Tom was diagnosed with a
brain tumor. Tom was not only a professor at the
college he was also a mentor, friend and a teacher
on our ministry team. He was a devoted husband and
a father of 2 school age boys. His death has
“shocked” our community and to be honest we
are still dealing with it. Most of us (me
included) KNOW things about God and his
sovereignty, but KNOWING and feeling are two
distinctly different thing. We will be all right,
but right now, it is difficult not only to talk
about, but also to understand.
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