Post-Modern Pilgrims: First Century Passion for the 21st Century Church [Hardcover]

Leonard Sweet (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 15, 2000

There is a legend of a Welsh Prince Madoc whose ship became stuck in Chesapeake Bay. After trying unsuccessfully to escape, he had his men row out with the anchor, drop it as far into the sea as they could, and then the ship winched its way forward. The image of the church as a boat and tradition as an anchor is prevalent in Christian art. If we examine the biblical view of an anchor, we find, like Prince Madoc, we are to cast our anchor into the future and pull the church forward. Postmodern pilgrims must strive to keep the past and the future in perpetual conversation so every generation will find a fresh expression of the Gospel that is anchored solidly to “the faith that was once for all delivered.”

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sweet, dean of Drew University's School of Theology and author of A Cup of Coffee at the Soul Cafe, AquaChurch and Faithquakes, among other titles, presents a myriad of modern phenomena and dares the Christian Church to be as appealing. He cites the Internet, e-mail, music and media as prime resources that our culture has taken advantage of to provide mind, soul and spirit connections. Shame on the Church, says Sweet, since it should be offering a higher measure of love, acceptance and genuine care than these quick fixes. What congregations fail to realize, he writes, is that postmoderns aren't so much interested in a "me, me, me" mentality as they are driven to participate and experience every area of life. Sweet uses the acronym "E-P-I-C" (Experientially, Participatory, Image-Driven, Connected) to define how our postmodern society functions. Specifically, Sweet offers practical steps for achieving optimal, effective connection with those outside the faith. First, Christians must "put the salve in salvation" by reaching out in love and healing. They must then master "the complex art of simple living" by decentralizing; recapture the gift of story-telling, which imparts continuity and community; and get moving through acts of service and social transformation. Despite his clear step-by-step approach, Sweet has amassed so many facts and quotes that the text is severely disjointed. Even scholars may find this weighty compilation of data difficult to digest. (July)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Leonard Sweet is the author and editor of the publications Sweet's SoulCafe and Homeilectics. He is dean of the Theological School at Drew University. He has written many books, including A Cup of Coffee at the SoulCafe, Aquachurch, Soul Tsunami, Quantum Spirituality, Faithquakes, and Strong in Broken Places. He has written many articles for publications such as Theology Today, Religious Studies Review, Theological Studies, Christianity Today, and Christian Century. He is also the founder and owner of Sweet's Bay and Soul Cafe and Mountain Store in Thomas, West Virginia.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: B&H Books; 1ST edition (July 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805421378
• ISBN-13: 978-0805421378
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #167,642 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Len Sweet was born of a mixed marriage: his mother was a fiery Pilgrim Holiness-ordained preacher from the mountains of West Virginia and his quiet father a Free Methodist lay leader from the Adirondack mountains of upstate New York. After a deconversion at 17, when Len set about less sowing wild oats than planting prairies, he became an atheist intellectual and scholar dedicated to exposing the nincompoopery and poppycockery, if not tomfoolery and skullduggery of all religions. After this seven-year period of liminality, Len came back to the faith of his ancestors, where he has been ever since, exploring the "insterstices" and "semiotics" of religion, culture and history. He uses two words to describe himself: semiotician and interstitial. In other words, he is obsessed with two questions: "Where have you been?" and "Where are you going?"

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Len Sweet at his best, November 10, 2000

By 

Douglas D. Gestwick (Bridgewater, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Post-Modern Pilgrims: First Century Passion for the 21st Century Church (Hardcover)

I read this book from cover to cover in one sitting, something I thought I would NEVER be able to do with a Len Sweet book. This is GREAT stuff! I can see (and hear) so many of Len's talks/sermons/lectures/previous writings merging into this book. I think it's the best he's done to date. I see so much of the "old" Len in this, - well grounded, and deeply steeped in the heritage of the faith, literature, history and science. He has not attempted to be cutting edge in his presentation, but rather has let his cutting edge message stand on its own. I think this works better for him (or maybe it works better for me, the participant in the work), and with the "pew-sitters" for whom this book will have its greatest impact. I think it works better for them as well compared to something like Aqua Church. A "must-read" for our pastors and church leaders.

21 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A textbook for Christian leadership, June 30, 2000

By 

"aquaservant" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Post-Modern Pilgrims: First Century Passion for the 21st Century Church (Hardcover)

Post-Modern Pilgrims, Leonard Sweet's latest book, discuss postmodern culture and serves as a guide for sailing the church through this moment in history. Sweet's Epic methodology sets the framework for the book, and explains how we must build an "EPIC church for EPIC times." Postmodern culture is E-P-I-C in that it is Experiential, Participatory, Image-driven, and Connected. Dr. Sweet devotes a chapter to each of these four principals and shows examples of how they can bring the church up to speed with the culture. This is an awesome book for anyone trying to understand the relationship between Christianity and culture. Buy this book, and you will not be disappointed!

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Praise for Postmodernity Without the Critique, September 22, 2004

By 

James (United States of America) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Post-Modern Pilgrims: First Century Passion for the 21st Century Church (Hardcover)

Post-modernity is all the rage. It used to be that great epochs of history would be named and categorized only after the fact. Now, we try to define and judge history as it happens. It is probably fitting that in our wired world of blogs that our era of history would come with its own running commentary. Leonard Sweet, self-proclaimed theologian and futurist, offers his own commentary. He speaks to the Church in non-technical language about post-modernity and its implications for ministry.

Generally, I like Leonard Sweet. He is creative and fresh--witnessing to the relevancy of the gospel rather than trying to make it relevant. I have read a few of his other books, and I am a regular subscriber to his website for preachers, www.preachingplus.com. Overall, I am pleased with his book, "Post-Modern Pilgrims." Suggesting that we must continue to keep the past and the future in conversation is sound advice. His exegesis of modern American culture rings true, and it that light, his acronym EPIC is helpful. (Congregations need to promote consciously the ways in which their ministries area Experiential, Participatory, Image-driven, and Connected.)

Sadly, there are ways in which the book fails to go far enough. For all the talk of keeping the past and future in conversation, it is clear that the future dominates the book. The subtitle of the book is "First Century Passion for the 21st Century World." I would have loved some of that "first century passion." There is no extended treatment of how the early church understood itself or its mission, or why this might matter to the future of the church.

Although I tend to accept some of Sweet's concerns of modernity, he could sharpen his analysis. For example, Sweet asks the question, "Why has praise music been such a pet hate in so many church circles (pg 143)?" His answer may surprise you. The fault lies in the scientific method. I still cannot fathom how praise music is antithetical to the scientific method. Elsewhere, he suggests that modernity was "word-based" but post-modernity is "image-driven" (pg 89). The evidence for this switch, Sweet argues, is the importance of metaphor. However, what is metaphor if not "word-based"? Throughout the book, Sweet rejects modernity, while embracing the technology it has wrought.

The new world in which we live means the gospel should be expressed in new ways. However, I do not see in Leonard Sweet how the gospel critiques post-modernity. Could our over-reliance on technology be hurting real relationships? Could the 17th Century Reformers be right about their concern with icons and imagery? Could an ever expanding desire for experiences be idolatrous? Leonard Sweet praises the potentials for ministry in this post-modern period, yet the Church needs a better roadmap to navigate the pitfalls.