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Preaching to Pluralists: How to Proclaim Christ in a Postmodern Age

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Imagine you fell asleep in your home, but awoke in a foreign country about which you knew nothing. Imagine if suddenly you had to live in a place where you did not know the language, were unaware of their customs and were even a stranger to their food? This is exactly what has happened to American preachers says Chris Altrock in his book, Preaching to Pluralists. The preaching minister at Highland Street Church of Christ in Memphis, Tenn., Altrock offers preachers a prescription that will help us develop preaching that connects with a culture that differs from the American culture of the pre-nineteen seventies.

Altrock says that the primary characteristic of postmodernism, is that it "denies the possibility of impartial objectivity in human knowledge." Modernism had relied on science; the empirical method, for truth. The postmodern viewpoint is that all knowledge is subjective and the result of interpretation. The hallmarks of postmodernism are pluralism and relativism. The problem with preaching is that pulpits are still addressing a modernistic mindset while the hearers view the world through the eyes of postmodernism, meaning that sermons are missing the target and the gospel goes unheard leaving people untouched. "The harvest is plentiful," the book asserts, but much of the crop goes unpicked.

The book is a prescription for this problem, as indicated in the subtitle, "How to Proclaim Christ in a Postmodern Age." The books strength is in its specific analysis of the crisis in preaching and its targeted remedies. Altrock identifies seven "faces" of postmodernism: postmoderns are uninformed about the basics of Christianity, they are interested in spiritual matters, anti-institutional, pluralistic, pragmatic, relational and experiential. The body of the book devotes a chapter to each of these faces, addressing how postmodern people can be reached through preaching when sermons are informed and shaped by these characteristics.

Altrock's book is helpful to the busy pastor in a number of ways. The book reads well, using anecdotes, helpful and challenging statistics, easily understood ways of writing sermons that take the postmodern culture into consideration.

Theologically, the book can cross a broad spectrum of perspectives. With the language of winning people to Christ and acknowledging Jesus as the only way to salvation, evangelistic readers will find the book compatible with their point of view. Others of a more liberal bent will welcome Altrock's suggestions for preaching that are inclusive of all people and focus on the post-modern concern to love and respect all people. Altrock suggest that preachers demonstrate that the "Jesus only message" is rooted in theology, not culture, believing that will help. Altrock never departs from the point of view that evangelistic work, conversion, is God's doing first and last. Our role is proclaiming God's message.

The book is rich in helpful metaphor. Thus, in examining how we bring theological language, i.e., "church talk," to the hearer, Altrock looks at the language of baseball. If you want to be a fan of the game, you learn the language. He writes, "Baseball does not change its language of "fouls," fly balls," and strike zone," simply because a person is ignorant of their meaning. The language is learned willingly. Our task as preachers is the recognition that the language of our faith is unknown to the postmodern hearer and hence we need to help them understand as we preach.

A weakness of the book may be its suggestions for innovation and change in worship. The book talks about the GRE's of worship. These are God-encountering, Relational and Experiential modes of worship. Those preaching in established churches may will find a welcome for Altrock's suggestions for preaching. His suggestions for changes in worship are another matter. Perhaps the solution is for clear communication with lay leadership in the church and the education of those leaders about the goals of reaching postmoderns.

In the early part of the book, Altrock clearly identifies the crisis his book aspires to address. American churches find themselves on a mission field and don't even realize it. Many churches are still operating as if they are reaching out to moderns when, in fact, their audiences are predominantly postmodern. It might be akin to traveling to Japan to preach to them in Spanish!

Altrock is convincing regarding the need for churches to view themselves in a missional way in our postmodern context. He backs up his assertions with anecdotes and statistics. He then clearly describes seven hallmarks of postmodernism that must be taken into consideration when preparing and delivering sermons. He later goes beyond this in describing other aspects of Christian worship and community that must take into account their postmodern neighbors.

Altrock does a good job of anticipating objections. Perhaps we should just preach the gospel and not worry about the culture. Yet, Altrock reminds us of the theology that guided Paul to hold fast to nothing but "Christ crucified" but at the same reminds his audience that they are to express the gospel thoughtfully--meaning that failure to do so can actually compromise the message of Christ crucified. Altrock insists on a tension of conversion as God's work and as a task of persuasion given to the church. He then calls for contextualization of the message. The gospel never changes, but we present in a way that connects with a given context. Altrock doesn't quote the verse, but it reminds the reader of Paul's description of his own ministry: "I have become all things to all men so by all possible means I might save some" (1 Cor. 9:22).

The majority of the book is dedicated to practical instruction and suggestions on how to connect with the seven features of postmodern audiences. Altrock is careful to point out that there are times when the gospel clearly confronts the culture, but those issues must be dealt with sensitively.

There are a lot of great sermon suggestions throughout the book and many ways of encouraging the entire church to participate in the common mission to reach out to postmoderns. It might have been helpful had the book dealt more directly with the struggle of womens' role and how it relates to the postmodern emphasis on toleration and inclusion. I also would have liked a little more discussion on how to balance evangelistic preaching with preaching to seasoned Christians. Yet, overall the book was clear, convincing, and exceptionally thought provoking. I recommend it to any preacher or concerned church leader.