Beyond Resistance: The Institutional Church Meets the Postmodern World

Beyond Resistance is a template for those devoted to the the idea that faith should be just, generous and inspire commitment to the common good. The rise of postmodernity and its influence on the expression of faith are not the cause of religion’s perceived diminishment in capacity, relevance, and impact. To the contrary, both the Institutional Church and those who hold faith in a postmodern key can—and should—be allies in a common cause. What is unfolding is nothing short of a second Reformation, and this Reformation (unlike the previous one) can unite both the change agents and the changing institution as partners on the same playing field. This book addresses the realities faced by what too many have called a dying institution. It is a call to move the institutional church out of a modality of denial and into a perspective of hope; out of a paradigm of scarcity and into a world of possibility with a growing multiplicity of options and allies; out of a time of end-game scenarios where only the fit will survive, and into what James Carse calls an “Infinite Game,” where those who play ensure that the game continues long after they have left the field.