A new way of speaking to power
Time/CNN recently reported evidence that Dr. Dobson's "influence" seems to be waning. The circulation of Focus' newsletter is roughly half of what it was in its heyday. Sales of his books are way down and he doens't have new one coming out for a while. In addition he's threatened to withhold his vote if John McCain is the nominee for the Republican party. As I watch Super Tuesday returns that event seems pretty likely. There may have been a time (when the Moral Majority was in the news regularly in the early 80s) when that kind of message to power would have produced contrition on the part of the politicians. Not any more, it seems. We as believers have come to a different place and it is no longer (if it EVER actually was) at the center of the political fray. I believe we need a new way to speak to power.
I'm particularly convinced after reading Alan Roxburgh's The Missionary Congregation. The sub-title is "Leadership and Liminality", which he does a very good job of explaining. In a nutshell, Roxburgh, reviewing the work of anthropologist Victor Turner, liminality is a phase of opportunity. According to Turner’s work, “…any group experiencing the loss of social position goes through three distinct phases. (1) Separation, from the larger culture in which it was embedded and received its identity, (2) Margin, or limen, which includes marginalization and disestablishment and (3) Reaggregation.
We (evangelicals) definitely find ourselves on the margin of the culture. You can argue how it happened - that's not my point here. The fact is that we are no longer at the center. This means we must (at the least) find a new way to speak to power - and it may not be "I'll take my vote and go home." I'm not making fun of Dr, Dobson. He is still to be respected for his wisdom and the message he faithfully delivered on the importance of family. This is a new day, however, and speaking in the same way won't produce the same results. If we understand the shift, we can effectively speak in a new way to power.
In an interesting side note, "limen" as used by Roxburgh, comes from a pre-literate time, and was used of yong men coming of age. They went out (on the margin) and came back as full fledged members of soceity, able to speak as an adult. I think that's what I want for the "evangelical voice". What do you think?
I'm particularly convinced after reading Alan Roxburgh's The Missionary Congregation. The sub-title is "Leadership and Liminality", which he does a very good job of explaining. In a nutshell, Roxburgh, reviewing the work of anthropologist Victor Turner, liminality is a phase of opportunity. According to Turner’s work, “…any group experiencing the loss of social position goes through three distinct phases. (1) Separation, from the larger culture in which it was embedded and received its identity, (2) Margin, or limen, which includes marginalization and disestablishment and (3) Reaggregation.
We (evangelicals) definitely find ourselves on the margin of the culture. You can argue how it happened - that's not my point here. The fact is that we are no longer at the center. This means we must (at the least) find a new way to speak to power - and it may not be "I'll take my vote and go home." I'm not making fun of Dr, Dobson. He is still to be respected for his wisdom and the message he faithfully delivered on the importance of family. This is a new day, however, and speaking in the same way won't produce the same results. If we understand the shift, we can effectively speak in a new way to power.
In an interesting side note, "limen" as used by Roxburgh, comes from a pre-literate time, and was used of yong men coming of age. They went out (on the margin) and came back as full fledged members of soceity, able to speak as an adult. I think that's what I want for the "evangelical voice". What do you think?
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