Now the most popular page on Next-Wave is the “404″ page! One of my other discoveries is that a website named sodahead has been using an image I posted years ago of waffles. Unfortunately for them, the link they have been using is outdated. Sorry about that Sodahead!

I also lost about one year of articles (from September 2003 to October 2004) from the active archive files. Over the next year or so I will probably be able to retrieve those and get them reposted. For now, serious historians can browse those articles on the Wayback Machine under the-next-wave.org.

So, you ask, “Why all of the ‘inside baseball’ info about Next-Wave?” I wish I had a good answer to that question. I’m one of those people who believes that God talks to his people today, not just through scripture and nature, but by whispers and nudgings from the Holy Spirit and occasionally with prophetic “words” from other inspired people. In the Summer of 1998 God whispered and I started Next-Wave. About a year later, or so, he spoke again and confirmed that Next-Wave is a “God-thing.” A lot of water has gone under the bridge in my life since that time, but through the thick and thin of those years I have been publishing Next-Wave.

So, in spite of the broken links, we will carry forward. One of the fun things about this change is that I have been adding content from the “legacy” archives (which can be found by searching the past issues page and the Next-Wave Issue Listing page. No longer are we using the “monthly magazine” format. But we will have plenty of material every month!

Okay, that’s enough of all of that. Thanks for listening and continuing to read Next-Wave!

Print PDF

When I founded Next-Wave I was a burnt out and discouraged failed pastor. I read Willard’s Divine Conspiracy and wondered if I had ever been a follower of Jesus. I had recently closed a normal church and was involved in the beginnings of a ministry to skateboarders. The name of Next-Wave was inspired by a leadership lecture by John Wimber. John was talking about the life-cycle of movements. He was drawing these wave-like symbols on a whiteboard depicting the rise and then crest of a movement. He was talking about the stages of birth, life and death of a movement. You know, something like: Man…Movement…Machine…Monument…Memorial.

John’s audience was leaders in the Vineyard movement. John had been working on his leadership transition for a while but thought it was important the leaders of the movement know that, without constant renewal, movements die. Wimber’s encouragement in that message, pointing at the crest of the wave, “When you get here. Take the Best and Go.”

My discouragement 11 years ago was born out of my perceived judgment that the institutional church had failed to bring the message of Jesus to my generation, the baby boomers. I was not only angry, I was sad. I didn’t believe that it was the will of God that so many of his children should never hear about his unfailing love. I blamed the older generation for clinging to their traditions. I blamed them for protecting their institutions. I blamed them for hanging onto positional leadership at the expense of forward momentum.

Don’t get me wrong, I acknowledge that God had birthed a number of movements that did multiply and minister to the baby boomers, the Calvary Chapels and the Vineyards among them. However, to me, it just wasn’t enough. Having experienced the failures of my church fathers, I realized that it was highly likely that MY generation would make the same mistakes. I was pretty convinced that this was happening all around me and that another generation, the people I thought of as Gen-X, were missing out on the life that following Jesus promises.

When I approached future church planter, Rogier Bos, about starting Next-Wave I wanted to start an “e-zine” that would speak to these issues. About six months into the project Next-Wave launched in January 1999 and it was full of articles about postmodernism. I hadn’t even heard of postmodernism! The words “emerging” and “church” had not yet been juxtaposed. Emergent had not been founded. That came later along with terms like ancient-future worship, neo-monastic communities, transformational, incarnational, organic and missional.

As we near the end of the 11th year of Next-Wave we are making some changes. Over the years we have accumulated a number of web addresses: next-wave.org, the-next-wave.org, the-next-wave-ezine.info, the-next-wave.info. We have also used 5 content management systems. As you can imagine this has left our “long tail” of archives in an interesting and chaotic mess.

We have also used the format of a “legacy” monthly magazine, with issues and publication dates once a month. Regular followers and readers have noticed that we have missed a couple of months recently. Editor Scott Bane and I have decided to take a different approach. Once a month (and hopefully early in the month) we will publish a “cover” story. This will be an article that we consider to be of some significance. We will then publish articles during the course of the month on various topics, “tagged” with the month of publication. Click on the tag for that month and you get the list of article for that month.

For those interested in the conversation over the last ten years, the archives are available in the Past Issues page, Next-Wave Articles page and Next-Wave issues page. There is a period of one year in 2003-2004 that is not well archived except on the various web caches available for avid researchers.

What will be the aftermath of these changes? For one thing, links all over the internet will land folks on a this file is not available page. However, ultimately, all of the Next-Wave stuff that readers have enjoyed over the years will be available at http://the-next-wave.info .

I renew my prayer published at the beginning of this year: “Father, may we be faithful to your call on our lives, to love you with all of our hearts and to love others and one another, as we love ourselves. Out of that love, Father, I pray that we may be winsome messengers of the good news of your grace and mercy for humanity. Empower us with your spirit, in the name of your son, Jesus, let it be.”

Print PDF

I love Next-Wave.  “Humbling” does not begin to describe my feelings about this opportunity to serve as editor.  I know the story behind Next-Wave because my dear friend and mentor, Charlie Wear, told me all about it.  I know that Charlie has been plowing this field long before anyone was using words like “emerging” and “missional.”  His passion for whatever God is doing to gather a generation disenchanted by church and religious culture to his kingdom is something that I am continuously inspired by.

Charlie is one of the only people that really “gets me” when I talk about what I’m hearing from the Spirit and how I’m trying to follow his lead.  In the mission that my wife and I are on right now, laying the foundation for what might be a church in Northwest Indiana, it’s Charlie’s counsel that I seek.  Mostly because I know he’s going to force me back to the Lord.  “Listen to God.  He’ll talk to you,” he says.

To me, that’s what Next-Wave is about.  That’s what comes out through so many different voices, every month.  I catch a whisper from the voice of the Spirit with every issue.  This is my goal as editor – to continue to listen to God and let him do all the talking through Next-Wave.

Church as I have known it (American, cultural Christianity) is no longer serving God’s purpose of intimacy and relationship.  So that’s why the conversation that goes on here is so important.  It may have been ordained and sanctioned by God and maybe it was serving His purpose at one time.  I do not believe it has the ability to go on serving Him in the future.  The next wave or “new wine” that He is bringing into the fold of His kingdom needs a new wineskin.

In Isaiah Chapter 1, God speaks through that prophet to condemn the religious practices of the Jews of that day.  What suddenly occurred to me while reading the chapter is that God was not dealing with idol worship.  He was talking about the religious system inherited from Moses.  The system he once allowed had lost all of its original meaning.

They were going through all the correct motions but it was not serving the purpose of drawing them into relationship with him.  The challenge was to surrender their notions of serving God and accept the “new thing” he was trying to give birth to within them.  God seems to force this type of confrontation in several places throughout Scripture.  Another encounter I think of is found in Mark 6, when Jesus sends his followers away in the boat while he stays on land to pray.  The gospel makes a special point of telling us that the storm blew up when they were “in the middle” of the sea.  They were too far to turn back and not far enough for the safety of shore on the other side.  In this journey out of conventional church, I’ve often felt out in the middle with nothing to grab onto at either side.  It’s pretty scary even when I remember it was Jesus who told me to take this trip in the first place.

Jesus does something wild and dramatic to come to the aid of his friends.  He walks on the waves and then quiets the storm with his presence in the boat.  I think he’s ready to do these things again.  I think he is glad that we’ve gotten ourselves out here in the middle, with no more props to cling to and no more comfortable “normal” to soothe ourselves with.  I thinks he’s on the water now and heading toward people all over the world who have followed his call into rough seas.

© Andrzej Dro?d?a | Dreamstime.com

So how can we go about building this new wineskin idea of service and worship?  God gives us some great direction in Isaiah chapter 1:

Think about your intimacy and relationship with God in these terms.  If all the props of church were removed, would there be anything left?  Have you had that encounter yet?  Are you too far from shore to turn back, but not close enough to the other side to be certain that you’ll make it?

What if He did away with the praise and worship band and all the external stimulants?  Would you still find ways to worship?  What if there were no more children’s programs or church ministries to kids?  Would you still find ways to lead your children (or any children) to be disciples of Jesus?  If God eliminated all the missions programs and “outreach” initiatives, would you still find ways for the Gospel to be advanced through your life?  If there was no more church to receive your tithe, would you still be a fountain of giving and generosity?

What if God really is finished with our systems of service and worship, like He was expressing in the days of Isaiah?  What if His soul hates them (Isaiah 1:14)?  Are we ready to leave it behind and find other ways to serve His purpose of intimacy and relationship?  Again, I see direction coming from Isaiah the prophet:

That is the mission and all these centuries later, it still needs doing.

I’m thrilled to be part of this Next-Wave community.  I love the risks that are taken here and the passion that is expressed here.  Next-Wave People really wear it on their sleeve.  You can feel it in the comments and emotions ebbs through each article.  But I’m most excited just to be included somewhere in the story that our Lord is writing.

To this Next-Wave community:  Thank you for the fire you’ve provided to purge and refine my life.  I look forward to serving you!

Print PDF

Next-Wave:

McLaren: It’s all been kind of strange, and I try not to think about it too much. The good news is that I continue to get a strong stream of emails, letters, etc., saying that my work is helping people.  These notes are often very moving — like bring-tears-to-your-eyes moving — and they help me not be preoccupied with the people who think I’m a villain, heretic, and all-around bad guy.  I’m not a fighter by nature … so I don’t like controversy.  At heart I’m a contemplative, so this much attention can be rough.  At least I don’t have to worry about that verse, “Woe to you when all people speak well of you” any more! Processing all this and seeking to respond in a God-honoring way is a great growth opportunity for character, prayer life, etc.

Next-Wave: Some of us hope that the “Last Word” is not the last word from Dan Poole and his friend, Neil Oliver, is saying ‘to hell’ with hell the last we are going hear from these characters?

McLaren: I hadn’t planned on taking them any farther.  But you never know. Sometimes I think about picking up one of the minor characters someday.

Next-Wave: Why is hell such a thorny issue for Christians?

McLaren: All of us who have a high view of Scripture don’t want to blunt its sharp edges; we want to be faithful to Scripture, and to God — even when it’s hard to do so.  Yet — as I try to show in the book — the Bible’s treatment of hell and judgment is significantly more nuanced, multifaceted, and rich than the conventional teaching we often hear. Grappling with the Bible’s complex of teachings on hell and judgment seems to run up against the picture of God we get in the Bible: how do we reconcile the two?  That’s not easy.  It calls into question our hermeneutic (way of interpreting) as well.  What do we do with a subject that is never mentioned in the Old Testament, that arises in the Inter-testamental period and is not universally accepted (except by Jesus’ main antagonists), and then is handled by Jesus in fascinating, sophisticated ways? Add to that the varied ways the apostles deal with the subject (or don’t deal with it) … and you have a pretty challenging situation.

Next-Wave: Is it true that your book is saying that “hell” is a myth?

McLaren: No.  I never say anything like that.

Next-Wave: In your experience as a pastor, have you found that “hell” serves as a deterrent for sin?

McLaren: Not very much.  Most Christians feel that they don’t need to face any sort of judgment, much less hell.  The only people who need to worry about hell, in their minds, are the people who generally don’t worry about it.

I think if we had a stronger sense of the reality, presence, purpose, love, holiness, justice, and inevitability of God … that would strengthen sin-deterrence powerfully.

But in the end, I think it’s more our practices that help us avoid sin, not only our concepts.

Next-Wave: What’s at issue with the four main Christian perspectives on the afterlife—exclusivism, inclusivism, conditionalism and universalism, and what difference does it make to an ordinary Christian who isn’t interested in rhetorical analysis or systematic theology?

McLaren: I think that people can be good Christians with any of these views, and I also think they can be bad Christians.  One of my biggest concerns, though, is that a hell-focused understanding of the gospel distracts us from the real message of Jesus – which is the kingdom of God.  I think what would help us most would be a kingdom-focused understanding of the gospel, and I hope this book prepares the way for that.

Next-Wave: Your book proposes a new understanding of the relationship between justice and mercy in the Bible and in God’s character. Could you explain?

McLaren: With this book, I feel a lot like the dancer who was asked what her performance meant. She replied, “If I could have said it, I wouldn’t have had to dance it.” So it’s hard to sum up, but let me frame it in this way, as a question: what if justice and mercy aren’t two separate things, but rather two sides of the same thing, namely, goodness?  What if God’s justice is always merciful and God’s mercy is always just?  What if the two aren’t opposed to one another, but rather are integrated in God, just as they are in, say, a good parent or teacher or judge or king?  This is one of Jesus’ main points, I believe, in the sermon on the mount: it’s one of the ways that his “righteousness” exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees: their justice lacks mercy, but for Jesus, the two always go together.

Print PDF