February 24, 1999

Fundamentalist, liberal labels won't last
___By Steve DeVane
___North Carolina Biblical Recorder
___RALEIGH, N.C. (ABP)--Terms such as fundamentalist, conservative, moderate and liberal are modern terms that don't apply to postmodern people, according to the only trained futurist working in American denominational life.
___Postmodern people "have no interest in those lines of thinking or in those theologies," explained Cassidy Dale, director of the research office for North Carolina Baptists. "We have no postmodern Christian theology yet."
___Postmodern people also can't be pigeonholed as traditional or progressive, he added. "They have an entirely different understanding of the world."
___Dale graduated in 1996 from the University of Houston at Clear Lake with a master of science in studies of the future. In the 23-year history of the program, he is the first to go through it with the intention of using his training to help churches. Most graduates work for city planning departments, NASA or other government agencies.
___Dale said current trends illustrate changes that will take place as society moves from the modern to the postmodern era. Those changes include a new culture of religious thinking that has arisen in the 1990s, he said.
___If understood correctly, this can be seen as an opportunity for the church rather than a disadvantage, he said. "The postmodern mindset is extremely God-friendly and will be with us for a long time."
___Dale said churches must understand that postmodern people are looking for community, stories and spirituality.
___They want "a real, authentic, deep, intricate, rich community with other believers," he said. It will be more than just a group of people who meet for church on Sunday mornings.

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