Next-Wave: Frequently Asked Questions

Next-Wave is a magazine published on the World Wide Web that appears around the fifteenth of every month. Its focus is on church planting and leadership in the postmodern era. Next-Wave wants to become a network of practitioners (current and future) and academicians who desire to see the church thrive in the postmodern era!

What is the purpose of Next-Wave? [back]

To bring together Christians from all walks of life, including pastors, church planters and leaders across denominational and national borders, who want to reach out to postmodern people, and who understand that, in order to do so, significant changes need to be made in the way we run and organize our churches. Next-Wave wants to explore new ways, discuss them, study them. Next-Wave is a place where any person, pastor, planter or leader can contribute. Discuss your strategy, raise your questions, list your objectives, explain your experiments, and share your stories with us!

What’s the idea behind Next-Wave? [back]

The world has entered a new era, the era of postmodernism. The church was heavily-influenced by the modern era, and is struggling now to find a place for itself in the contemporary world. Strategies that have worked well for decades, suddenly don’t work any more, and many in the church are starting to wonder if the church is indeed, like so many have always claimed, hopelessly out of touch with the real world. There is a growing awareness that Christians need to reassess what church is, how church should be, and what church should do. How can we as churches be committed to God’s word and mission in the postmodern era? There is also a growing conviction that on the other side of this reassessment process the church will be decidedly different from what we are currently used to. In short, we believe we will see the emergence of a new wave, or a next wave of churches.

Who should read Next Wave? [back]

Christians from all walks of life including pastors, future church planters, ministry leaders, students, and just about everybody else. Next-Wave is interdenominational; we want to reach across denominational borders and learn from each other. Each of us has a unique contribution to make! Next-Wave is international. The whole world is experiencing the transition to the postmodern era, and in some countries that transition is further advanced than others. Because our world is a global village, we need to connect with each other. Again the purpose is to learn together, from each other, to showcase our own ministries, share our struggles and victories, and discover together what works and what doesn’t.

What you are really talking about is Generation X, isn’t it? [back]

Well...yes and no. The term ‘Generation X’ is a little problematic. First, it’s really a marketing term. Second, there is little agreement on the term. Some call the same group baby-busters, others call them slackers, and still others have other names just as offensive as those! Thirdly, there is little agreement on the age-limits of the group. Fourthly, and most importantly, the same age-group is not necessarily discernable in other countries around the world. That makes Generation X predominantly an American concept. What everyone is agreed upon, however, is that the main characteristic of Generation X is the acceptance of a postmodern worldview. For that reason we talk about postmodern people and postmodern culture, since as Christians we know a thing or two about worldviews. Globally this puts us all on the same level. Many Australians, for instance, believe that their country has been postmodern for decades, whereas many Americans are still enjoying the modern age.

What can we find in Next-Wave? [back]

Articles on such diverse matters as postmodernism, church planting, new strategies, ‘how-to’s, pictures, resources, book reviews, Web links, and other people just like you! And much more!

What is the cost? [back]

It’s free. Next-Wave is self-financed through banner-advertising. Contact us if you would like to advertise your organization on our site. E-mail publisher@next-wave.org.

Can I be part of Next-Wave? [back]

Yes! We are looking for people to contribute articles, artwork, links, images, and much, much more. Click here to find out more. To date we have had articles contributed from writers with varied backgrounds and unique viewpoints.
We have put together a team of contributing editors. The role of the contributing editor is to participate in the process of making Next-Wave all that it can be. If you are interested in being a contributing editor, please contact us! For more information on being a contributing editor for Next-Wave, click here.

Objectives [back]

Development of a core-group of editors, writers, contributors.
Development of various areas: Discussion, Articles, Artwork, Comprehensive list of links, Comprehensive Bibliography. List of resources
Round table discussions
Conference?

Who is Next-Wave? [back]

Next-Wave is published by Charlie Wear. Charlie is a lawyer, living in Bakersfield, California. His desire is to see young leaders released to plant churches that will reach postmodern people. Rogier Bos was the founding editor of Next-Wave. To meet the other contributing editors, David Hopkins and Eric Stanford, click here.

Will Next-Wave be printed? [back]

No! We prefer the use of the Internet because it is accessible worldwide, and gives us the ability to interact with each other, to update when we want or need to. Besides, it’s cheaper... Of course you are always welcome to print a copy of any material you desire for personal use on your own printer.

When will Next-Wave appear? [back]

Look for us at www.next-wave.org around the 15th of the month after that...or so...For an e-mail update on future postings, click here.

What does Next-Wave believe? [back]

Next-Wave holds to the Nicene creed. Next-Wave hesitates to call itself purely evangelical for two reasons:

We want to include those with a living faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, in traditions other than our own. We want to interact with believers in Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist, Post-liberal and orthodox traditions, and others not listed here.
There is a growing awareness that evangelicalism, particularly in its conservative form, was profoundly influenced by Modern thinking. While we recognize the many benefits we have enjoyed in evangelicalism, we wonder if we need to move beyond evangelicalism in our attempt to capture biblical faith in the postmodern era.

This may mean that you may not agree with everything you read in Next-Wave. Articles are published in Next-Wave not necessarily because the staff of Next Wave agrees with everything the author has to say, but because they are relevant to the subject.

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