So what?

Yesterday, I was able to speak with someone else who attended Catalyst who is not in seminary. Here's a thought he had. After listening to speakers like Donald Miller and Rick McKinley, he said that he agreed and could get on board with what they were saying, but "how is that any different than what we are already doing? How is it different than our local missions, mission trips, etc" "I agree with them, but so what? What am I supposed to come back and do?"

I think this may be an example of a need for creativity. There exists a big difference between someone like Rick McKinley and John Maxwell. The difference is that Rick strattles much more if not fully stands in the p0stmodern paradigm of reality. This "so what" question addresses the narrative that was used by some of the speakers.

After Shane Claiborne of the Simple Way spoke, a person questioned him and basically asked him, "how can I be like you where I'm at." Of course these were not his exact words, but it was the jist of what he was saying. Shane said something to the effect of don't be like me, be like Jesus.

This is the problem, we need models, not stories. When we are trained to fight against creativity we need someone to tell us, "so what." Can we live without someone telling us so what? If so, what will that look like? Narrative, story, and no "so whats."