2 B or not 2 B

Being a GenX-er, my heart runs deep in Postmodern ministry. I've heard many statistics about my generation, but the one that sticks with me is that mine is the first generation where more than half of all its members have never had positive, meaningful contact with Christianity beyond the vague, ignorant stereotypes played out in the media. In addition, it's the first generation in a unique and important cultural shift sweeping our world. The church, never one to make necessary changes smoothly, has been slow and largely ineffective in reaching this group of people.

Why is this such an issue for me right now? Well, I'm currently working in a church that is definitely not ministering to postmoderns. It is also in sharp decline, especially in the area of youth and young adults. The combination of these mean that unless this church changes, it will soon not exist. This one of those extremely crucial points in the future of the church, but many don't know, or don't care, or just give up.

Some definitions for the uninitiated:

Modern Era: 1500's through the mid 20th Century.

Postmodern Era: The mid 20th Century and ongoing.

Modernism: The philosophy in which science, knowledge, facts, etc. define truth; where the scientific method, and later the traditionally structured "business model" is applied to give life meaning. God is culturally seen as the Christian God, a distant author of absolute truth.

Postmodernism: The philosophy in which spiritualism, experiences, social exchange, etc. define truth; where community (especially social/communal technologies) and the ongoing, fluidly changing story of shared experiences are tapped into to explore meaning. God is culturally seen as an extension of your personal experience of "God" and "truth", whatever that means to you.

A modern: Someone who has spent the formative years of their life in the Modern Era. Most recently, "baby boomers/busters." Not necessarily one who aligns themselves with Modernism.

A postmodern: Someone who has spent the formative year of their life in the Postmodern Era. "Gen-X-ers" and "millennials." Not necessarily one who aligns themselves with Postmodernism.

I'm a writer and musician. I'm not the best at public speaking, nor debating. As such, I have great difficulty communicating the great need for our church to begin a ministry to postmoderns. The biggest trouble I have is getting across the difference between ministering to postmoderns and selling out to the "philosophy of Postmodernism." Many moderns I've talked to about this seem to believe that to minister to a postmodern, you have to water down sound Biblical doctrine with the "all religions are valid ways to God" philosophy. That's not true. The point of postmodern ministry is to take the solid doctrine of Truth and communicate it in new ways that postmoderns can relate to. This is: Communicating genuinely, deepening spirituality and connection to the ancient past by not being afraid of "churchy words", and interacting/connecting meaningfully (not the forced and fake "meet and greet" that happens in the middle of the church service at the command of a minister).

Anyway, I'm constantly frustrated by the inability to communicate this desire in a way that people fully grasp. It's like explaining chartreuse to someone who has been blind their entire life. But in this case, the future of the church may depend on it. I did find a great website that explains it pretty clearly (http://www.emergingministry,com/).

Sing to the Lord a 'Good Old Hymn'?

Just a thought here...

When the Psalm says "Sing to the Lord a new song," is that for God? Is it because God gets bored with the old songs? Of course not! These words, and the new songs, are for us! Some of us love the "good ol' hymns" because they're comfortable. But comfort leads to idle worship (pun intended). If you've known a song for years inside and out, you don't think about the words or the tune anymore. You just sing it out and let it wash over you. While there might be a place for that on occasion, God prefers worship that involves "all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, and all your strength!"

So stop complaining about "too many new songs" or longing for all your old favorites! Engage your whole being in singing to the Lord new songs!

A Great Innovator Sleeps

Something is stirring, not yet awake. It hides in the deep. It is ancient, but always new. It sleeps in our souls waiting for true need. It has been kept silent by complacency and comfort within safe walls. Its time has come.

It used to live in the heart of the church - the unwanted, but always needed churning of inspiration that sparks change. It is innovation.

I have a theory. My wife has a friend who made the comment that the church has been an innovator in the past. That got me thinking...

1. Why isn't the church known as an innovator now?
2. What effects have we seen from this lack of innovation?

My theory: The church became irrelevant to culture when it stopped being an innovator.

Historically, the church has either made, or prompted some great innovations. The printing press was made to help widen the distribution of the Bible. Great architectural advancements came from problem-solving cathedral engineers. Our education system in America began in the church. Music education, music notation, and many innovations in musical style were born from her people. The message of salvation was spread throughout the world thanks to new ways of communicating God's love to previously unknown cultures. The church gave western society its cultural foundations.

Granted, the church has always fought change, which has the effect of killing innovation. Nonetheless, the innovators kept going knowing that what they were doing would keep the church at the forefront of cultural change.

I may be wrong here, but I believe that this all gradually stopped when innovation began coming more from outside the church than from inside. When a church member created something new, whether the church overall liked the change or not, they gave it at least some credit because it came from a fellow Christian. But when it came from secular society, it was an outsider, shunned (and in some cases called heresy and its creator sent to an untimely end). We fought it too hard, and lost the battle (or just gave up). At that point, the church began losing its cultural footing, and instead of leading culture, has been struggling against culture ever since.

Whoever does the innovation directs culture. We've seen a major cultural shift taking place since the 60's, which the church began really responding to in the 90's. That shift is called Postmodernism, led by technological innovation mixed with humanistic innovation. People long for a kind of ancient, holistic, spiritual connection through their cutting-edge hardware. Whole (sub)cultures have developed in the new social cyberspace. However, many churches ignore it or scoff at it. But these churches cannot fight the Postmodern wave that is hitting hard. Because they are not an innovator, they do not have the social clout needed to direct the flood - only bend or break with it. Only churches that adjust will survive. The ones that don't will dwindle into a footnote in history, if that. He who innovates wins.

We need to begin innovating again, even if on a personal level: meeting the needs around us. In the animated film, Robots, Mr. Bigweld is known for his statement, "See a need, fill a need." Jesus spoke of this when he said, "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'" (Matthew 25:34-36, NIV)

How many of us really fill needs? We've been lulled into believing that government programs, social organizations, and philanthropists should make sure that needs are met. "It's their job," but what happens when they can't fill all the needs? Do we step in and do what the Bible says we must? I'm ashamed to say that I don't. And thus, I pull no weight in culture. If the church innovates and invents ways of filling a need in our society, we can shape culture. If we don't, culture shapes us. Many churches don't. My church doesn't. I don't. But I need to.

Let's innovate. Let's use the tools that secular society has created (because we haven't) within the context of the culture that society has created (instead of ignoring it or scoffing at it) to spread hope, to innovate, to become a culture shaper within our society again. Give up on our bliss of ignorant nostalgia, and wake up! Perhaps that might even lead to the church getting on even footing with culture instead of being decades behind, and possibly once again moving into the innovator role! The sleeping innovator in us has to wake up, or we'll become blissfully insignificant to those who really need us.

Of Lights and Men

Our video projector bulb burned out a couple of weeks ago. We ordered our replacement (man, those puppies are pricey!), and set out to get the new lamp put in. The projector hangs from a pole in the center of a vaulted ceiling, quite high off the ground. Now, I've been told that it's been the practice in the past to set up four tables in a rectangular configuration (one table at each corner of the rectangle), and put a tall ladder on top, with a leg on the center of each table. Now, how that sounds anywhere near safe is beyond me. I guess, with a small church with limited funding, there comes an element of risky creativity in order to save money. Personally, I'd rather have the congregation sing from a song sheet for a few months until the money to rent a hydraulic lift is saved.

So, this time it was by lift rather than thrift and risk. We rented the hydraulic lift and the pastor and a deacon braved the heights to install the bulb. Now, it's very bright and crisp on-screen! You never know just how dull the picture has been until you've got a nice, new bulb in there. I bet there's a sermon in there somewhere...

What to do with Independance Day

I've always noticed that there is an amazing lack of Independance Day related praise/worship songs. This year, my Pastor has asked me to make July 6th a patriotic service (that's a given), which is followed by a potluck. This past Sunday, he asked me to also put together some patriotic songs for the potluck.

Now, my problem: there are a total of 6 patriotic songs in our hymnal, and I can find one or two more here and there (at least church-appropriate ones). Doesn't leave all that many to choose from between two separate worship times.

I decided to open the service with a couple good, obligatory patriotic songs, followed by a scripture reading about our spiritual independance through Christ. After the reading is The Church's One Foundation, Amazing Grace, and Doxology. This leaves the rest of the patriotic songs for the potluck.

Starting out

First posts are always awkward, aren't they? I'll just leave it at that.