American evangelicalism is what it is because of its gospel. Dallas
Willard calls its gospel the “gospel of sin management.” American
liberal Protestantism is what it is because of its gospel. Dallas
Willard also calls its gospel the gospel of sin management. (Some of you
will know I call this gospel the “soterian” gospel in The King Jesus Gospel.)
Its emphases — right and left — is forgiveness of sin, eternal life in
heaven, assurance in the here and now, and either an act (decision) or
acts (good deeds) are the precipitating element that gains a person
access to salvation. ...
... They have an “empty allegiance” to Jesus. You’re in whether are a transformed into Christlikeness or not. ...
... On the Right, the gospel is “vampire faith” (they want Jesus for his
blood), it is shaped by atonement theology and obsessed with atonement
theology, and it is about “relief from the intrapsychic terrors of
fundamentalist versions of hell” (149).
On the Left, the gospel is about “good acts” and activism and
“self-determined acts of righteousness” (149). So the Right is about
proper beliefs and the Left about proper behaviors. The gospel is about
conformity to Christ in a God-bathed kingdom reality. ...
My comment in response:
I think part of the solution
is recovery of the significance of everyday life and work. The primary
locus of ministry for most of us is our home, our workplace, and our
neighborhood. It is with and for those who are in our circle of
influence. And when I say "ministry" here, I don't mean using these
contexts as staging opportunities for evangelism (though evangelism will
occur) or as opportunities right injustices (though righting injustices
will occur). I mean seeing our participation in these aspects of life,
the living and work that is done there, as integral with serving God.
I think it needs to be noted that the soterian gospel of the right
and left places the locus of "ministry" in the pastors and ecclesiastic
institutions, elevating the centrality and importance of those connected
with these institutions. Conscious or not, there is considerable
psychic investment to keep things the way the are because of the
affirmation and status it brings. The rest of church becomes amateur
helpers to the evangelism/justice professionals, which is okay by many
of them because they can go do their good deeds as prescribed by the
professionals while living most of the rest of their lives as practical
atheists. All in all, an effective codependency.
... I suggest there is a need for a new order of clergy (if I may call it
that): a missional leader who can understand the relationship between
work and ministry so that it is seamless. He or she dedicates 10-15
hours a week to organizing the Kingdom community in their local
context. He or she knows her gifting and can lead out of that gifting.
He or she has a job that he/she can support her/himself and her family
with. He/she can develop a job skill that can adapt to changing
circumstances. Often, he or she adjust their work hours so that she can
work a tad less than the average 40 hour week. He or she can then give
time to the leadership of their community without disrupting a
daily/weekly rhythm of being present with family and neighborhood as
well. The small church community can offer a small stipend to make up
the difference. He or she does all this with 3 to 4 other leaders who do
the same. Each is recognized for one of the five-fold giftings out of
which they minister and lead in relation to the other leaders. They are
apostle, prophet, pastor-organizer, teacher-organizer, evangelist
working together, 15 hours plus 15 hours, plus 15 hours, plus 15 hours
plus 15 hours. They are doing more out of multiple giftings than one
single pastor ever could. They are bearing each other’s burdens. They
are a “band of brothers and sisters.” This becomes a sustainable
missionary kind of ministry that changes the whole dynamics of ministry
because they are present in jobs, families and neighborhoods and makes
possible long term ministry in context. It is, in essence, a new version
of the old monastic orders of mission adapted to the capitalistic
societies in the West while providing the means to resist (and provide
witness) to its more oppressive sinful patterns.
Denominations need to define a new order of clergy because anyone
seeking to operate in ministry this way will easily get defeated. Some
of the more obvious ways they will get defeated are: ...
... For all these reasons we need to fund a new imagination for a new
emerging clergy class that are in essence self sustaining contextual N.
American missionaries. But the denominations for the most part have not
navigated this. My guess is, if the denominations formed a new order of
clergy, helped developed imagination and supporting structures for it,
there would be untold numbers flocking to this group. There are
literally thousands of second career people, and thousands of younger
seminary graduates dissatisfied with current options (dying small
church senior pastor or mega church staff person) who would gravitate
towards this kind of commissioning. But we have no larger imagination
for it. A new order of clergy could help and support these kind of
missionaries and stir up such an imagination. Such an order of clergy
could seed a whole new mission for a renewal of the Kingdom in N
America. ...
... What explains this longevity? Stanford Graduate School of Business Professor Charles O’Reilly calls
it "organizational ambidexterity": the ability of a company to manage
its current business while simultaneously preparing for changing
conditions. "You often see successful organizations failing, and it's
not obvious why they should fail," O’Reilly says. The reason, he says,
is that a strategy that had been successful within the context of a
particular time and place may suddenly be all wrong once the world
changes.
Staying competitive, then, means changing what you're doing. But the
change can't be an abrupt switch from old to new — from print to digital
distribution, say, or from selling products to selling services — if
that means abandoning a business that's still profitable. Hence the call
for ambidexterity. You can't just choose between exploiting your
current opportunities and exploring new ones; you have to do both. And
the companies that last for decades are able to do so time and time
again. ...
I think there is a message for congregations and denominations as well.
“How can we create a congregation where work and discipleship are
truly integrated?” This is a question I am hearing more often, even
though much has been written about a theology of work in recent years.
Pastors and church leaders are looking for a programmatic strategy. I don’t think there is one. ...
This is a piece I wrote for the High Calling. They posted it yesterday. What do you think? What ideas do you have?
A lot has been written recently about the rise of the "Nones," people expressing no religious affiliation. Sociologist Brad Wright offers a fascinating insight by looking at the percentage of people at various stages of life report affliation. Young adults are not suprisingly the group with the highest percentage but Wright offers this chart.
Wright makes this observation:
Once again, the percentage of being unaffiliated increased in each
group, but relatively speaking, it’s increased most among the
middle-aged and the elderly. In both the percentage of the unaffiliated
more than tripled, compared to the 2.5x increase in the young. There is
some lagged effect, as the elderly are catching up the middle-aged in
the past decade, but overall, the rise of the religious nones is
something that spans all age groups. Thus it’s a societal-wide change
more than just an age or generational change.
This data doesn't tell us why there is the rise but I have a theory: Church offers little for discerning significance in life.
A few random thoughts (mostly intuitive perceptions.) For
many older adults who grew up in the church, there is disillusionment with
church life. Young adults have who are interested in the church are out
starting up independent congregations that are narrowly targeted to their
particular age demographic. Older Christians feel rejected. As a traditional
congregation tries to become more appealing to the younger demographic,
long-time congregants experience a loss of rhythms and routines that were
meaningful for them. With those gone, worship no longer seems meaningful. Some
look for other congregations but I sense many see the work of integrating into
a new community faith community as too much work. As the number of
congregations with familiar patterns dwindle and close, they slip out the door
into the ether.
Dr. Eileen Lindner, Deputy General Secretary for Research
and Planning of the National Council of Churches USA, gave a presentation a saw
a couple of years ago. She points out the fifty years ago congregations and
denominations were engaged in a whole range of work that ministered to the
world. Beginning the 1960s and 1970s, para-church organizations began to emerge
to do the things congregations once did ... like Young Life and Habitat for
Humanity. Many of the things churches once did have been replaced by nonprofit organizations
that may not have an explicit faith connection. In one sense, the church is
victim of its own success, having encultured values of service into the broader
culture. But the downside is that it frequently feels like all we are left with
is squabbles about internal politics. Congregations and denominations are
struggling for an identity and purpose in relating to the world.
As I’ve written several times, conservative congregations
typically respond by offering programming directed toward therapeutic healing,
personal piety, or political action to stop the “barbarians at the gates.”
Liberal congregations also offer therapeutic healing and personal piety, but
also frequently include political action they discern is directed toward “social
justice.” To me, much of it appears to a be a “me too” response to broader
movements in the culture, hoping to leach off of the meaning people find in
these movements rather than the church itself generating the meaning for
congregants. Religion (right and left) becomes so captive to the categories and
contours of cultural politics that theological understanding is lost. And if
you want to do political action, there are far more dynamic venues than the
church.
And that brings me back to my overarching theory: Church
offers little for discerning significance in life. Too much of church is about
a narrow personal piety (a niche market) while trying to make ourselves relevant
to the culture with “me too” strategies from the periphery of culture. Until people
see how daily life connects with God’s unending mission, I think the Nones
tribe will continue to grow and prosper.
1. Conventional wisdom says wearing the red shirt in Star Trek will get you killed. Not so fast. Statistical analysis in Significance Magazine disagrees. (Keep your redshirt on: a Bayesian exploration)
"... In spite of wearing a redshirt, there is
only an 8.6% chance of a member of the operations or engineering
departments becoming a casualty. These personnel should ensure that
their life insurance plans are based on their departments and not their
uniform color.
Although Enterprise crew members in
redshirts suffer many more casualties than crew members in other
uniforms, they suffer fewer casualties than crew members in gold
uniforms when the entire population size is considered. Only 10% of the
entire redshirt population was lost during the three year run of Star Trek.
This is less than the 13.4% of goldshirts, but more than the 5.1% of
blueshirts. What is truly hazardous is not wearing a redshirt, but being
a member of the security department. The red-shirted members of
security were only 20.9% of the entire crew, but there is a 61.9% chance
that the next casualty is in a redshirt and 64.5% chance this
red-shirted victim is a member of the security department. The remaining
redshirts, operations and engineering make up the largest single
population, but only have an 8.6% chance of being a casualty.
Red uniform shirts are safe, as long as the wearer is not in the security department."
2. Interesting piece on automation in the Economist: Robocolleague
Robots are getting more powerful. That need not be bad news for workers. ...
... Historically, technological advances have been relatively benign for
workers. Labour-market trends through the 19th and 20th centuries show
surprising continuity, according to Lawrence Katz of Harvard University
and Robert Margo of Boston University. In recent decades, for example,
computerisation and automation have displaced “middle-skilled” workers
at the same time as employment among high- and low-skilled workers has
increased. This “hollowing out” is not new, Messrs Katz and Margo note.
Early industrialisation had similar effects. Middle-skilled artisans,
like trained weavers, were put out of work by industrial textile
production, but the fortunes of less-skilled factory workers and
white-collar factory managers steadily improved. Mechanisation’s
insatiable appetite for routine work of all types has yet to create mass
unemployment. Quite the opposite.
The worry is that technology now has its sights set on non-routine
tasks as well as mundane ones. Yet Mr Autor notes that just because a
skilled job can be automated does not mean it will be. The number of
workers used to build Nissan vehicles varies a lot between Japan, where
labour is expensive, and India, where it is abundant and cheap. The
relative cost of different types of workers matters for firms as they
choose how to deploy new technologies. ...
Indie Capitalism has three foundational principles:
• Creativity generates economic value.
Creativity is the source of profit. Yes, efficiency can squeeze more
out of what exists, but creativity gives us originality, which
translates into a market advantage and big margins.
• Creativity drives capitalism.
These past few years we have been victimized by the disastrous results
of “creativity” applied to the financial sector (mortgage-backed
securities, for starters). What we lost sight of is that the scaling of
creativity to actually make things of value sold in the marketplace is
the true heart of our economic system. It is the true generator of net
new jobs, wealth, and tax revenue.
• Creative destruction is crucial to economic growth.
Crony capitalism, which relies on monopoly and political power, is
antithetical to entrepreneurial capitalism. A faster cycle of birth,
growth, and death of companies boosts creativity, economic value, and
growth.
The bottom line: For the first time in decades, several key economic drivers have created a competitive advantage for the U.S. that will encourage corporate strategic decisions on capital allocation and acquisitions for generations to come.
Here's why:
1. Cheap and abundant natural gas. ...
2. Innovation. Despite talk of a brain drain, the U.S. remains the global innovation leader, maintaining a position enjoyed for 50 years. ...
3. Rule of law. Without the means to protect intellectual property, it cannot be exploited for competitive advantage. ...
4. Human capital. The wage gap between the U.S. and China has been shrinking. ...
5. De-complexity. Western multinationals continue to struggle with management of operations in developing countries. ...
6. Public policy and abundance. The federal government appears to be seizing the opportunity to promote job growth at home.
7. Credit, currency and the coming wave of mergers and acquisitions.
"Picture an assembly line not that isn’t made up of robotic arms spewing sparks to weld heavy steel, but a warehouse of plastic-spraying printers producing light, cheap and highly efficient automobiles.
If Jim Kor’s dream is realized, that’s exactly how the next generation of urban runabouts will be produced. His creation is called the Urbee 2 and it could revolutionize parts manufacturing while creating a cottage industry of small-batch automakers intent on challenging the status quo. ..."
Throughout history, war and innovation have gone hand in hand,
whether it’s breakthroughs out of heavily funded R&D programs
or makeshift contraptions thrown together with spare parts. Soldiers are
trained to use the technology on hand to get the job done, one way or
the other.
But how would military operations change if soldiers on the
battlefield could have the best of both worlds: access to expert
engineers able to fabricate custom-designed fixes right on-the-spot and
in very little time? ...
"It may sound strange and far out, but it’s actually quite simple. 4D
printing is being billed as a process where synthetic objects can change
and adapt themselves to the environment. In a recent TED interview, Tibbits compared the process of 4D printing to the process of natural adaptation:
Natural systems obviously have this built in — the
ability to have a desire. Plants, for example, generally have the desire
to grow towards light and they generate energy from the translation of
photosynthesis, carbon dioxide to oxygen, and so on. This is extremely
difficult to build into synthetic systems — the ability to “want” or
need something and know how to change itself in order to acquire it, or
the ability to generate its own energy source. If we combine the
processes that natural systems offer intrinsically (genetic
instructions, energy production, error correction) with those artificial
or synthetic (programmability for design and scaffold, structure,
mechanisms) we can potentially have extremely large-scale
quasi-biological and quasi-synthetic architectural organisms."
The music industry, the first media business to be consumed by the
digital revolution, said on Tuesday that its global sales rose last year
for the first time since 1999, raising hopes that a long-sought
recovery might have begun.
The increase, of 0.3 percent, was tiny, and the total revenue, $16.5
billion, was a far cry from the $38 billion that the industry took in at
its peak more than a decade ago. Still, even if it is not time for the
record companies to party like it’s 1999, the figures, reported Tuesday
by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, provide
significant encouragement.
8. Teleworking: The myth of working from home from the BBC. "Yahoo has banned its staff from "remote" working. After years of many predicting working from home as the future for everybody, why is it not the norm?"
"Reasons for high unemployment among the young include ineffective education systems (the share of early school dropouts is 20% in Italy and 30% in Spain) and dual labour markets with highly protected jobs for older employees. The good performance of Germany is not least a result of the German apprenticeship system, which facilitates labour market access for school leavers by lowering the company’s costs for employing them. The OECD’s latest “Going for Growth” report recommends reforms to strengthen the vocational training systems as one of the most effective ways to fight structural youth unemployment. This would also be a reasonable starting point for the EU’s youth employment programme."
"What’s most revealing about this study is that, like earlier research,
it suggests that students’ preference for printed textbooks is reflects
the real pedagogical advantages they experience in using the format:
fewer distractions, deeper engagement, better comprehension and
retention, and greater flexibility to accommodating idiosyncratic study
habits. Electronic textbooks will certainly get better, and will
certainly have advantages of their own, but they won’t replicate the
particular advantages inherent to the tangible form of the printed book."
The Catholic Church has struggled to bring in young members in the
United States. Less than half of U.S. Hispanics between 18 and 29
identify as Catholic, compared with the 60+ percent of Hispanics older
than 50.
The narrative of decline in the mainline church underestimates the continuing influence of its members, says a religion researcher.
16.Some interesting observations by NYU psychologist Jonathan Haidt. He says we tend to process our social world through three lenses: Social distance, hierarchy, and disgust. Conservatives tend to have a lower threshold of revulsion while liberals, and praticularly libertarians, have a higher threshold.
Issue 104 examines the impact of automation on Europe and America and the varying responses of the church to the problems that developed. Topics examined are mission work, the rise of the Social Gospel, the impact of papal pronouncements, the Methodist phenomenon, Christian capitalists, attempts at communal living and much more.
"Despite the tough economy, many of the nation’s largest churches are
thriving, with increased offerings and plans to hire more staff, a new
survey shows.
Just 3 percent of churches with 2,000 or more attendance
surveyed by Leadership Network, a Dallas-based church think tank, said
they were affected “very negatively” by the economy in recent years.
Close to half — 47 percent — said they were affected “somewhat
negatively,” but one-third said they were not affected at all. ..."
... It's not surprising that younger entrepreneurial firms are considered more innovative. After all, they are born from a new idea, and survive by finding creative ways to make that idea commercially viable. Larger, well-rooted companies however have just as much motivation to be innovative — and, as Scott Anthony has argued, they have even more resources to invest in new ventures. So why doesn't innovation thrive in mature organizations? ...
... First, he says, the focus of an established firm is to execute an existing business model — to make sure it operates efficiently and satisfies customers. In contrast, the main job of a start-up is to search for a workable business model, to find the right match between customer needs and what the company can profitably offer. In other words in a start-up, innovation is not just about implementing a creative idea, but rather the search for a way to turn some aspect of that idea into something that customers are willing to pay for. ...
... discovering a new business model is inherently risky, and is far more likely to fail than to succeed ...
... Finally, Blank notes that the people who are best suited to search for new business models and conduct iterative experiments usually are not the same managers who succeed at running existing business units. ...
5. A fascinating, if sobering, look at the conflict over islands off the coast of East Asia. Trouble at sea
"President Barack Obama's proposed tilt of U.S. priorities toward the Pacific – and away from the historical link to Europe – represents one of the most encouraging aspects of his foreign policy. Although welcome, we should recognize that this shift comes about three decades too late and that it may miss the rising geopolitical centrality of sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. The emergence of these longtime historically impoverished backwaters has been largely missed as American policy-makers and businesses are now obsessed with the challenges and opportunities posed by the emergence of China and, to a lesser extent, India. Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, over the past decade has produced six of the world's 10 fastest-growing economies. Through 2011-15, according to the International Monetary Fund, seven of the fastest-growing countries will be African, and Africa as a whole will surpass the slowing growth rates in Asia, particularly China.
This growth has caused the region's poverty rates, still unacceptably high, to fall from 56.5 percent in 1990 to 47 percent today. Further growth will likely push poverty levels down further."
8. New Geography also asks, Is the Family Finished? Some interesting thoughts about the impact of declining birthrates in the U.S.
Pew Research Center has compiled key findings from a new analysis of the
nation’s foreign-born population, based on U.S. Census Bureau’s 2011
American Community Survey.
With more than half the population of many U.S. cities who are
multicultural and Hispanics comprising more and more of the
U.S. population, when does it become meaningless and redundant to
execute marketing strategy that is directed to a general market and a
Latino market perceived to be homogenous?
11. Committee on Economic Development has an interesting piece looking at both the ideological and economic aspects underlying the debate about the minimum wage. Raising the Minimum Wage: “Which Side Are You On?”
"It is an easy call if you are either (a) a strict libertarian or (b) an
enthusiastic advocate of the less fortunate with limited concern about
the scarcity of resources. (If you belong to both of those groups,
there is little advice that I can offer.) However, in between those
poles of opinion, things become rather murky, rather quickly."
... Comparing the Democrat and Republican participants turned up differences in two brain regions: the right amygdala and the left posterior insula. Republicans showed more activity than Democrats in the right amygdala when making a risky decision. This brain region is important for processing fear, risk and reward.
Meanwhile, Democrats showed more activity in the left posterior insula, a portion of the brain responsible for processing emotions, particularly visceral emotional cues from the body. The particular region of the insula that showed the heightened activity has also been linked with "theory of mind," or the ability to understand what others might be thinking. ...
... The functional differences did mesh well with political beliefs,
however. The researchers were able to predict a person's political
party by looking at their brain function 82.9 percent of the time. In
comparison, knowing the structure of these regions predicts party
correctly 71 percent of the time, and knowing someone's parents'
political affiliation can tell you theirs 69.5 percent of the time, the
researchers wrote. ...
STERLING, Va. - Perched by a computer monitor wedged between shelves of cough drops and the pharmacy in a bustling Walmart, Mohamed Khader taps out answers to questions such as how often he eats vegetables, whether anyone in his family has diabetes and his age.
He tests his eyesight, weighs himself and checks his blood pressure as a middle-aged couple watches at the blue-and-white SoloHealth station advertising "free health screenings." ...
... As Americans gain coverage under the federal health law, putting increased demand on primary care doctors and spurring interest in cheaper, more convenient care, unmanned kiosks like these may be part of what their manufacturer bills as a "self-service healthcare revolution." ...
Recent developments in the field of nanotechnology might give new
meaning to the phrase “nothing gold can stay.” Atoms and bonds developed
not by Mother Nature, but by scientists, are gaining momentum as the
building blocks for cutting-edge materials.
Using nanoparticles as “atoms” and DNA as “bonds,” Chad Mirkin, the
director of Northwestern University’s International Institute for
Nanotechnology, is constructing his very own periodic table. So far Mirkin has built more than 200 distinct crystal structures with 17 different particle arrangements. ...
Sociologist Peter Berger concludes this article with this observation:
... But I do want to make a general observation: In all these cases the
authorities accused of violating the plaintiffs’ rights operate with a
definition of religion as a private matter to be kept out of public
space. There is here a general issue of government overreach, as clearly
illustrated by the (still unresolved) attempt by the Obama
administration to force Catholic institutions to provide contraception
coverage in their employees’ health plans. Beyond that, though, there is
a very ideological view of the place of religion in society. In other
words, religion is to be an activity engaged in by consenting adults in
private. The attorney for the Judeo-Christian side in the aforementioned
American case had it quite right when he compared the treatment of his
client’s religion with measures of disease control. This is not an
attitude one would expect to find in a Western democracy. It is
curiously reminiscent of policies toward religion in Communist countries
and toward non-Muslims under Islamic rule.
An aggressive secularism seems to be on the march in all these cases.
It seems more at home in Europe, which is far more secularized than
America. Even in the United Kingdom, it seems, the drums of the French
Revolution still reverberate. But how is one to explain this sort of
secularism in the United States? The “nones”—that is, those who say
“none” when asked for their religious affiliation by pollsters—are a
very mixed lot. One theme that comes through is disappointment with
organized religion. There is an anti-Christian edge to this, since
Christian churches continue to be the major religious institutions in
this country. Disappointment then, or disillusion—but why the aggressive
hostility? There is yet another theme that comes through in the survey
data: An identification of churches (and that means mainly Christian
ones) with intolerance and repression. I think that this is significant.
Let me venture a sociological hypothesis here: The new American
secularism is in defense of the sexual revolution. Since the 1960s there
has indeed been a sexual revolution in America. It has been very
successful in changing the mores and the law. It should not be
surprising that many people, especially younger ones, enjoy the new
libidinous benefits of this revolution. Whether one approves or deplores
the new sexual culture, it seems unlikely to be reversed. Yet Christian
churches (notably the Catholic and Evangelical ones) are in the
forefront of those who do want to reverse the libertine victory. Its
beneficiaries are haunted by the nightmare of being forced into chastity
belts by an all too holy alliance of clerics and conservative
politicians. No wonder they are hostile!
... If the nation’s independent and
nondenominational churches were combined into a single group they would
represent the third largest cluster of religious adherents in the
country, following the Roman Catholic Church and the Southern Baptist
Convention; second largest in the number of churches – following the
Southern Baptist. Overall, this research found over 35,000 churches
representing more than 12,200,000 adherents. In total, four percent of
the US population worships in an independent or nondenominational
church.
And the phenomenon is on the rise. Our study
identifies a larger number of people engaged in nondenominational
churches than Barry Kosmin found in the American Religious Identification Survey
in 2008 where they estimated 8 million Americans identified as
nondenominational Christians. In their studies, this count was up
significantly from only 0.1% or 194,000 in 1990. According to the General Social Survey,
the percent of Protestants claiming “no denomination or
non-denominational” has risen from roughly four percent in the 1970s to
fifteen percent in 2006. (The Ties that Bind: Network Overlap among Independent Congregations Christopher D. Bader Christopher P. Scheitle and Buster Smith).
Pew’s Religious Landscape Study
also found significant numbers of Americans affiliate with independent
and nondenominational churches, although the exact number and percent is
not entirely clear given how they divided their labeling. It is
absolutely clear, as Kosmin said recently,
that “The rise of non-denominational Christianity is probably one of
the strongest trends in the last two decades…. It is nearly as sharp an
increase as the no-religion response.” Additionally, the Baylor Survey of Religion report claims non-denominational churches are the fastest growing Protestant churches
in America and in 2006, as it is now, they are the second largest
Protestant group just behind the Southern Baptist Convention....
... These congregations should be seen as a separate and distinctive
religious reality. If we begin to think of them as not just individual
aberrant outliers or lone isolated congregations but rather as a unique
religious phenomenon – as a distinctive religious market segment – then
we can begin to address the question of why they have become so popular
in the past few decades. As a group, they are a significant reality –
one that demands consideration, study and reflection on why they are so
prevalent currently. ...
... Megachurches often get associated with the nondenominational movement
but in fact only about 35% of the Protestant churches over 2000
attenders are nondenominational. Nevertheless, roughly half of the
nation’s largest and fastest growing Protestant churches, as determined
by the most recent Outreach Magazine listing were nondenominational. ...
"... Although the number of evangelical churches in the United States
declined for many years, the trend reversed in 2006, with more new
churches opening each year since, according to the Leadership Network’s
most recent surveys. This wave of “church planting” has been highest
among nondenominational pastors, free to experiment outside traditional
hierarchies.
“I hear a lot of pastors say, ‘I’m not just trying to be creative and
avant-garde, I think this is maybe the last chance for me,’ ” said Doug Pagitt, the founder of Solomon’s Porch in Minneapolis.
Mr. Pagitt has written several books on church innovations, many of which were first developed in the “emergent” church movement of the last decade or among “missional” churches whose practices focus on life outside the church.
Many of their innovations are being adopted by an increasing number of pastors in the mainstream.
... But in March, unbeknown to Ms. Pu, a critical meeting had occurred between Foxconn’s top executives and a high-ranking Apple official. The companies had committed themselves to a series of wide-ranging reforms. Foxconn, China’s largest private employer, pledged to sharply curtail workers’ hours and significantly increase wages — reforms that, if fully carried out next year as planned, could create a ripple effect that benefits tens of millions of workers across the electronics industry, employment experts say.
Other reforms were more personal. Protective foam sprouted on low stairwell ceilings inside factories. Automatic shut-off devices appeared on whirring machines. Ms. Pu got her chair. This autumn, she even heard that some workers had received cushioned seats.
The changes also extend to California, where Apple is based. Apple, the electronics industry’s behemoth, in the last year has tripled its corporate social responsibility staff, has re-evaluated how it works with manufacturers, has asked competitors to help curb excessive overtime in China and has reached out to advocacy groups it once rebuffed.
Executives at companies like Hewlett-Packard and Intel say those shifts have convinced many electronics companies that they must also overhaul how they interact with foreign plants and workers — often at a cost to their bottom lines, though, analysts say, probably not so much as to affect consumer prices. As Apple and Foxconn became fodder for “Saturday Night Live” and questions during presidential debates, device designers and manufacturers concluded the industry’s reputation was at risk. ...
"...Launched in July, the Seattle-based Egraphs' business model is simple, but pretty clever. Fans can peruse the company website to see if their favorite athlete has partnered up with Egraphs. Each player's section has a number of professionally shot action photographs included, typically priced between $25 and $50. The fan pays and sends the athlete a message through the website, including some personal details or memories.
The athlete then receives that message on his custom iPad app, using the the information provided to write a personalized note and electronic autograph on the selected photo. The photo is then sent electronically to the fan, who can save it digitally, share it on social media or order a physical print. Revenue is split between company and athlete. ..."
8. This month is the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade ruling, legalizing abortion across the country. Time magazine has a feature article about the Pro-Choice movement this week that suggests 1973 may have been the high-water mark for the movement. Unfortunately, the article is behind a pay wall. Here is a short clip summarizing their take.
"...Academic Publishers will tell you that creating modern textbooks is an expensive, labor-intensive process that demands charging high prices. But as Kevin Carey noted in a recent Slate piece, the industry also shares some of the dysfunctions that help drive up the cost of healthcare spending. Just as doctors prescribe prescription drugs they'll never have to pay for, college professors often assign titles with little consideration of cost. Students, like patients worried about their health, don't have much choice to pay up, lest they risk their grades. Meanwhile, Carey illustrates how publishers have done just about everything within their power to prop up their profits, from bundling textbooks with software that forces students to buy new editions instead of cheaper used copies, to suing a low-cost textbook start-ups over flimsy copyright claims. ..."
12. Baseball Pitchers like Phil Niekro, Tim Wakefield, and now, R. A. Dickey did their magic throwing a knuckleball. Pitchers who master usually do very well and it puts less stress on the arm. So why don't more pitchers throw it? Why the Knuckleball Isn’t Thrown by More Pitchers in Major League Baseball
Liberal bishops dismissed Summorum Pontificum, Pope Benedict
XVI's apostolic constitution authorizing wider use of the traditional
Latin mass, as a bone thrown to over-the-hill conservatives. But Pope
Benedict XVI probably wrote it more for the young than the old. ...
... The secular press covers youth interest in the traditional Latin mass far more respectfully. TheEconomist
recently reported on the "traditionalist avant-garde." The old mass, it
found, isn't petering out but picking up some speed: "The Latin Mass
Society of England and Wales, started in 1965, now has over 5,000
members. The weekly number of Latin masses is up from 26 in 2007 to 157
now. In America it is up from 60 in 1991 to 420. At Brompton Oratory, a
hotspot of London traditionalism, 440 flock to the main Sunday Latin
mass. That is twice the figure for the main English one."
The influx of conservative Anglicans has bolstered these numbers a
bit: "Dozens of Anglican priests have 'crossed the Tiber' from the
heavily ritualistic 'smells and bells' high-church wing; they find a
ready welcome among traditionalist Roman Catholics."
But the principal source of growth comes from youth interest. "Like
evangelical Christianity, traditional Catholicism is attracting people
who were not even born when the Second Vatican Council tried to
rejuvenate the church," says The Economist. "Traditionalist groups have members in 34 countries, including Hong Kong, South Africa
and Belarus. Juventutem, a movement for young Catholics who like the
old ways, boasts scores of activists in a dozen countries."
Self-consciously "relevant" Catholicism is increasingly seen by the
young as irrelevant. Youth masses that try to imitate the trends of the
world, often lamely, generate only sporadic attendance. ...
Christmas Day I wrote about my appreciation for O Come, Emmanuel, because I think it captures the biblical story better than most Advent songs. Jeffrey Barbeau has some good thoughts in is humorously titled Don’t Let N. T. Wright Steal Christmas!
Peter Leithart, remarking on the trendsetting biblical criticism of N.
T. Wright, has questioned the way that many (presumably English)
Christmas hymns fail to capture the political and social context of the
birth of Jesus Christ. Leithart claims that Advent hymns (unlike
Christmas hymns) capture the here and now. Advent hymns declare, in this
way, a crisp, prophetic vision towards a world gone astray: “They are
deeply and thoroughly and thrillingly political. Advent hymns look
forward not to heaven but the redemption of Israel and of the nations, the coming of God’s kingdom on earth.”
For
Leithart, we would all be better off ridding ourselves of hymns that
fail to include the deeply political and social aspects of the original
Christmas story. “Wright is no Grinch,” he claims. “He didn’t steal
Christmas. What he stole was a false Christmas, a de-contextualized and
apolitical Christmas. But we shouldn’t have bought that Christmas in the
first place, and should have been embarrassed to display it so proudly
on the mantle. Good riddance, and Bah humbug.”
As one who studies
the literature of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Christianity (the
period that gave us so many of our great English hymns), I must admit
that some of Leithart’s critique rings true. Indeed, some of our most
beloved hymns contain precisely the kind of otherworldly message that
Leithart deplores.
Before we call for a moratorium on Christmas
hymns, however, let’s remember that these hymns often contain powerful
reminders of profound and, I daresay, eschatological change. We would be
wise to listen. ...
In PurItan New England, Protestant and Catholic churches are declining while evangelical and Pentecostal groups are rising. Why the nation's most secular region may hint at the future of religion.
This is a lengthy article that is hard to summarize. Here are a few interesting excerpts:
... The recent changes in New England have been significant:
•Between 2000 and 2010, the
Catholic church has lost 28 percent of its members in New Hampshire and
33 percent in Maine. It has closed at least 69 parishes (25 percent) in
greater Boston.
•Over the same period, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) established 118 new churches in northern New England, according to the 2010 Religion Census. About 50 of them inhabit buildings once owned by mainline churches.
•Other denominations are growing, too, including Pentecostals: Assemblies of God (11 new churches in Massachusetts) and International Church of the Foursquare
Gospel (13 new churches in Massachusetts and Maine). The Seventh-day
Adventists, an evangelical group, opened 55 new churches in
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine between 2000 and 2010, according
to the Religion Census. Muslims and Mormons are experiencing membership
gains as well.
More change looms on the horizon.
In 2013, northern New England will lose its only mainline Protestant
seminary and accredited graduate school of religion when the Bangor Theological Seminary closes in May. Three months later, Southern Baptists
will open Northeastern Baptist College – the first SBC-affiliated
pastor-training college in northern New England – in Bennington, Vt. ...
... Much of the church growth in secular New England
stems from immigrants and the cultures they create in pursuit of
spiritual grounding. Researchers at the Emmanuel Gospel Center (EGC), a
Boston-based Christian organization that studies urban ministries, call
it a "quiet revival." It is often overlooked because the Religion Census
tracks only denominations, yet nondenominational churches account for
some of the fastest-filling pews, or folding chairs, as the case may
more often be. ...
And ...
... In Westbrook, Maine, the
Seventh-day Adventists last year acquired a new regional headquarters – a
14,500-square-foot library. In Northfield, Mass., near the Vermont
border, a 217-acre campus will be handed to a Christian institution in
2013 as a gift from Oklahoma's Green family, billionaire owners of a craft store chain, who bought and renovated the property in order to give it away.
Some churches that offer an
alternative to prevailing regional values, in both New England and
around the country, are attracting new disciples. Liberal Unitarian
Universalists have seen some of their fastest growth in recent years in
Oklahoma, Tennessee, and other conservative Southern states.
In New England, the converse is
true. Churches that echo the prevailing culture's moral relativism and
liberal sensibilities sometimes struggle to differentiate themselves.
Yet when a doctrine-minded pastor like Joey Marshall unpacks the Bible,
verse by verse, many people yearn for his unflinching message. To
accommodate growing numbers, Mr. Marshall's Living Stone Community
Church in Standish, Maine, moved from a traditional 50-seat structure to
a former paintball facility. ...
And ...
... Churches that have equated faith
with political activism, in fact, are watching their ranks thin. Lewis,
the Bangor Seminary dean, sees emphasis on politics as one reason some
mainline denominations have seen their membership decline accelerate in
the past 10 years.
"In the mainline denominations,
liberalism is dead, but they just don't know it yet," says [Steve] Lewis, an
ordained Methodist elder. "Liberalism has moved so far toward the social
consciousness [agenda] that it's lost its spiritual roots. What they
need [in the mainlines] is a passionate spirituality." ...
I recently interviewed more than twenty pastors who had been in ministry for at least 25 years. All of these men were over 55 years old. A few of them were retired, but most of them were still active in full-time vocational ministry. ...
Lack of practical training for local church ministry. "I was not prepared for 80 percent of my day-to-day ministry after I graduated from seminary. ...
Overly concerned about critics. ...
Failure to exercise faith. ...
Not enough time with family. ...
Failure to understand basic business and finance issues. ...
Failure to share ministry. "Let me shoot straight. I had two complexes. The first was the Superman complex. ... My second complex was the conflict avoider complex. ...
Failure to make friends. ...
I'm certain that #8 was failing to spend enough time reading blog posts. ;-) What else should be on the list?
"... Though it's become a tradition for many households and congregations to
fulfill a child's wish list for families who can't do it on their own, a
growing number of ministries are replacing that charity model with what
they believe can be a more uplifting approach. From Rogers Park to
Garfield Park, ministries in Chicago have opened pop-up Christmas stores
where families can afford to check off their child's list thanks to
donated merchandise offered at drastically reduced prices, if not for
free.
Though many Christians bemoan the retail industry's hold on the
holidays, some ministries have found that enabling parents to put gifts
under their own trees, in many cases, restores a sense of dignity that's
often lost when families are in need.
"Everybody gets to work together to make something wonderful happen,"
Williams said as volunteers wrapped Christmas and birthday presents for
her youngest daughter last weekend. "It helps me feel good about
myself."
The shopping opportunity also pushes patrons to take steps toward
improving their lives. At Bethel, a Lutheran ministry in Garfield Park,
more than 700 families earned additional currency called Bethel Bucks by
attending seminars on parenting, financial management and renters'
rights. ..."
Many denominations wonder if they are reflecting subtle devaluation of males in secular culture.
... Many applaud the advance of women within certain wings of
Christianity, such as the United, Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist and
Lutheran denominations.
U.S. studies have found 37 per cent of
liberal congregations, representing more than 17 million Christians, are
now led by women. And a recent survey by Faith Matters found wide
approval; with more than three in four of all Americans convinced
females should be permitted to be clergy.
At the same time, however, many worry about the so-called "feminization" of the Christian church.
Both
genders are concerned that somehow, for reasons no one seems able to
clearly explain, the rise of women in the church is not working for a
huge number of men. ...
The article then looks as some specific denominations before offering this summary:
Here is a rundown of some of the overlapping theories:
The relative dearth of men in church is an age-old issue that's just grown worse. The traditional image of the church and its adherents as the "bride of Christ," for instance, is a turn off to men.
Religion is typically less important to men than women, and nowhere more so than in Canada. Polls show Canadian women are 70 per cent more likely than men to say religion is "very important."
Churches tend to focus on "soft" feminine qualities, such as sharing, family and feelings. Bibby found 83 per cent of women believe "concern for others" is highly important, compared to only 67 per cent of men.
Many men are avoiding the diminished status associated with an increasingly countercultural and aging institution such as the church, particularly one in which women predominate.
Men, many say, tend to value rationality more than women. In Canada, men are 2.5 times more likely to follow atheism, which often pits reason against faith. In addition, critics say churches, since the 1970s, have become less "intellectual" as they have increasingly emphasized spiritual "experience."
While liberal Christians are careful to avoid stereotyping women, homosexuals or ethnic minorities, John Giuliano, a former moderator of the United Church, said churches too-often reflect the secular culture in which the mass media and advertising often portray men, especially fathers, as Homer Simpson-style buffoons.
Main line churches that allow females to be clergy are generally not attractive to immigrants, most of whom have grown up in patriarchal cultures. Asian immigrants to Canada are much more drawn to male-led evangelical or Catholic congregations.
Then these observations:
... A fledgling men's Christian spirituality movement is underway across
North America, says Grayston - with the Franciscan monk Richard Rohr,
author of From Wild Men to Wise Men, being one of its most mature
figures.
However, in addition to the church developing
men-friendly programs, Grayston says men, as individuals, also have to
find the courage to step up to the spiritual plate.
"The women's movement has left many men not knowing how to engage women, so they've backed off.
Whether in secular careers or the church, many men's confidence has been undermined," Grayston says.
At
Mount Seymour United, Talbot wants to find additional ways to draw
males into her congregation's life. As she puts it, the health of the
church is at stake. ...
My recollection is that more Evangelical churches, at least the large ones, there something less than a 60-40 split in favor of women. In small congregations, especially Mainline small congreations, the imballance is much greater. But the question is whether or not this that much different than historical balances. Some research data suggests that women are more "religious" or "spiritual" than men in religions all around the world.
Here are the links. BTW, if you haven't already, you can "like" the Kruse Kronicle Facebook page and see daily links in your Facebook feed.
1. When I was a kid, I used to watch Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom on Saturdays. That was the beginning of my life-long appreciation for big cats. One of the organizations we support is the Turperntine Creek Wildlife Refuge for big cats in Arkansas. Check out this Nat Geo super slo-mo video of a running cheetah. Be sure to go to minute 5:00, and see him from the front. His head barely moves. Just amazing!
7. If you are a man, getting along with the in-laws means you have 20% higher chance of not getting divorced. If you are a woman, getting along well the in-laws makes you 20% more likely to get divorced. Getting Along With The In-Laws Makes Women More Likely To Divorce
"The Supreme Court announced Friday it would review a case testing whether human genes may be patented, in a dispute weighing patents associated with human genes known to detect early signs of breast and ovarian cancer. A 2009 lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union claimed among other things the First Amendment is at stake because the patents are so broad they bar scientists from examining and comparing the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes at the center of the dispute. In short, the patents issued more than a decade ago cover any new scientific methods of looking at these human genes that might be developed by others."
I am guessing there are some bioethics questions to consider here as well. ;-)
15. 4.5 billion years of the earth's evolution in as if it happened in 24 hours.
"The Pew Research Center announced Nov. 29 that the U.S.
birth rate fell to its lowest level since at least 1920, when reliable
record-keeping began. That was true—but not news. The National Center
for Health Statistics reported that way back on Oct. 3.
What was
news was Pew’s analysis of the government data, which showed that the
birth rate decline was greatest among immigrant women. “We were the
first to point that out,” Gretchen Livingston, the lead author of Pew’s
report, said in an interview. ..."
... New research shows that Catholics now report the lowest proportion of
"strongly affiliated" followers among major American religious
traditions, while the data indicates that evangelicals are increasingly
devout and committed to their faith.
According to Philip Schwadel, a sociologist at the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln, in the 1970s there was only a five-point difference
between how strongly Catholics and evangelicals felt about their
religion.
By 2010, he said, that "intensity gap" had grown to around 20 points,
with some 56 percent of evangelicals describing themselves as "strongly
affiliated" with their religion compared with 35 percent of Catholics.
Even mainline Protestants reported a higher level of religious intensity
than Catholics, at 39 percent. ..."
"Indeed, for America’s Amish, much is changing. The Amish are, by one measure, the fastest-growing faith community in the US. Yet as their numbers grow, the land available to support the agrarian lifestyle that underpins their faith is shrinking, gobbled up by the encroachment of exurban mansions and their multidoor garages.
The result is, in some ways, a gradual redefinition of what it means to be Amish. Some in the younger generation are looking for new ways to make a living on smaller and smaller slices of land. Others are looking beyond the Amish heartland of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana, seeking more space in states such as Texas, Maine, and Montana."
21. Finally, one of the things I found interesting about the presidential election was Team Romney's seeming confidence they were winning. I think every candidate who is losing often tries to spin things positively until the very end but I had the sense that Team Romney wasn't faking it. They believed they were winning. I think post-election analysis is revealing that was true. From The New RepbulicThe Internal Polls That Made Mitt Romney Think He'd Win
After the election, I published an article
in this space that struck a chord with many Christians. I suggested
that engaging in a bitter 'culture war' in order to preserve America's
formerly dominant Christian culture has been largely a failed strategy.
We cannot win in the courts and at the ballot box that which we have
lost in the court of public opinion. Instead, I argued, we should
embrace the strategy that has successfully attracted people to Jesus for
two thousand years - authentic Christianity.
What if we simply stuck to what Jesus commanded us to do: love our
neighbors as ourselves, care for the poor and the sick and the
brokenhearted, stand up for the oppressed, be generous with our time and
our money, and live winsome lives filled with grace and gentleness?
Christians have always lived, and often thrived, in cultures where
they are minorities. Christianity began in a Jewish culture and thrived
in a pagan Roman one. The apostle Paul, writer of nearly half the New
Testament, actually offers advice to the church in Corinth which lived
in the midst of a very pagan society. His words should guide us today.
In I Corinthians 5:9, Paul encourages the Christians to clean up
their own affairs. The church was in a mess with sexual shenanigans,
internal bickering, and a deep division between rich and poor. Paul
gives them some advice, but he also says Christians shouldn't worry
about whether others follow Christian moral teaching.
"I wrote you in my earlier letter that you shouldn't
make yourselves at home among the sexually promiscuous. I didn't mean
that you should have nothing at all to do with outsiders of that sort.
Or with crooks, whether blue- or white-collar. Or with spiritual
phonies, for that matter. You'd have to leave the world entirely to do
that! ... I'm not responsible for what the outsiders do, but don't we
have some responsibility for those within our community of believers?
God decides on the outsiders, but we need to decide when our brothers
and sisters are out of line and, if necessary, clean house. (I Cor.
5:9-13, The Message)
Paul's point is this: Be strict with yourselves, expecting fellow
Christians to obey the demands of Jesus. But don't hold others to the
same rules. ...
Stearns post also brought to mind another passage I recently read. I just finished going back through Resident Aliens by Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon.
“In fact, much of what passes for Christian social concern
today, of the left or the right, is the social concern of a church that seems
to have despaired of being the church. Unable through our preaching, baptism,
and witness to form a visible community of faith, we content ourselves with
ersatz Christian ethical activity – lobbying Congress to support progressive
strategies, asking the culture at large to be a little less racist, a little
less promiscuous, a little less violent. Falwell’s Moral Majority is little
different from any mainline Protestant church that opposes him. Both groups
imply that one can practice Christian ethics without being in the Christian
community. Both begin with the Constantinian assumption that there is no way
for the gospel to present in our world without asking the world to support our
convictions through its own social and political institutionalization. The
result is the gospel transformed into civil religion.” (Stanley Hauerwas and
William Willimon, Resident Aliens,
1989, 80-81.)
There is much I resonate with in Stearn’s post and with the Resident Aliens quote, but I shade
things a little differently.
I don't have a neat label for my position. Maybe what I see is a polarity.
I'm uneasy with the overemphasis of social activism within my Mainline Reformed
world, partly because of its domestication of "justice" to
contemporary leftist framings. But mostly I'm uneasy because of the neglect of
the central mission of the church to be a "sense-making" witness of
God's Kingdom by connecting the daily routines of life to God's mission in the
world, to be a communities reflecting on the contexts and relationships where
they have genuine authentic influence and being the body of Christ in those
particularities.
And yet I'm uneasy with quotes like those above, and similar cases made by
neo-Anabaptists, that seem to suggest we should not be seeking to influence the
state at all. If some ways of ordering society are more just than others
according to God's Kingdom, is it appropriate to remain silent in the public
square as citizens of a democracy where we are invited to interject what wisdom
we may have? And curiously, it seems to me that while many of those who want to
avoid entanglement with the state have a stronger sense of the congregational
community, they also have a weak practical theology for how the people of God, as
they live dispersed in the world, are to make sense of work and daily life as
the relate to God's mission in the world.
Rather than embracing either the activist Reformed pole or the neo-Anabaptist
separatism, I'm inclined to embrace the strength's and cautions of both camps
and to press for better integration of daily life with God's mission in the
world.
3. "British people - and many others across the world - have been brought up on the idea of three square meals a day as a normal eating pattern, but it wasn't always that way." Breakfast, lunch and dinner: Have we always eaten them?
7. "It's a common grumble that politicians' lifestyles are far removed from those of their electorate. Not so in Uruguay. Meet the president - who lives on a ramshackle farm and gives away most of his pay." Jose Mujica: The world's 'poorest' president
8. You may have heard that there was a presidential election last week. Here is a map showing how the counties voted, with red being the most intensely Republican and blue being the most Democrat. (Source: The Real Reason Cities Lean Democratic)
9. Speaking of the election, there has been a lot written about how the GOP will need to change if they want to win national elections. As a right-leaning guy, I thought this article in Slate, The New Grand Old Party, and this one by Bobby Jindal, How Republicans can win future elections, were among the best.
13. Nanotechnology just keeps getting more amazing. "The latest invention from Stanford University’s Department of Electrical
Engineering sounds like something a superhero would have. A
self-repairing plastic-metal material has been developed by a team of
professors, researchers and graduate students." New Self-Repairing Material Invented at Stanford
15. Speaking of 3D-Printing, how big a deal is it? "Chris Anderson has exited one of the top jobs in publishing -
Editor-in-Chief of Wired magazine - to pursue the life of an
entrepreneur, making a big bet that 3D printers represent a massive new
phase of the industrial revolution." Chris Anderson: Why I left Wired - 3D Printing Will Be Bigger Than The Web
"A
flash mob (or flashmob) is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a
place, perform an unusual and seemingly pointless act for a brief time,
then disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, and
artistic expression. Flash mobs are organized via telecommunications,
social media, or viral emails." [Wikipedia accessed 11.12.12]
How do you define a church?"
We live in a polarized world. I know few people who doubt that.
Through increased mobility and our digitally-enhanced ability to form
like-mined communities, we are segregating into echo-chambers.
Last Thursday I wrote about Moderating
Opinions by Confronting Confirmation Bias. (Confirmation bias is the tendency
to only take note of information that confirms our biases.) I suggested ways we
can resist confirmation bias as we wrestle with issues and gain better
understanding. But it is wrong to think that this will always, or even often, lead
to agreement on the truth of the
matter and a unified course of action.
I say this because many issues we wrestle with are not actually
problems. They have no solution. For instance, which is more essential to
breathing: inhaling or exhaling? That is an unsolvable problem. It pits two opposite
but interdependent realities against each other. Like breathing, many
challenges we face are not problems to be solved but polarities to be managed.
The answer lies in embracing both poles.
Dr. Barry Johnson, author of Polarity
Management: Identifying and Managing Unsolvable Problems, uses a chart with
four quadrants to illustrate how a polarity works. The columns represent two
poles. The rows represent the positive (top) and negative (bottom) aspects of
each pole.
So let’s look at an example. The board for a congregation is
divided between those who want a regimented and well-planned ministry, and those
who want an adaptive and free flowing style of ministry. We’ll call Pole 1
“Planned” and Pole 2 “Free-Flow.”
Quadrant A - The positive side of a planned environment is
that everyone knows their responsibility. Lines of accountability are clear.
People know what to expect and how to plan. Resources can be effectively and
efficiently marshaled for a given task.
Quadrant B – Over time, life and ministry becomes stale.
Activities are done by rote. Creativity is stifled. Opportunities are missed
because the focus is on keeping the “machine” running. New people with new
gifts and passions have no way to plug in.
Quadrant C – The congregation moves toward the free-form
pole. The possibility of new dreams and visions is embraced. New opportunities
are identified and pursued. Creativity is unleashed. People begin to find new
ways to minister.
Quadrant D – Eventually chaos ensues. Overlapping activities
happen while other concerns drop through the cracks. Creativity is stifled
because there is no way to effectively engage the community. Opportunities are
missed because there is insufficient structure to mobilize people to action.
This pushes the group to Quadrant A and the whole thing starts over.
This oscillation is a natural and healthy part of community.
Polarization blocks the ability of this natural flow from happening. Our
confirmation biases can lead us to see only the positive of the pole we favor
and the negative of the pole we dislike. We may come to see the “problem” as an
insufficient commitment by others to our pole. As we become more entrenched in
our view of “the problem,” people predisposed toward the other pole of the
polarity, usually influenced by their confirmation biases, cling more strongly
to their pole. They define the “the problem” as departure from their pole. This
escalates into seeing opponents as “the problem.”
When polarization over a polarity emerges, the solution is
to regain a polarity perspective. If I gravitate toward Pole A, I need to genuinely
confess the downside of Pole A to those who gravitate to Pole B. I need to
express an appreciation for the upside of Pole B. That opens the conversation
to a discussion of balance, rather than of right/wrong or good/bad. It frees
those that embrace Pole B to be able to confess the downside of their pole and
the upside of Pole A. We cease seeing an issue as a problem to be solved and
begin seeing it as polarity to be managed.
This doesn’t mean that polarity management will always lead
to entirely satisfying decisions or resolve all differences. Most decisions require
trade-offs. We value options differently. We assess risks differently. We have
differing degrees of risk aversion. Sometimes we don’t agree on the practicality
of particular options, even though we agree on ends. But correctly identifying
polarities, and addressing them as such, leads to less polarization.
Working on our confirmation biases and being aware of
polarities can significantly minimize polarization. They will not resolve all
problems. Some things are not polarities. They have a binary quality. These
conversations move us into another set of issues. But those issues become more manageable
if we have learned and practiced the disciplines of depolarization where we
can. I’m convinced that our practice of these disciplines is always imperfect
and learning these disciplines is a lifelong transformational process. But the
rewards are well worth the journey.
Stephen Novella has written an interesting piece about confirmation bias as it relates to politics, Moderating Political Opinions. What he has to say applies to many other areas of life including conversations about theology and our faith experiences. Novella begins his discussion recounting findings from recent experiments conducted by psychologists. He summarizes their findings here:
... The researchers interpret all of this as the action of confirmation bias
– a core cognitive bias that motivates people to seek out and notice
information that confirms existing beliefs and either ignore or dismiss
evidence against their existing beliefs or in favor of a competing
belief. Confirmation bias is the default mode of human thinking – the
cognitive pathway of least resistance that we will tend to follow. If
you force people to slow down and think harder, even in a manner
tangential to the question at hand, confirmation bias is moderated by
deeper evaluation. However – deeper evaluation takes cognitive energy,
and if you deprive subjects of this energy by giving them another task
to perform, then the default mode of confirmation bias takes hold. ...
How do we overcome confirmation bias?
... Imagine if students were systematically educated to engage abstract
thinking and to ward off the effects of confirmation bias (and other
biases) when considering important issues (or all issues, for that
matter). This, in essence, is scientific skepticism. Skeptics are those
who do not simply flow down the path of least resistance, giving in to
the lowest energy state of thought, surrendering to cognitive entropy.
Skepticism is about understanding the nature of cognitive biases and
then doing the hard mental work of thinking complexly and abstractly
about important questions.
The trigger for skeptical evaluation needs to be internal. In this
way being a skeptic is partly just a habit of thought. The skeptic stops
and asks, “wait a minute, is this really true?” When confronting an
opposing opinion or interpretation of the evidence, the skeptic tries to
understand the various points of view and will at least try to fairly
assess each point, recognizing that many topics are complex, with good
and bad points on all sides.
Being a skeptic is also about applying the findings of decades of
psychological research to our everyday lives. It is a shame that
psychologists have conducted thousands of experiments carefully
describing the many ways in which human thinking is biased, and yet
public awareness of this useful body of knowledge is limited. ...
It is impossible to escape confirmation bias. Fortunately, most of the time, our
imprecise understanding is close enough. And in many cases, even where our
understanding is way off, the consequences aren’t that significant. Yet in some
cases, confirmation bias can be deadly.
Hurricane Katrina killed nearly 2,000 people. Many people believe minorities and the poor were disproportionately
represented among the fatalities. But Amanda Ripley points out
in The Unthinkable that this was not true. The disproportionately affected demographic was the elderly. Why? Because many of them had weathered hurricanes
in the past. They “knew” they could weather this one as well. They discounted
information that suggested otherwise. By the time they learned they were wrong it was too late.
We can't avoid confirmation bias altogether. Our brains are wired to find patterns in our experiences that will inform us in future decisions. We often see patterns that aren't there, or at least as strongly there as we imagine. We simply don't have the capacity to pause and scrupulously analyze every issue or decision that presents itself. But we do need to be especially
diligent about confirmation bias when something significant is at stake. This
could be a financial decision, a job decision, or a decision that deeply affects
relationships. Politics and religion are two topics that frequently have such an impact. This is especially true when there is conflict. I suggest we need to do at least the following:
Strive to be conscious of our own logic and emotions driving
us toward a particular conclusion.
Make time to truly focus on the issues at hand and resist being emotionally hijacked during deliberation.
Restrain our impulse to declare someone ignorant or
malicious because they hold a different position. Assume positive intent until
there is strong evidence to the contrary.
Enter each discussion with a personal committment to having a positive experience.
Ask questions. Read and listen to alternative views. Seek to know other positions well enough that when we explain a position to a
person who holds that position that they will affirm our description.
Be in community with others who don’t share some of our
most cherished views. It helps us to hear others more fully. This type of community will
continually remind us that there are decent reasonable people who do not see the world the way we do.
As the hymn says, in all we do, "Guard each person's dignity and save each person's pride." (And sometimes that means when they are not returning the favor.)
Undergird this all with prayer for insight. Pray that God will bring clarity to
everyone involved.
I have a follow-up post on this topic tomorrow but for now I have a few questions. When have you discovered confirmation bias in your own thinking? Do
you agree with the list of practices above? What would you add?
How can my church effectively use social media? Which social
media services should my church use? Aren’t we opening our congregation up to
abuse if we venture into social media?
I’ve been blogging for seven years and because of that, I frequently
get questions like these from pastors and congregation leaders. I can offer some
help but social media can be used in many creative ways. I’ve never focused on
social media’s application for a congregation so my input has always been
incomplete. But now I have definitive-ish solution, or at least a starting
place, for congregations that want to fully engage with social media.
Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow wrote a book earlier this year, The
Definitive-ish Guide for Using Social Media in the Church. Bruce was a
church planter and a pastor. He also is also a past moderator of the General
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA). But most importantly, Bruce has been
an avid user of social media as pastor in the congregational setting.
The book begins with Bruce highlighting culture shifts that
have reshaped the way we communicate and connect. He writes about the
spirituality of social media, but also the inherent dangers, offering insights
on how to navigate this new world.
As a starting place, Bruce recommends five social media
tools:
Facebook
Blogging
Google Docs
Yelp
Dropbox
I use all five of these. Maybe you do too. But what was
helpful for me was Bruce showing particular ways these tools can be helpful in
the life of a congregation. He raised several ideas I hadn’t given much
consideration. For instance, I use Yelp to look up stuff all the time. What are
people saying about your congregation at Yelp? Have you encouraged people in your
congregation to write a review so people who want to know about your congregation
can get a flavor of what you are about? My congregation has one review. I’m
going to work on that. In a later chapter, for the more adventurous souls, Bruce
briefly explores several other social media tools like Twitter, YouTube, Goodreads,
and Instagram.
Near the end of the book, Bruce offers some very helpful
advice for pastors. You have been a pastor of a congregation for several years
and now you have taken a new call. In the PCUSA world, you are expected to
severe pastoral relationships with your congregation so there is no confusion
for the new pastor. But you are now Facebook friends with half your
congregation and a member of groups the congregation has formed through social
media. How do you manage this transition? I think Bruce offers some very
helpful advice. He has had to live this himself.
Finally, Bruce closes out with a frequently asked questions
chapter. He invites his readers to jump in but also to communicate back to him the
things they learn along the way. He has an appendix that offers some practical
helps. The book is only available (I believe) in electronic format. That will
allow Bruce to update the book easily as social media evolves. He tells me he
is already working on a second edition.
This book is just awesome! If your congregation has been
resisting social media, I’d encourage you to read this book. Even if your congregation
has already been using social media, I think you will find tips and ideas you
may not have considered. It is relatively short book written in a very engaging
style. I now feel like I have a tool I can give to others to help get them
started. I recommend you get a copy today.
In a profound chapter in A Matrix of Meanings: Finding God in Pop Culture,
Craig Detweiler and Barry Taylor look at how advertising has shaped
contemporary society. The authors offer “Ten Commandments of
Advertising,” all of which point to an overarching question that people
in this (and every) culture ask: “What is it to be fully human?”
“This is the question that advertising seeks to answer, a
question that was one the pursuit of philosophers and theologians.
Advertising is an incredibly powerful form of pop culture that
influences us on levels far deeper than getting us to choose certain
products. Life choices are part of today’s world of advertising and
consumption. ‘The glory of God,’ Irenaeus wrote, ‘is a human being fully
alive.’ In contemporary society, to be fully human is to shop.
Advertising offers us ways to be alive, ways to be human.” (p. 84)
Certainly, there are ads that are manipulative and appeal to the
baser aspects of human depravity in order to sell products. But
advertising, at its best, appeals to our desire to know who we are, to
celebrate life, to find meaning in being human. ...
I especially liked this statement:
Christianity needs to “re-message” itself as a faith that embraces the
joy of God restoring humanity and encourages celebration. The
restoration of all things is in our future. We await the return of Jesus
Christ with great anticipation. What are we doing in preparation?
The primary vision of the church today, liberal or conservative, is to offer people meaning and transcendence by extracting them out of the daily routines of life, rather than equipping people to see transcendence in those daily routines. We do it in the form of therapeutic pietism or in the form of activism to change the world. And if you are really "spiritual" you will enter "full-time ministry" to do these things.
(Bob wrote a great post here. He recently began (re)integrate, which is devoted to addressing just the kind of issues the post raises. Be sure to check the website.)
Where have you seen examples of the church equipping people to see transcendence in the routines of life? How might we do a better job of celebrating life?
Move gives families, busy young people a worship option.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Struggling with shrinking attendance, some
churches are shortening their traditional Sunday service, promising to
get a generation with limited attention spans out the door in as little
as 30 minutes.
These abbreviated ceremonies are aimed at luring back the enormous
numbers of young people who avoid Sundays at church. With distractions
such as the Internet and a weak connection to the faith of their
childhoods, many are steering clear, to the dismay of religious leaders
who desperately want them back.
"We are increasingly aware of the time pressures on families, and
they have been telling us that the traditional service is too long,"
said the Rev. Chip Stokes of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Delray
Beach, Fla. "We recognize that things are changing, and we have to be
more adaptive without losing our core."
St. Paul's recently introduced a 30-minute service designed for
children up to fourth grade and their parents as an alternative to the
church's 90-minute traditional service. Stokes said he is thrilled with
attendance: About 40 parents and children have attended each week since
the service started in September. ...
This comment got my attention.
But not everyone supports the trend.
"The Lord gives us 24 hours a day, seven days a week," said Karen
Turnbull of St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church in Delray Beach. "And
he's asking us for only one hour to come to church."
Uh, I don't think that was God asking. I think that was your tradition talking. The idea that if our one hour service was good enough for Peter and Paul, then it is good enough for us, is misguided. I doubt First Century Christians would recognize much of what we call traditional worship. I'm not making a case one way or the other for shorter services but let's not confuse "the way we've always done it" for a biblical mandate.
The church I attend has a slightly abbreviated service at 8:00 am that is 45 minutes long instead of one hour. I've wondered how it would work to have a couple of 30 minute services at times during the week other than on Sunday morning.
Does your congregation have shorter services? Short services outside of Sunday morning? What are the benefits and downsides of going with shorter services?
I first encountered Bob Lupton almost twenty-five years ago while in graduate school at Eastern University. Over the years, my appreciation for his insight into community/economic development has only grown. He has written two very important and engaging books in recent years that I recommend to everyone. First, is his book, Compassion, Justice and the Christian Life: Rethinking Ministry to the Poor. It offers important insights into destructive ideas we often have about poverty and the poor. Second, and my favorite, is his recent book, Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help (And How to Reverse It). This book goes a little deeper into the same topics but also offers some important tips on how to improve our charitable impulses. I recommend it for every pastor and congregational leader.
Lupton also writes a monthly newsletter for FCS Urban Ministries called Urban Perspectives. I get it each month by email. In his October installment, Saving the World, he talks about the idealism of his youth and disappointments he encountered. Today, the church routinely organizes mission trips, especially for idealistic youth, that are marketed as opportunties to "help the poor." He writes of a woman named Alison who organizes mission trips to Haiti. She emailed him a few months. Lupton writes:
Alison from Colorado who coordinates mission trips to Haiti emailed me
recently with these very questions. She was painfully aware that the
service her volunteers performed was largely make-work and their
suitcases stuffed with free gifts only perpetuated a hands-out mentality
among Haitians. She asked for my advice.
Here is Lupton's response. If his response resonates with you, then I highly recommend you get a copy of Toxic Charity and begin thinking about new ways we can do this work better.
I understand the demand to do mission trips and the pressure you
feel to continue planning them. Here are a few suggestions that may
make them more redemptive.
Exposing young people (and adults) to the needs of the world and
the amazing work of God in harsh environments is important ministry. It
opens their eyes, stirs their hearts and draws them into compassionate
action. That’s why mission trips can be important in the spiritual
development of our youth. And that’s what mission trips should be about –
spiritual development, not pretending that they are about saving the
world. Not immediately anyway. They are about saving us. Preparing us. Once that is clear, we can venture into Haiti and other places of need with integrity.
We go to learn, not to save. The mindset of learners is very
different from that of servers. Learners listen to others, servers do
for others. Learners ask questions, servers offer answers. Learners
marvel at the faith of the poor, servers pity the poor. Learners see
ingenuity, servers see poverty. Learners affirm the worth of people,
servers diminish their dignity. You see where I am going with this?
So how do we structure a mission trip that appeals to the innate
desire to make a difference in the world, an experience that deepens the
spiritual lives of our youth but doesn’t create false expectations?
And of course, is truly helpful. First of all, our marketing has to
have integrity. The trip is primarily about us, not them.
And that’s OK. This is an insight trip to expand our spiritual
horizons, see how faith works when resources are severely limited,
discover how God is at work among culturally and theologically diverse
people. Such insights can be transformative. They can become the very
catalysts that ignite a ministry calling.
Secondly, we are not on a mission to help the poor by
distributing suitcases full of give-away’s or performing meaningless
make-work or assuming roles that can better be handled by locals. We do
not promote beggary. We engage in exchange – economic as well as
interpersonal. We enjoy the hospitality that is extended by our hosts,
and we contribute to their economy by participating in the legitimate
enterprise of tourism through fair payment for food, lodging , local
transportation and preparation time. And we buy their products.
Thirdly, we prepare our youth for the learning experience by reading books on effective service (like Toxic Charity and When Helping Hurts)
and articles on the country, the history and contemporary issues.
Learning the language honors people, at least some key phrases.
“Appreciative inquiry” techniques, note-taking and journaling can also
be useful. Regular group reflection times during and following the trip
will help youth assimilate and internalize what they are experiencing.
It goes without saying that on-the-ground connections with
seasoned, in-country practitioners is essential to understand the
context, scope and impact of the work. Visiting with several different
ministries will broaden the perspective. They are the ones who can
arrange discussions with residents as well as fun – like a soccer game
with local teens. They will be relieved that they don’t have to set up
work projects for your group. Remember, their mission is not to be tour
guides. Generous compensation for the valuable time they spend with your
group hosting and coordinating schedules would be most appropriate.
Hope this is useful.
Bob
Does this resonate with you? What would you think about dropping the name "mission trip" for "insight trip"?
This piece is the introduction to a new report on
post-familialism from Civil Service College in Singapore, Chapman
University, and Fieldstead and Company and authored by Joel Kotkin.
For most of human history, the family — defined by parents, children
and extended kin — has stood as the central unit of society. In
Europe, Asia, Africa and, later, the Americas and Oceania, people
lived, and frequently worked, as family units.
Today, in the high-income world, and even in some developing
countries, we are witnessing a shift to a new social model.
Increasingly, family no longer serves as the central organizing feature
of society. An unprecedented number of individuals — approaching
upwards of 30% in some Asian countries — are choosing to eschew child
bearing altogether and, often, marriage as well.
The post-familial phenomena has been most evident in the high income
world, notably in Europe, North America and, most particularly,
wealthier parts of East Asia. Yet it has bloomed as well in many key
emerging countries, including Brazil, Iran and a host of other Islamic
countries.
The reasons for this shift are complex, and vary significantly in
different countries and cultures. In some countries, particularly in
East Asia, the nature of modern competitive capitalism often forces
individuals to choose between career advancement and family formation.
As a result, these economies are unwittingly setting into motion forces
destructive to their future workforce, consumer base and long-term
prosperity.
The widespread movement away from traditional values — Hindu,
Muslim, Judeo-Christian, Buddhist or Confucian — has also undermined
familialism. Traditional values have almost without exception been
rooted in kinship relations. The new emerging social ethos endorses
more secular values that prioritise individual personal socioeconomic
success as well as the personal quest for greater fulfilment. ...
... A society that is increasingly single and childless is likely to be
more concerned with serving current needs than addressing the future
oriented requirements of children. Since older people vote more than
younger ones, and children have no say at all, political power could
shift towards nonchildbearing people, at least in the short and medium
term. We could tilt more into a ‘now’ society, geared towards consuming
or recreating today, as opposed to nurturing and sacrificing for
tomorrow.
The most obvious impact from post-familialism lies with demographic
decline. It is already having a profound impact on fiscal stability in,
for example, Japan and across southern Europe. With fewer workers
contributing to cover pension costs,4 even successful places like
Singapore will face this same crisis in the coming decade.5
A diminished labour force — and consumer base — also suggest slow
economic growth and limit opportunities for business expansion. For one
thing, younger people tend to drive technological change, and their
absence from the workforce will slow innovation. And for many people,
the basic motivation for hard work is underpinned by the need to
support and nurture a family. Without a family to support, the very
basis for the work ethos will have changed, perhaps irrevocably. ...
As I read this article, I kept thinking about the frequent question that is at the core of so many discussions I hear about the future of congregations: "How can we get more families?" As I recall, something like half of American adults do not live in a traditional family and the percentage is slowly rising.
Melissa and I have been married for twenty-five years (I think she feels like its been more) and we ended up without kids. What has been clear to us is how much, in our society, relationships for adults in the first half of adulthood emerge from interacting with the parents of your children's schoolmates and playmates. This is especially true within most congregations I've seen. It takes effort to stay included in such communities. The challenge is radically more profound if you are single without children. Single parents with children have a different struggle.
I think some of the strain we see on the institutions of the church is, at one level, parents in traditional families feeling agnst as they become the minority of households. They are looking for resources and support networks that were once ubiquitious. The church tries meet that need. At the same time, people in less traditional households are slipping out the back door of the church into an "unaffliated" status as the church, with it's family obsession, seems to have nothing meaningful to say to their life cirucmstances.
My take is that if the church is to have a meaningful witness in our time that theraputic Pietism and/or recruiting people into justice advocacy are not the answer. Somehow the church has to help people understand how the mission of God connects with the routines of their daily lives, regardless of what tradtional or nontraditional form those routines may take. Then, and only then, will legitimate expressions of pietism and pursing justice emerge.
... Now, some United Methodists are asking whether children’s sermons need to go.
“A noble effort but an unfortunate strategy” is how Bishop Will
Willimon (now retired) characterized the practice on his blog a few
years ago, adding that he had two objections to children’s sermons:
“They are not for children and are usually not sermons.”
Melanie C. Gordon, director of ministry with children for the General
Board of Discipleship, isn’t high on the idea of children’s sermons
either.
“Personally, I’m not a fan of them, and I’ve gotten a lot of flak for
that,” she said. “I’ve seen some wonderful children’s moments, and I’ve
seen some that are painful.” ...
... But children’s sermons in Sunday worship seem to have really taken
off in the 1970s, as mainline churches, taking cues from Vatican II,
experimented with creative models of worship. In a quick survey of
materials in GBOD’s archives, Ms. Gordon couldn’t find evidence of
children’s sermons in worship until the late 1970s or early 1980s.
Now, churches are rethinking children’s sermons as part of a broader
consideration of what creates vital worship and vital congregations. Dr.
Phillips says that many of his students want to discontinue children’s
sermons at the churches they serve, because children’s sermons interrupt
the flow of traditional worship or seem too old school for contemporary
worship.
Ms. Gordon, too, sees churches debating over whether to continue them.
“Children’s moments fall under that umbrella of a bigger
conversation, about what it means for children to be present in
worship,” Ms. Gordon said. ...
... Do it right
Bottom line: For churches that do choose to offer children’s sermons,
it’s important to put time, effort, preparation and prayer into getting
them right.
“Never underestimate the importance of the children’s sermon,” Ms.
Foster said. “What you say makes a spiritual impact on the lives of
those gathered.”
And to Ms. Gordon, the test of excellence definitely applies.
“If you can’t do them well, don’t do them,” she said.
... The number of multicultural churches -- those in
which at least one in five people is from a different ethnic group -- is
still relatively tiny. Even within diverse denominations such as the
Assemblies of God, where about a third of the churches have minority
congregations, or the Southern Baptists, where 20% of churches have
minority congregations, only a small percentage meet that one-in-five
criteria.
Mark DeYmaz, pastor of Mosaic
Church, a diverse non-denominational church based in Little Rock, says
he believes the number is going to grow. DeYmaz said his congregation
of 600 is about 40% white, 33% African-American, 15% Hispanic, with the
rest from a variety of backgrounds.
When Mosaic opened in 2001, DeYmaz said he knew of few diverse churches. Now he knows of several hundred. ...
... Gary McIntosh, professor of Christian Ministry
and Leadership at Biola University in La Mirada, Calif., doubts that
multiethnic churches will ever become commonplace.
He
said it's human nature for churches to attract people who share a
common background or culture. That doesn't mean they are intentionally
segregated, McIntosh said.
"Churches gather around to worship Jesus Christ -- but there are always secondary factors that draw people together," he said. ...
... "If one segment of the church says, 'We are going to tell all of you how it's going to be,' that's not healthy," Barker said.
That
kind of shared leadership is crucial for multiracial churches to
succeed, said Soong Chan Rah, professor of church growth and evangelism
at North Park University in Chicago and author of Many Colors: Cultural Intelligence for a Changing Church.
Churches have to move from welcoming diverse newcomers to sharing life with them, Rah said.
"It's not just getting people sitting in the same room on Sundays," he said.
It’s one thing to start a church; it's another to keep it going. As Jacob’s Well has discovered, even the most cutting-edge, creative and vibrant church has to have organization and structure.
August 28, 2012 | At first glance, Jacob’s
Well, a nondenominational “emerging” church in Kansas City, Mo., would
seem to be the most traditional of churches. On the outside, the
handsome old red-brick building has been a comforting neighborhood
presence ever since Presbyterians built it in 1930.
Inside, the sanctuary features stained-glass windows, the Lord’s
Prayer in gold letters above the altar and velvet cushions on creaking
pews, all witness to the saints who’ve gone before.
But every Sunday -- at least since 1998, when Jacob’s Well was
launched and took over the building -- the place is filled with lively
worship and a body of believers that earlier congregations likely
never envisioned. The music is contemporary and the dress casual, even
scruffy, with more than a few tattoos and piercings scattered among
the crowd.
During his sermon, the Rev. Tim Keel -- the senior pastor and a
founder of the emerging/emergent church movement -- strolls the aisle,
talking in conversational tones as though engaging listeners in a
theological dialogue.
But for the past five months, stirring beneath the surface, something
else has also been going on. Throughout Jacob’s Well, bones are being
formed; a skeleton is taking shape.
This extraordinary church, known for its theological rigor and its
creative and dynamic ministries, has been engaging in the most mundane
of endeavors. After months of preparation and study, it has launched
a major reorganization that establishes clear lines of authority while
empowering members to become more involved in the church’s daily
life.
As Jacob’s Well has discovered, even the most cutting-edge, creative
and vibrant church has to have organization and structure. It’s one
thing to start a church. It’s quite another to keep it going.
Reflecting the growing maturation of the emerging church movement,
Jacob’s Well is navigating the transition between church plant and
long-term sustainability. ...
I was a member of Roanoke Presbyterian Church from 1993-2003. In 1998, a friend (Steve Hall) told me he was part of a group that was wanting to plant a church in my neighborhood. I told him the third floor of our building was unused and that they might be able to use that space. I brought the idea to session and Jacob's Well began holding their first services there. The rest is history. It was a privilege to watch the ministry take root during those first five years before our Presbyterian congregation decided to dissolve and sell the building to Jacob's Well. It is a truly unique community. Read the whole post. There is some good stuff here.
The number of congregations that host worship services at more than
one physical location has grown to more than 5,000 in the last decade,
according to a new report.
Researchers say these “multisite” churches, which may share
worshippers across town or many miles apart, are growing at a much
larger pace than traditional megachurches.
Without the burden of additional expensive buildings, congregations
find they grow faster in new places, said Warren Bird, research director
of Leadership Network, who announced his conclusions Tuesday (Aug. 21).
“It’s a combination of both evangelism and saying, ‘People may not come
to this particular building. How can we take where we are to where they
are?’” he told Religion News Service. ...
... Multisite churches have grown from fewer than 200 in 2001 to 1,500 in
2006 to an estimated 3,000 in 2009 to more than 5,000 today. In
comparison, U.S. megachurches have grown from about 50 in 1970 to about
1,650 in 2012 in North America. ...
Changing an institution that is heavily vested in “the way we have always done it” is a major challenge, especially for a pastor whose job it is to keep that institution growing and keep the members reasonably happy. The last thing a leader wants is to stir up divisive controversy that could alienate good and faithful members. But a spiritual leader must also have integrity. So if it becomes apparent that change is necessary to ensure responsible care for the poor, there is no alternative but to act. But how?
In my experience, too much of church life, from the congregational to the denominational level, is about people trying to stop other people's programs and projects. Ironically, it is the direct assault on a cherished program that usually rallies the program's faithful to defend it, making it even more impervious to change or dissolution. Instead, energy needs to be focused on nurturing an alternative that will create energy and participation that leads in a new direction, drawing people to the new thing, letting the problem program wither and die a peaceful death. I think Lupton is giving a great example of this approach here. I wish more church leaders would think as creatively as this pastor and the congregation in Lupton's story below:
The church was justifiably proud of its community food pantry. It had grown over the years from a closet in the church basement to a spacious, well-run distribution center with its own separate building adjacent to the church. It looked more like a small grocery store than a “pantry” with rows of neatly stocked shelves, bins for fresh produce, even a cooler for perishables. A state-of-the-art computer system kept track of inventory, recorded donor contributions, monitored distributions and the recipients who received them, and maintained good financial records. Because it was so well run, local grocery stores and bakeries felt good about donating their surplus and outdated food. Other churches contributed as well.
It was still called “the pantry,” the quaint name left over from its meager beginnings when occasional bags of food were given out by the pastor. But it had evolved into a full-fledged food distribution operation run more like a business than a basement charity. It had a full-time director, a part-time bookkeeper and several dozen regular volunteers. It was now open four days a week and served growing numbers of needy beneficiaries that streamed in from all over the county. School counselors and agency caseworkers referred clients needing emergency assistance. The “pantry” had become widely known as an important player in the city’s social safety-net. As I said, the church was justifiably proud of the ministry of its community food pantry.
Then one day a church member handed the pastor a book – Toxic Charity! It made the case that give-away programs hurt the poor more than they helped, that a crisis response to a chronic need creates dependency, that doing for others what they have the capacity to do for themselves destroys a work ethic. Needless to say, it was a very disturbing read. It called into question the validity of their best community ministry. If it were true, that give-away programs are hurtful, the entire structure of the “pantry” would have to be dismantled. And not just the “pantry” – much of their service outreach and mission trips would have to be revamped as well! This is not the kind of disruption a busy pastor needs.
What to do? Dismiss the book and hope it doesn’t get circulated among the membership? Build a biblical argument to discredit and neutralize the premise of the book? Admit that every ministry has its flaws but that’s no reason to stop doing it? Or…
Perish the thought of changing the entire ministry paradigm. How could you tell all your volunteers that their countless hours of selfless service were unhelpful, even hurtful? How would you inform all the generous donors that the food they provided had harmful effects? What would you say to the families and agencies who count on your service? No, there is no way a pastor is going to do that. The fallout would be disastrous. But…
Isn’t community service to be about helping the needy, not just making church members feel good? And if, as that darn book says, the way the church is doing service actually harms those they are attempting to help, then the program is clearly self-serving. Not intentionally, but in reality it may be more about the church’s self-interest than about those being served. Yes, Toxic Charity was indeed a very disturbing read.
If the church is going to have integrity, it cannot bury its head in the sand and assume that all is well – not after the alarm has sounded. Leaders must at least take an honest look at the outcomes of its charity. Is there really unintended harm being done? A few discrete, non-disruptive interviews with “pantry” workers might give some clues. Questions like: how often do you see the same people in the food lines? And how many reports do you get back from recipients that the free food has helped them over a temporary tough spot? And does the “pantry” seem to encourage trusting relationships or do we have to be on guard against abuse of the system? A few questions like this will provide a bit of insight into whether the program is actually empowering recipients or fostering unhealthy dependency. Reassuring answers may put the issue to rest. Or…
Or they may raise more questions. Questions like: Why are there so few anecdotal success stories? Or why are recipients not becoming involved in the life of the church? Or why do the “pantry” workers seem somewhat defensive about the inquiries? Probe a little deeper and it may become apparent that, as that book claims, the whole well-run, give-away program reeks with hidden toxicities – dependency, deception, dignity-depreciation. That’s when the real problem arises – how to fix a ministry that most folk don’t think is broken?
Changing an institution that is heavily vested in “the way we have always done it” is a major challenge, especially for a pastor whose job it is to keep that institution growing and keep the members reasonably happy. The last thing a leader wants is to stir up divisive controversy that could alienate good and faithful members. But a spiritual leader must also have integrity. So if it becomes apparent that change is necessary to ensure responsible care for the poor, there is no alternative but to act. But how?
Certainly not a frontal assault. Too much damage could be inflicted on the “compassion corps” by declaring their good works toxic. A much subtler change strategy is needed. Distributing copies of Toxic Charity to key leadership (perhaps covertly) will stimulate considerable discussion. Such conversations begin working the soil. Visiting a few innovative models – best practices – being implemented elsewhere by other ministries helps to move the discussion from critique to creativity. Encourage a few key leaders to attend the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA.org) annual conference, a gathering of practitioner thought-leaders committed to assisting ministries to empower the poor. That will definitely till up some soil. It is not at all unlikely that, through a non-confrontational exploration process, interest in new methods of service will be kindled. A food co-op “buying club” model, a bartering system, a thrift store with deeply discounted basics – such ideas that have succeeded in other places can ignite the imagination, especially of entrepreneurial types.
Adding a new, complementary program is far less volatile than attempting to dismantle and replace an existing one. The “pantry” stays. At least for a time. But alongside it you may chose to offer recipients the option to join a “buying club” co-op in which members pay $3 bi-weekly and receive back ten to twenty times that amount in groceries. Members, like share holders, have the pride of ownership, control of food selection, and accountability to each other. Dignity replaces beggary, belonging replaces impersonal food lines. Like one church discovered, as co-op membership increased food lines dwindled until eventually almost no free food was distributed. It’s one idea. The point is this: transition from “doing for” the poor to “doing with” them need not be disruptive or alienating. It begins with one decisive step in the right direction.
The “pantry” may continue to function for years to come but the shift to empowerment has begun. A door has been opened that allows church members and recipients alike to experience first-hand the differences between the pridelessness of one-way charity and the dignity of reciprocal exchange. Outcomes will eventually become obvious. Once empowerment principles take root and spread beyond the “pantry” to other areas of ministry – benevolence giving, service projects, mission trips – a paradigm of development will become the new norm.
... Whatever people pay, however, it hasn’t always been easy for administrators and lay leaders to get them to donate regularly and increase their contributions each year, no matter their faith. Over the last decade or so, entrepreneurs have seized on the opening and tried to automate the process.
One big player is a service called ParishPay, which works with many Catholic churches and a few synagogues to help sign up worshipers to pay via credit or debit card or automatic payment from their bank accounts. Nearly 1,000 institutions have joined the service, and it claims a 20 to 30 percent increase in giving by individuals who enroll.
That’s a nice lift, though the process is a bit antiseptic given that no money changes hands at the house of worship (though Jews are not supposed to handle money on Shabbat). Marty Baker, the lead pastor at Stevens Creek Church in Augusta, Ga., came up with the idea for an in-church giving kiosk in 2003, when he wondered whether attendees with pockets full of plastic might give more than they were depositing in the collection plate if he found a way to accept their cards.
Today, his for-profit company SecureGive has kiosks in churches, Hindu temples and some zoos and hospitals, too. “You could do this at home or online,” he said. “But there is something about swiping that card at church. It’s a reminder that your gifts are making a difference in a broader context.”
Few things are more visceral than the collection plate, however, and it persists for many reasons. “The liturgical act of placing an offering of money into the offertory plate is understood to be a form of worship,” said the Rev. Laurel Johnston, the officer for stewardship in the Episcopal Church. Episcopalians generally make annual pledges in the fall and fulfill them throughout the year through electronic payments or by making periodic payments via an envelope that they put in the collection plate.
Regular worshipers with a regular paycheck may also appreciate the formality of handing over hard currency each week if they believe in the idea of paying God first. Then, there are the parents who like the fact that their children see everyone else giving and can toss in a few coins of their own.
Finally, there’s the peer pressure of having others’ eyes on you as the plate goes around. “Some would call it Catholic guilt,” said Matt Golis, a lifelong Catholic and chief executive of ParishPay’s parent company, YapStone. Many churches that allow electronic giving encourage those who have used it to drop a symbolic receipt of sorts into the collection plate if they wish. ...
Last month the Presbyterian Church USA embraced a goal of starting 1001 new worshiping communities. For the next few weeks I will feature a couple of short videos that highlight some examples of these new worshiping communities. You can learn more at the website www.onethousandone.org. The initiative is being run out of the Presbyterian Mission Agency (formerly General Assembly Mission Council). I served on the board for the past eight years. 1001 is part of a broader transformational effort to move the Presbyterian Mission Agency from being a body that does mission on behalf of Presbyterians to inspiring, equipping, and connecting Presbyterians for mission. Because of my role on the board I've had the opportunity to meet some of the pastors of these communities and I've even had a few site visits. I hope my readers will find inspiration as well. (Series Index)
Much talk and energy have been devoted lately to discerning the "future of the seminary" in North America. That future is uncertain, with many theological institutions facing financial difficulties and steadily declining enrollments. The larger challenge, however, may be cultural. If seminaries hope to survive, they will have to adapt to a changing world.
Two years ago, David Sebastian, dean of the School of Theology at Anderson University, reported five trends shaping the future of theological education in North America. They are: a widening chasm between Christian churches and seminaries; increasing numbers of seminary students who have not grown up in the church; a growing awareness that seminary education is inaccessible for many potential seminary students; an increased questioning of whether seminary is really worth the financial costs; and forthcoming population shifts that will affect the ability of seminaries to prepare culturally competent leaders for the 21st century.
Those trends, in addition to declining membership in some American churches, suggest that there is a need for theological schools to rethink their role in theological training in order to remain financially self-sustaining and to train leaders for an increasingly global church. Their problem is not that they need to retain their place in the academy, but rather that they need to justify their existence to Christian churches, which are becoming more ethnically diverse. ...
While there are articles (here, here, here, here, there) that give great ideas for how a church could be using Pinterest, right now it’s kinda elusive to find churches actually actively using Pinterest.
WASHINGTON — Americans feel the “Christian faith” has a positive impact on help for the poor and raising children with good morals, according to a new poll, but it gets a bad rap on its impact on sexuality in society.
In a new study conducted by Grey Matter Research, more than 1,000 American adults were asked if the Christian faith had a positive, negative, or no real impact on 16 different areas of society, such as crime, poverty and the role of women in society.
Strong majorities (72 percent) said Christianity is good for helping the poor and for raising children with good morals. Around half (52 percent) said Christianity helps keep the U.S. as a “strong nation,” and nearly as many (49 percent) said the faith had a positive impact on the role of women in society. ...
... Sellers said he wasn’t surprised that Americans hold their most negative perception for how Christianity impacts sexuality: 37 percent felt there was a negative impact, compared to only 26 percent who felt it was positive.
In six of the 16 areas, sizable numbers of Americans said Christianity had little or no impact, including the environment, business ethics, civility and substance abuse. Americans were roughly split, at about one-third each, on Christianity’s impact on racism. ... (my emphasis)
Can ideas from economics, such as that monopolies are lazy and that competition leads to better products, be applied to understand religion? Every year I teach my students–both those in my class on economic sociology and those in my class on sociology of religion–about the economistic or the rational choice perspective on religion.
Most people think individual religious behaviors and religious organizations are driven by emotions, theology, and/or tradition. But rational choice theories of religion are modeled are assumptions about human behavior now current in mainstream economics: humans are rational, self-interested beings who seek to maximize rewards and minimize their costs. What makes religion so powerful in motivating human behavior is that most religions promise rewards or punishment in another life. ...
... Talking about religion as a product marketed to buyers and sellers sounds appealing, saying that Methodists and Baptists are just like competing car firms is intriguing, and arguing that martyrs aren’t crazy but rational is counter-intuitive. Ultimately, however, rational choice theory doesn’t provide a comprehensive explanation of individual religious behavior or organizational religious behavior. Do some things about religion resemble market behavior? Yes. That is why I always teach rational choice theory: it provides unique insights into religion. As long as rational choice theory and its assumptions about forward-looking and self-interested behavior are considered alongside other important explanations of religious behavior, I think it makes an important contribution to understanding religion. But rational choice ultimately only tells us some things about religion, not everything, nor even the most important things about religion.
All social analysts–whether paid academics scholars like myself, journalists or readers of this blog–should put rational choice explanations of behavior alongside other perspectives, such as cultural and organizational theories. For example, it was not only competition from new religious movements or community megachurches like Willow Creek that led to the declining identification with religious denominations in America, but also important theological changes within those denominations about the authority of scripture, among other things. Dramatic cultural changes since the 1960s have also changed what people expect from religion–the God some people seek out today may be an authoritative God that expects sacrifice but for many others seek a therapeutic God who provides psychological comfort on demand. ...
