The person who drives a 1990s Plymouth Voyager mini-van with the above two bumper stickers really took a stand. I'm not sure what they are standing on, perhaps a pile of dung, but they took a stand. Good for them.
As I drove behind this person today on Pearl Street in downtown Dallas in the rain, I thought about the different statements I was making and specifically considered the statements I'm making about UrbanLife, my new ministry at First Church. Am I making a statement about what I'm going to do or how I'm going to do it? Keep in mind, mainline denominations have been failing for more than 30 years simply because they haven't figured out how to be the church for the 22-35 demographic. (Anyone want odds on my success?)
A colleague asked me today, "What are you going to do, Kathryn?" and without thinking, this came out of my mouth: "I want UrbanLife to create community and deepen spirituality among urban professionals while helping them achieve their highest God-vision for their careers, finances, relationships and self-development." He replied, "Wow, that's good." And I said, "Give me a pen. Let me write that one down."
Maybe this is part of the mixture. I'm not sure what the right ingredients will be to give me 2-1 odds of winning this race. I even learned today that the Dean of my Divinity School now calls this demographic an "endangered species" in mainlines churches.
I like that...maybe I should change my job title to "Minister of Endangered Species."
2 comments:
The 22-35 demographic is in the bars, the shrink offices, the 12 step programs, looking for love in all the wrong places - and still wondering why they feel empty.
'...show them a better way...'
~ A friend
Getting 22’s – 35’s into ‘church’ is indeed a great challenge and if we don’t figure it out we will continue to become less and less relevant and die our slow death. Sometimes followers approached Jesus, but predominately He went to them – to some of the most un-temple-like settings. Likewise, evangelism has to be us going to them, not necessarily in a physical location sense, but we must enter their culture. However, we really prefer preaching to the choir.
Churches are not very adaptable. They have big stone buildings and even more permanent organizational/social structures. Change is a nasty word – especially among the old folks with the money. Plus, churches are run by exceptionally-gifted spiritual-leaders of great intelligence. One problem, they have always followed the church rules -- but church rules are just man’s creation carried forward by tradition. On the other hand, the outside world is progressive, the opposite of traditional. It’s a dog-eat-dog world and those who rely on tradition over change, die quickly. Just like with marketing experts, thinking out-of-the-box is the path to new markets. Radical changes would not be necessary if we had continually changed along the way. We didn’t and now it’s a matter of life and death. Blowing up the church building and its intimidating presence is probably out of the question (although abandonment may be necessary) so we better focus on blowing up the organizational structure.
First, we must get away from 100-year-old organ hymns and unemotional choirs. Really, go check the CD shelves at Best Buy and see how many traditional hymns are available. The answer and its reason are obvious. There is NO commandment that says church music has to be throwbacks to past civilizations. There is so much good music out today. Let the people pick out the songs that have spiritual meaning to them and get music directors who know who Rebecca St. James is. Get a lot of small musical groups going (with singing and instrumentation) and chunk the massive choirs – we now have microphones for amplification.
One major rule: don’t insult the intelligence of the 22’s – 35’s. They are very savvy and know when they see a car salesman at work. The church must provide guidance but there also has to be two-way communication. Sermons may need to be shorter and discussion groups longer. There are even electronic devices which allow the congregation to respond anonymously to multiple-choice questions (instant surveys). Bring the equipment into the worship service. Small groups are a must – yoga, politics, sports teams, running/biking/hiking/camping, environmental issues, movies/concerts …. whatever the people want. In addition, the church needs to take some stands that people can get behind and everyone should be involved in service projects. Not only must these 22’s – 35’s continue to enjoy their world but they must also get the spiritual charge from helping others and developing a sense of accomplishment. The church needs to lead in making this a better world and people will follow.
Final thoughts: this generation is visually, visually, visually, visually oriented. Bring movies into the church. Have discussions about movies that deal with moral issues. Have the congregation divide up into groups and make their own videos.
Have meetings at other times than Sunday morning – church doesn’t have to be on Sunday morning; that’s tradition. Have meetings at more informal places where newcomers can more easily assimilate. Have group trips and vacations (& mission trips). Develop individualized web pages to link to the churches web site. Have special classes for newcomers to Christianity so they will not feel totally out of place (Alpha class).
Finally, there is the issue of money. This age bracket is pretty well strapped. No real reason to pass the hat – set up mail or electronic payment methods and the ability to designate where some of their money goes. More important is guidance in building up their commitment over time.
In the end, the church is competing with a multitude of opportunities for their time & money. We have to give them more and let them give of themselves more.
JiM
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