Culture Shock

I have been invited to speak at quite a few events recently, some in the wider church realm and some in the educational community. Most of the invitations have come with the plea to speak on how changes in the culture are leading to changes in the Church of Jesus Christ. I have written on these issues fairly widely here in The Shiloh Insider. I encourage readers to look back through the posts to attain a clearer vision of just how culture is leading the way in a universal church spiritual evolution.

 

It is something of a surprise, then, when I speak before an audience of persons who have seemingly never heard of such cultural influence on the Church. For many, the news of a changing culture directly impacting the direction of the Church catches them like deer in headlights. The news is met with icy stares. Heads shake. Tongues wag. "How dare he say such things?"

 

The first series of books on the subject of a changing culture shaping the future of the Church, at least within my experience, were published by The Alban Institute in the mid-1990's. Almost twenty years have passed since "Congregational Megatrends" was published. Of course, the initial writing took place almost thirty years after the advent of cultural transition. By the time we reach Thomas Friedman,'s "The World is Flat," in 2005, cultural transitions had taken full hold on the future formation of the church universal.

 

This is not news to those in and around Shiloh Church. We are fully aware that the digital age has brought new means of communication and information sharing that have rendered the old-world religious institutions irrelevant and counter-intuitive. Increased individualism and a distinctly anti-institutional attitude have led persons to opt for spirituality instead of organized religion. While the numbers of those who consider themselves "spiritual" has held fairly constant, the number of those who belong to any religious institution has diminished by more than half.

 

It is shocking that people in churches and the academy seem unwilling to notice. They certainly seem unwilling to change. This next step in the spiritual evolution of religion necessitates that the church become a training ground for the spiritually equipped. The Church must begin to understand itself as a means of the salvation of the global family of God, not so much by coming out from the world but by investing in its systems. If we fail, we die. If we refuse, we cease to exist. If we do not know, our ignorance brings the Church to the brink of extinction.

 

This week's contribution to The Shiloh Insider is therefore a call to my colleagues, to middle judicatory personnel, to denominational representatives, to church members and all who have a stake in the future of religious institutions of any kind, be emboldened in declaring the next phase of our spiritual evolution. Embrace it fully. Then, plan with us to alter the religious institutions of our age. If we do not, out fate is already written. If we succeed in changing the religious institutions to be more about the developing spirituality of persons in and around the Church, then we have at least a chance of survival.

 

See You Sunday!