There has been a revolution
Posted January 14th, 2009 by NormSeli
And I don't know if we are aware of it.
Some will call it the Digital Revolution, but it might better be called the Wiki Revolution. I'm not sure what it means exactly, but I sense that it is profound and it will change the way that we do "church"; the way that we interact as spiritual communities as profoundly as Guttenburg's movable type changed the world both secular and spiritual.
I resist the term "Digital Revolution" because for many the Digital Revolution has come and it's most lasting effect is downloaded video's from Youtube and Flat Screens in the sanctuary.
But, that's not what I'm talking about.
The Revolution is not about downloading - many of the so called "modern" churches with all of their technology and great gadgets are essentially doing the church the same thing we did it 200 years ago - we've just replaced Flannel Boards with High Def Monitors and Expositional Sermons with Streaming Video. It seems very odd to me that a revolution has come, but we aren't really doing anything different than we did before the revolution. I enjoy a great video presentation and clear digital images of the Grand Canyon do help me appreciate awe... and some video of a man with a grey beard and worry lines might invite me into the story of Abraham - but I know that it's not Abraham up on the screen, so when you get down to the basics, the video screen is just a more vibrant flannel board. (Do you remember flannel boards? The Sunday School teacher would tell the Parable of the Good Samaritan with coloured felt, carefully moving the pieces as one of the best readers read aloud from the "Good News for Modern Man"?)
Maybe that's why so many people aren't entering into relationship with our churches - they're part and/or product of the Revolution; they're "REVolving", while we remain static, watching our new big screens.
The "real" revolution isn't about downloading, it's about uploading. Many people (probably most) under the age of 45 in Canada have uploaded a video to Youtube, or have consulted Wikipedia to settle an argument or write a paper for school. Many of the older generation would say "For Shame!!" (that's how I imagine old people speaking... kind of like characters from The Crucible). For Shame... posting on Youtube or Facebook is just inviting people into your business, and it's vulgar... polite people keep to themselves... and as for Wikipedia, there's no "authority" there, truth is verifiable not democratic!!
But, maybe it's time to imagine another way of experiencing truth - without footnotes.
Perhaps it's time to invite people to "upload" their experience into our church communities- let them make their statements, even if they're not credal...
I'm just thinking out loud here - but I sense this revolution and I'm afraid that my church experience is insulating me from it.
How's this for an expression of the Trinity:
God the One, Mother, Father, Origin and Destiny...
Jesus is the Person of God downloaded into our human experience. In that download we experience the essence of God, God's Love and Hope for humanity.
The Holy Spirit is the Uploading... our experience offered up to and included in(to) God.
There's some good hint of Process thought in here.... And I suspect something more. With time, and maybe your help, these ideas will grow and maybe I'll have something more than vague ramblings....
But, don't you think that it's time that we got on board with the revolution and recognize that nothing is as it was before?
Or maybe, I just need a little time away from roast Turkey...
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Comments
Crucible Characters
Just curiosity... But when you say "old people", to whom are you referring? You mention Under 45 as one category. Are you picturing Over 45 as the Old People?
In my experience in church leadership I have experienced a lot of church folk making the distinction between three adult age groups: "Young", "Old" and "Us". "Young" has had top end anywhere from 30 to 40-something. But "Old" has tended to mean less a specific age than a sense that they see the world differently than the "Us" group.
But in relation to this social shift that has happened and continues, I think we need to see that there are very few "Young" and "Us" folk in the UCC. So maybe imagining what could be will involve less of we established church-folk ruminating and planning, and more going out, relating and listening.
OK. This old guy needs to go get a kid out of the bathtub!
Peace!
Shame on me
Old Guy, (only because you used the term, you don't really sound like an old guy to me...)
I should probably have been more clear - I'm not suggesting that over 45 is "old" - there are 20 year olds who think of things in the "old" paradigm and 75 year olds who have changed their cultural references and practices.
In fact, I'm not particularly concerned about attracting "young" people to the church - what I am trying to understand is how to communicate the Gospel, the love of God, to folks who see the world differently that those who established many of our church practices - how to share the power of Christ's message with those who see authority to be democratic and personal experience to be as significant as the reflections of professional "sages".
To that end, I don't think we need a "young" and "us" construction, but we do need to appreciate that some fundamental change is going on and flat screens and drum kits are not going to be enough to carry the message over the gap.