“It isn’t courage that overcomes our fear, it is our curiosity.”
That may have been the best thought from our two days at the Cornerstone Knowledge Network (CKN) meeting in Chicago this week.
There was good conversation about ministry and facilities of course, and Ed Stetzer taught us why Rick Warren’s “Purpose Driven” and Bill Hybel’s “Seeker Sensitive” movements have declined in their influence as church paradigms. But more important, the week helped us get a sense for what cultural shifts may take their place and how to connect ministry with them.
The “Generation We” video from Monday’s post sheds some light on this shift as well, but people’s comments to it may shed even more. I thought this one was especially thought provoking:
You are confirming what I see in the upcoming generation. I call them the Joshua/Caleb generation. They have the Canaan (promised land) in their sights and they want it. They spied out the land, and they can see that it is good.
I just hope the Church does not sit back and let Obama be their Moses. The way it is shaping up, Obama is posed to be just that in their lives and is using the internet and other methods to connect and send the young to spy out the land. The phrase “yes we can” sounds a lot like “we are well able.”
Woe to the Church if we are like the other 10 that brought back the fearful report and believe we can’t change things for the better. I’m determined not to waste another forty years in the wilderness, and hope the rest of the Church is just as determined.
Could it be that we lose our fear…when we stop depending on our courage to protect the present and are motivated instead by our curiosity for God’s future blessing?
Yes!
I love the concept of curiosity triumphing over fear. So many of us as evangelicals are tempted by the Pharisaical trap of trying to protect and control, using our understanding of law as the lever. But so much of Jesus’ message and the grace that accompanied it expands in a completely uncontrolled (by us) way… he has conferred upon us a Kingdom — let’s explore it! I’m too old (at what I like to call “thirty-ten”) to be in Generation We, but am inspired by their courage, and hope.
Ed,
I will agree with the curiosity statement – it was very insightful and helpful.
I’ve been chewing on the comments about Seeker and Purpose movement and it turned into a blog post of my own:
UNEMPLOYED CHRISTIAN: are the Saddlecreeks & Willowbacks really fading?
at
http://thirdplaceconsulting.blogspot.com/
Dan,
It seems so easy to get caught in that trap. It provides a clear and predictable environment that can feel so safe. I’m challenged as you suggest by the uncontrollable nature of Christ as well.
A love that is kind, gentle and doesn’t seek it’s own…by its very nature would be seem curious wouldn’t it?
The video and their spirit challenged me as well.
Michael,
Thanks for your thoughts. I initially reacted to Ed’s comments a bit as well. My first thought was Christian movements were nothing more than social trends and flavors of the month.
However, as I pondered it farther it became clear to me that the culture’s view of their world does change. And that changed view influences what they can hear and see, and in turn how they respond. And it changes how all effective institutions connect.
For example, my sixteen year old son text messages over 1000 times a month. I realized if I was to stay connected with him I better get text messaging on my phone and learn to communicate as he does. All my kids blog….hence….I knew my kids…married or unmarried…would connect with this media.
It’s also clear the younger pastors are bloggers and blog readers. Hence, if I want to connect I better learn their language. I’m on Facebook and jumped on Twitter this week for the same reason.
I could ignore all the shifts and expect them to come to me and process as I do.
But we know better.
Blessings,
Ed
Ed,
It is that ‘flavor of the month’ Fad that is so dangerous when we are trying to address what might be ‘Fading’.
If we believe that we have something that is so unchanging in such a constantly changing world, then I’m suggesting to the Christian Labeling Departments of the world, that we might want to be more careful when ‘labeling’.
I’ve personally never used the terms missional, modern, post-modern, or emerging and emergent – - because I figure that as soon as I had them in the right context for conversations I was having in Georgia, the meaning for those words would be different by the time I flew to California or up to Chicago. So, though I’d like to be super cool and know all the latest buzzwords, I’ve elected to work hard at simple. Not saying it’s easy…..
Reminds me of traveling to other countries and communicating to people with broken or limited English – we revert to the most common denominators of words in hopes of communicating better.
Michael