We have observed, in the last half-century, an endless line of proposals and plans for ‘reviving,’ or ‘renewing,’ or ‘revitalizing’ the nation’s tired old denominations. To my knowledge, however, no one has yet succeeded in turning around a declining denomination. ~ George Hunter III
The solution.
Authenticly and relevance.
What do you mean?
I'm 30, born in 1986 going to a variety of denominations both because of family and choice... The pattern I noticed is people are with a particular denomination either because it's what their family believed or it was a reflection of themselves in some way, I believe secularly it's called your 'tribe'. In my time on this earth, I've seen the noise grow, in the late 90s advertisers had the rule of 7... After the 7th time, people would be conscious of your message... early 2000s it was the rule of 9... 2017 it's now up to 24... When I wake up, as I get ready for work I've already been exposed to hundreds of brands, messages, the noise of life... There is one thing which cuts through in 2017 ... Simplicity and/or authenticity. Tradition is fine, but if no one can tell simply or authenticly why, it's not relevant and it's not authentic... 'that's how we've always done it' is an immediate fail, 'because the Bible says so' is a fail... It's not against the Bible or the traditions, replace the word Bible with literally anything else and the result is the same... The paradox is we are after knowing why without it being complex... The theory goes that if you can explain your subject matter to a 6 year old, you truly understand. Jesus did the same simplicity approach... It was simple, it was relevant to the audience which was relateable and how he lived his life and how he spoke it was authentic...
In a world where we (milenials) don't trust anyone, we crave 'real'
Of course 'how' to achieve this I could talk for hours, but it's best to start at 'what'.
The biggest hurdle is the 'I want to know why' with 'I don't trust you' and 'get to the point in a way I can understand without thinking too hard'... I will say this, if you follow these two traits, you can figure out how...
"the path of least resistance" and "a simple lie is more believable than a complicated truth"
Example. Cold water freezes faster than hot water.
It sounds right but it's actually a lie... But as I start to explain the stupidly complex reason why hot water freezes faster than cold water, the effort to understand why becomes greater than the desire to know which means the path of least resistance is to not care/not pursue the answer.
Finally regarding relevance... "if you care about what I think, I'll listen to what you have to say" everyone has an opinion, deep down, it's not about being right, it's about being valued, needing to matter. Most people tie their opinions into their identity... So when we argue with them, it's not about someone rejecting their opinion, we're rejecting them as a person. It's a hard way to live, but somehow that's how this generation work.
And whether you think I'm right or wrong, does it matter? depending on what you want to achieve I guess, thrown out a statement, as a non church goer I have data from outside the walls representing a demographic that has to be represented if looking to the future. If you feel my voice does not reflect milenials... Ask yourself why? Search for other people in the milenials who are on the cusp of church... We not only know why, we have solutions... We want what you want, and even though it might not seem like it, we're on the same side.
I'm happy to answer any questions but I probably won't go down a path of trying to defend my stance, it's not tied to my identity so I don't mind if I don't hear any support for these ideas 😊
I wish you well in your journey to find knowledge and understanding, peace be with you.
No comments:
Post a Comment