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People are searching for answers.
People want to be connected.
People want to be heard.
I Want and Need Answers
Three of the most successful companies over the past tens years have addressed those wants and needs.
When Google came along there were other search engines.  The creators of Google did not like the way those search engines “page ranked” things.  So they designed a new way to rank pages.  It was intuitive.  It made sense.  It worked.  So when searching for answers to your questions, you would find them in the top ten hits.  Not only that, they have continued to improve upon their early success by making Google better.  Right now we have more knowledge available to us than ever before in the history of the world.  The most famous library you might have never heard of was the library in Alexandria.  It contained what was reported to be “all of the world’s knowledge”.  Sadly, it was sacked and burned.  Knowledge lost.  Today, you don’t need to go to a library.  The answers to your questions are available online.  Just search enough and you will find it!  When people are searching for answers, most of them turn to Google.  I know I do.
I Want to Be Connected
Facebook is a revolutionary way to connect with your friends, acquaintances and family.  Originally offered to students, now the whole world can join in.  Over 700 million people are now on Facebook.  Wow.  Lots of people are now connected through Facebook.  Remember how difficulty it used to be to know how your high school friends were doing?  I do.  I had lost touch with a few of my friends, and I’m 37.  It’s nice to see how highschool, college and seminary friends are doing.  I may not personally communicate with them for months, but I can check their status and see how they are doing and what they are up too.  Very cool stuff.  Most people are on Facebook in the U.S.  They are connecting.  And as Facebook adds new features, soon we will be connecting not just through chat, but through video as well.
I Want To Be Heard
I was not a big fan of Twitter until a few months ago.  I didn’t want to Tweet or be a Twit.  I didn’t want to be a follower either.  Twitter is basically a newsfeed of 140 characters or less of people sharing information, blogs, ideas, quotes, conversations, pics and a bunch of other stuff with people that “follow” them.  The more people you follow, the faster your news feeds goes.  It amazing how quickly good and bad information can be shared.  Many people follow celebrities or news organizations.  Imagine the front page of Yahoo, the Huffington post or the Wall Street Journal reposting links to their articles.  You are just a few clicks away from  information you are interested in.  The real genius of Twitter is posting to followers.  People follow you and when you post something whatever you said or shared is placed in their newsfeed.  Hundred, thousands or millions of people will see what you said in an instant!
I had two conversations that changed my mind about Twitter.  First, a mom of a high school student said that I needed to be on Twitter.  I’m a pastor and I like to stay connected to our congregation, and in my opinion, very few were on Twitter so what was the point?  Well, the high school students were all using Twitter.  They next conversation was with two friends who were using Twitter to follow live events that were not being broadcast.  After going back and forth for a while, I decided to make the leap.  I jumped on Twitter and currently follow 1000+ people and have 600+ followers.  So I am listening to others, and some are listening to me.

Fifty years ago the church filled all three of those roles.  People who were looking for answers could find them (or at least be pointed in the right direction) in church.  People looking for connection and relationship could find them in the church.  People wanting to be heard could be heard in the church.
Our world has changed.  Has the church?  Do we still have a chance to fulfill those vital needs?  Has our season in the United States gone?
Those questions will not be answered by me here.  I’m not sure if there is answer.  And if there is, many of us might not like it.
The “Death Tsunami” that is approaching the Mainline denominations quickly.  Many are in decline.  Less and less “attend” church.  Some churches are doing well, and by some I mean a handful in each city or state.
I love the church.  No, I don’t love a building, but the body of Christ.  As a pastor I need to love God and love neighbor.  A few pastors I know don’t really enjoy their jobs.  In fact, one was reported to say, “I don’t like these people.”  If you don’t like people and you don’t find joy in laboring for the Lord, what in the world are you doing trying to lead a church?

What role can we fill?  Who are we called to be in the next twenty years?  Shall we just hold on to what we have, take care of our own and just die gracefully?

I pray not.  If the “church” is to survive and thrive, we need to do a few things.
1- Help people find answers to their deepest spiritual questions- not tell them the answer, but help them find a path to the One who has the answers.  The Bible is a wonderful guidebook!
2. Help people connect- not just in a church building, but with each other outside the walls, maybe, dare a I say, in a completely different model of church known as house churches.
3. Let people be heard.  Listening is something that some of us don’t do well.  Listen to God and listen to your neighbor.

It’s time the church moved beyond just sharing the love of God with their neighbors who attend church on Sunday.  There is a vast ocean of people who never encountered a “Christian” that helped them find God.  The soul moving experience of Jesus Christ in your life should inspire us to share His message and help those in need.

Oh yeah, the Apple thing.  Apple is an innovative, visionary company that does most everything (except apple tv) with excellence.  Do your best at reaching God and neighbor.  Don’t say it’s good enough.  Do everything you can to make a positive difference for Christ wherever you are and wherever you go.
Dont’ be like the world, be a light in the darkness for the world.

Go in peace and go with God.

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Prevailing wisdom and philosophies do not cover all of a generation.  No, it is sadly and usually the loudest that are heard.  So in the following, this is not all inclusive or encompassing.  It is an attempt to explain why things, for some, are very confusing.  I know members of all these generations who get it.  I know some who don’t.  All that matters is LOVE.  If you struggle understanding why Twitter is so popular, the following will help.


Color Inside the Lines (silent generation)

When I was in kindergarten, I remember Miss Mapes teaching us all “color inside the lines”.  We sat at our desks (divided tables) working diligently to make sure that not one bit of color went outside the lines.  At the time of course, we were only given one coloring sheet so if we messed up, no second chance, no extra credit, you failed.  It was an exercise in discipline and framed the standards of the education we would receive from then on.  And that phrase continued to meet me in my work, personal and educational life.  The very tired phrase of “we’ve never done it that way before” comes to mind with this mindset.
That teaching, philosophy and learning carries many people through much of their life.  Just keep your head down, go along to get along, and don’t rock the boat.  In a world with much certainty, jobs that lasted at the same company until retirement, families that didn’t move 4-5 times while the kids were growing up, and a deep sense of community and trust developed over time, that worldview worked and help together the fabric of society.  It was the prevailing wisdom of the Silent generation.  Interestingly, no member of the Silent generation was ever elected President, and many of them have faded from the social and political world.

Color Outside the Lines (boomer generation)

In the late 1990’s, while I was in grad school, a new phrase began to emerge.  That phrase was “color outside the lines”.  There are several books that claim the phrase in their title, but I remember hearing professors use it frequently.  It was touted as the next great philosophy.  Bend the rules.  Live in the gray of the world.  The words both/and were lifted up as well.  This idea took hold and many pushed a can’t we agree to disagree view.  Not only that, but it lifted up a kind of dualism of attempting to live in both worlds of two arguments.
This view comes from the Boomer generation.  Boomers grew up in a time of significant change in society.  Worldviews were shifting and changing with each new protest and dramatic political decision made in the 1960’s.  There were several deaths of prominent leaders in the US that caused many boomers to question authority, purpose, meaning and the stability of the world.  They are known as the protest generation, although many of that generation moderated with age and became more like the previous generation in regard to work.
For many, “color outside the lines” was a revolutionary statement made from the Boomers to the next few generations.

There Are No Lines (Gen X and beyond)
In what appears to be an evolution of thought, which has been built upon the work of others, I would postulate something different.  How about, “there are no lines”.  In a world that attempts to be bound by rules and control, there are no lines.  What kept us apart for many years is long since gone.
In a world of deep interconnectedness through the web, new connections and ideas can be assimilated and adapted immediately.  The edges are now all soft.
Generation X grew up in a very similar time as the Boomers, but with significant adaptation of new technologies.
Things are blending together so quickly, that there is not enough time to define it, other than to say, there are no lines.  And this new world, it is for sure and definitely NOT FLAT!
Stop trying to find the lines, follow the lines or color over the lines.
There are no lines.  Once you recognize this, you will finally discover the lines you see were self imposed.  Only try and realize the truth.
There are no lines.
The world is an empty canvass.  Make of it what you will.

Sadly many do not understand this and use rules and regulations to abuse those who disagree.  Many will attempt to understand, but try and merge a misguided and well- meaning version.  It won’t work.

We are predisposed to repeat the past, unless we choose to change it.

Do we wonder why Gen X and the Millenials have slowly faded from church?  This is why.

Seek the abiding and magnificent love of God.  Receive it.  Share it.  Live it.  And please reject the rules based religions that bind you up, and keeps you from true peace and happiness.

Embrace the full love of God in Jesus Christ.