The headlines on the BBC home page read, "Deadly Raid on Pakistani Mosques;" "Dozens Die in India Train Attack;" "Obama to Visit Oil Disaster Zone." Each of these stories describes tragic events that will impact individual lives, communities, and the environment for generations. Sudden, mind numbing changes. The video "Shift Happens" by Jeff Brenman, Karl Finch, and Scott McLeod affirms that our world is changing at a frenetic pace: the top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004; the U.S. Department of Labor estimates that today's learner will have 10-14 jobs by age 38; there are 31 billion searches on Google each month, in 2006 there were 2.7 billion. The world is in a state of non-stop, hyper-change - How should the Church respond?
For many, the church is the last bastion of stability. It is their place of solace, their "sanctuary" (pun intended) from a world rife with uncertainty and instability. The structure, the style, and the culture of their local church provides a sense of security that isn't merely imagined but visceral. The church along with its traditions and rituals is the repository for the values, the morals, and the convictions at the core of their identity - the very values, morals, and convictions a world marked by rapid change is intent upon undermining.
Others in the church respond to hyper-change by seeking cultural relevance. With iPhone in hand, they chase the ever ellusive tail of change hoping to grasp for a few nanoseconds the prize of "relevance." This is often expressed through contemporary multi-media filled worship services, blogs (guilty as charged), Facebook pages, Twitter and Youtube posts.
The fact of the matter is that both responses, though understandable, are motivated by the dictates and patterns of the world rather than faithfulness to the Kingdom of God. Are we to react to the ways of the world or are we to respond to the call and will of God? I know many who pursue the tail of change will reference 1 Corinthians 9 and Paul becoming all things to all people in order to win a few, but the apostle Paul never confused effective communication with watering down the Gospel. Neither did he confuse his religious tradition and heritage with the essence of his faith, his identity, or the Kingdom of God (See Acts 15; Galatians and pretty much most of the Pauline epistles).
I would argue that in a world of vapid change (yes I meant vapid) the church must forego the reactive responses of protectionism and cultural relevance and pursue a response of radical obedience that embodies the words of Paul, "For his [Christ's] sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him..." (Philippians 3:8-9).
Are we willing to give up our "traditions" and our "cultural relevance" in order to gain Christ? Are we willing to give up our comfort, our tastes, and our in house coffee bars to be found in him? Are we the hands and feet of Jesus willing to humble ourselves and become obedient to the point of death in order for a world consumed by relentless change to experience the un-changing love, grace, and mercy of God?
There is no doubt that shift happens, but what about obedience?
