Christian Education in the future - Final Paper Part 3

Kudos to you if you have made it this far into my paper.  This final question was the ultimate goal of this whole project.  If churches are changing, the job that my degree is designed to prepare me for will not be readily available in the future.  So how can I earn a living doing what I feel called to do?  It was a hard question to answer, hard to find resources that address it.  This will definitely be a question that I will continue to ponder and work through in the years to come.

Learning objective #3: What could the role of Christian educators look like in future churches?

Those of us within the church who are invested in the specific ministry of Christian Education and faith formation are facing these same challenges.  Christian Education leaders have an important role to play in reforming and adapting their work in addition to participating in the new methods of ministry being considered by the broader church.  The general consensus among many Christian Educators is that what we have been doing is not working.  As one author reflected on a recent study about the faith of American teens she wrote, “After years of hearing Bible stories, memorizing Bible verses, and singing songs about Jesus’s love for them, their understanding of faith, of God, and of God’s plans and purposes was simplistic, individualistic, and almost secular,”.  This is another factor that contributes to our understanding of why people have left the church: the faith they were taught did not have enough meaning for them to continue to make it a priority in their adult lives.  This presents a huge opportunity for Christian educators.  We believe in the truth and power of God’s story, so our message does not need to change.  Instead, we should consider how to do what we do better.  

One place to start is to understand who we are teaching and how they learn.  There are currently five generations worshipping and learning in the church: silent/builders, baby boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and the iGeneration.  As educators, we need to be aware of and honor the older members, who are comfortable with how things have been done their whole lives.  We also need to give serious consideration to the younger members, whose methods of thinking and learning do not fit as well with older ways of doing church.  Ivy Beckwith, for example, points out that many curriculum lesson plans come with a defined learning objective, which encourages linear thinking.  However, millennials and iGeneration, the generations currently engaged the most in Christian education, are not primarily linear thinkers.  “Therefore, lessons that are heavily dependent on linear thinking are not going to capture them the same way as lessons that include kinesthetic, intuitive, affective, and ‘loopy’ ways of processing information,”.  Beckwith proposes that we focus instead on creating lessons for these ages that are more experienced based.  She encourages educators to let the stories in the Bible speak for themselves (let the Holy Spirit work and allow students to draw their own conclusions), to be attentive to how children learn through informal education (learn from what is around you, “values are caught, not taught”) and non-formal education (mission trips and projects).  This process of rethinking our teaching methods and then rewriting our lessons and programs will be time consuming and challenging, but has the potential to lead to more impactful faith formation for our students.

A similar shift in the teaching process can be applied to adults through a method that one pastor calls, “theology without a net,”.  This is an approach to Christian education that moves away from the pastor being the theological authority figure who imparts knowledge toward a “theologian in residence” who brings people together to have theological conversations.  These conversations are intentionally designed to occur, “without the net of extensive knowledge and information, without the net of a regular audience assumed to be already steeped in the faith, and without the net of neatly fixed and discrete theological categories,”.  This approach to theology taps into the social nature of the younger generations and their inclination to interact and question theology.  The pastor who champions this idea admits that doing theology this way requires a great deal of trust, both in the people engaging in conversation and in the Holy Spirit.  The advantage to this approach is that it honors the thoughts and contributions of all and builds faith through relationships with others, learning approaches that resonate with younger generations.    

Another different way forward for Christian education is to redesign church programs and worship to incorporate intergenerational learning.  From the beginning of the church in Jesus’ time until approximately the 20th century, people of all ages worshiped and learned together.  There was also an expectation that parents and families were the parties primarily responsible for transmitting faith.  When churches changed to provide programming that was age specific (children in one place in the church, adults in another), it deprived both parties of valuable time to learn and grow in faith together.  It also isolated parents from their children’s faith formation.  Christian educators have a vital role to play in advocating for the importance of intergenerational programs within the church and to walk alongside the parents and adults for whom this concept may be new and intimidating.

Finally, Christian Educators have a role to play in the ways the church as a whole is trying new things.  Christian educators form close, sometimes even intimate, relationships with families.  They can nurture these relationships and potentially build new relationships by utilizing social networks.  Educators need be conscious of the increasing diversity in society and make sure that church programs are welcoming and accessible to a wide variety of people and families.  The influence that Christian educators have over curriculum also poses a great opportunity to help move the church forward.  We can plan events outside the church that might previously have been held inside the church in an effort to better know and be known by our neighborhoods.  We can influence the theology that is taught to children, not to water down the stories of God but to help the children better understand them within their contemporary context.  We can change confirmation curriculum to encourage the process of belonging-behaving-believing.  Finally, we can use the knowledge and experiences that we have to reach out to the “Nones” or Spiritual but Not Religious people in our communities.  This outreach should be done not with the goal of attracting them to church, but to walk with them in the spiritual walks they are pursuing with their families (see Appendix A).

“Exponential change creates exponential fear along with exponential hope,”.  This time of change has fostered a great amount of lament within the church, laments over the loss of members, the loss of respect for the church, even a loss of respect for God.  But the Bible also teaches the church to be hopeful in times of lament because God’s work is not done yet.  Jesus’ resurrection shows that out of darkness and death comes new life.  Many creative ministers and church leaders are already bringing this new life into being and much more work remains to be done (see Appendix B).

Resources cited in this part of the paper:
Ivy Beckwith, Formational Children's Ministry: Shaping Children Using Story, Ritual, and Relationship
Keith Anderson, The Digital Cathedral: Networked Ministry in a Wireless World
Diana Butler Bass, Christianity After Religion: the End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening  

Where the church is today - Final Paper Part 2

This is a long one and much of what I discuss probably isn't news to those already actively working in the church.  But it was so informative and rewarding to pull all these factors together.  Can you think of anything I've missed?  I'd love your thoughts!

Learning objective #2: Consider the state of Protestant churches in American society today: what is working, what is not working, what changes are being pursued to bring God’s word to life?

What then are the factors in American society that are most affecting the church as it works its way through this time of change?  John Roberto addresses many of them in his book Reimagining Faith Formation for the 21st Century: increasing diversity in American society, the rise of digital technologies, changes and increasing diversity in religious belief, practices and affiliations, and a decline in religious transmission between generations.   Increasing diversity is evident in the five generations currently living in American society (silent/builders, baby boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and the iGeneration).  The United States population is becoming more diverse, as trends indicate that in the next few decades, white non-Hispanic Americans will decrease and all other ethnic categories will increase.  Diversity is also evident in the many different family structures that have arisen as marriage has declined and divorce has increased.  Roberto summarizes how this factor poses a challenge for churches: “Very few congregations are designed to address heterogeneity...How well is congregational faith formation designed to address this new diversity?  How many faith formation programs are based on outdated understandings of the people in their congregation and wider community,”?  

Another pivotal factor affecting the church is the rise of digital technology.  The Internet has saturated American society over the last couple decades and dramatically changed the way people conduct business and live their lives.  The shift of our lives into physical and digital spaces, which was made possible by the rise of the Internet, mobile devices, and social media networks, has led to the rise of “networked individualism,” in which, “[e]ach person has become a communication and information switchboard connecting persons, networks, and institutions,”.  The Internet has connected people in ways not possible before, over geographic distances and keeping people connected who no longer or never were in the same physical space.  This has redefined people’s sense of the neighborhoods they live in and who their neighbors are.  They are no longer dependent on institutions, like the church, to build connections between people.  This is especially true of Millennials, the first generation to grow up and be formed by digital technologies.  “If we want to meet the needs of our current congregations and to continue to share the Gospel with younger generations, we must understand networks and the new technologies that fuel them,”.

Finally, the number of people who consider themselves religious or claim affiliation with an organized religion has dramatically declined in the past couple decades.  At the same time, the number of people with no affiliation, the “Nones” or “Spiritual but Not Religious” (SBNRs) has increased.  People walking away from the church has been a grave concern for those within the church, but they also provide a way forward.  “Unless the church takes seriously the theological reasons that they [SBNRs] give for staying away from organized religion, any efforts to engage this population will be hampered,”.  This movement away from religion also means that faith is not being passed on from one generation to the next.  Demographically speaking this is problematic for the church because it will continue to lose members as the silent generation, who are loyal church members, dies and as the Millennial and iGenerations choose to not attend.  The church can no longer depend on family and societal expectations to keep people attending church as it did in previous decades.  The statistics of religious affiliation and practice demonstrate a deep discontent with the religious status quo and suggest that people want something different if they are to continue to engage or re-engage with the church.  

Many churches and church leaders have already begun wrestling with these challenges and are finding new ways forward.  Diana Butler Bass and John Roberto are two scholars who have considered the factors of belief, behavior, and belonging.  Previously, people spent their childhood learning what to believe about God (catechism, Sunday School, confirmation), then were expected to adopt the faith practices of their family as they reached adulthood, thereby securing their perpetual affiliation with those beliefs and the institution.  As recent years have shown, that format of fostering religious commitment is no longer effective.  Some church leaders believe that the reverse approach, belonging, behaving, and then believing, may be more relevant in today’s society for several reasons.  First, young people are highly engaged in belonging.  Through digital networks it is easy to belong to many communities, both those people are involved with in the real-world and ones they choose to engage with online.  Behavior remains an important middle step because actions are an effective method of teaching faith.  Younger generations are also attracted to action, as their learning style is strongly participatory and built on experiences.  Finally, placing belief last takes the pressure off of individuals to strictly adhere to a denomination or church’s doctrinal stances, which is something many people have cited as a problem they have with institutional religion.  Intellectual reason and scientific knowledge have dramatically changed humankind’s understanding of God and faith.  The youngest generations of today’s society are much more comfortable exploring these tensions.  A church community that embraces people and gently invites them into the life of the community, while welcoming their doubts and questions and demonstrating how to walk the life of faith in God, will likely be more effective at building faith among younger generations.

Another shift that some churches are making is to spend more time outside their walls.  Some church leaders suggest that if people are no longer coming inside churches to hear God’s word, then perhaps the role of churches needs to shift to bringing God’s word out to the people.  This shift can be seen in ministries that arise independent of denominations in order to avoid the obligations they might otherwise have to a denomination’s bureaucracy.  This shift can also be seen in pastors and church leaders who intentionally and creatively work to bring their ministry outside church walls.  From bestowing ashes on people at a subway station to sharing coffee and donuts at a bus stop to holding a worship service next to a food truck to theology discussions in pubs and coffee houses, churches are working to be present and active in the world in ways that are accessible to the religiously affiliated and unaffiliated alike.

Some within the church are also wrestling with the theology they teach.  They are not abandoning fidelity to God’s Word in order to stay relevant but rather are examining anew what God’s Word can say to contemporary culture.  In her examination of America’s “Nones,” for example, Elizabeth Drescher presents a dichotomy between Golden Rule ethics and Good Samaritan ethics.  She presents Golden Rule ethics as the “old” way: the Golden Rule assumes sameness across humans, that what is meaningful and beneficial to one will be the same for others.  While Nones express appreciation for Jesus’ teaching of this rule and often consider it part of their personal morality, they also point out that sameness among humans is not necessarily true (see earlier discussion of increasing diversity).  Nones, and others within churches, are increasingly concerned with broader, world-wide problems.  They want to meaningfully engage with those who are different from them.  The alternative, then, is Good Samaritan ethics.  Jesus’ lesson in the Good Samaritan is to care for others not as you would have them care for you but to love others in their “otherness”.  This concept is echoed by another pastor considering what a different kind of outreach could look like: “moving from a hand-out ministry, past a hands-on one, to one that values the hand-in-hand...a church’s commitment to an outreach program that insists on legitimate, relational experiences where a person is led to invest in those unlike themselves, not just with their work, but even with their intimacy, is so essential,”.  Exploring how to enact Good Samaritan ethics in church programs may lead to newer ways of speaking God’s Word to the world and attract younger generations who want to engage with their faith in participatory, relational, meaning-making ways.

 Another newer theological movement to consider is how people are finding and valuing the sacred in the ordinary.  In the Introduction to Grounded, Diana Butler Bass describes the “vertical theology” that most Christians have been taught: God is far above us in heaven and we humans are on earth, where churches are necessary to mediate between sinful humans and holy God.  In contemporary society, however, Bass sees this understanding breaking down.  “People are leading their own theological revolution and finding that the Spirit is much more with the world than we have previously been taught,”.  Drescher’s understanding of Nones confirms Bass’ assertion that people are finding and naming things holy in their everyday lives.  Many churches have recognized this and begun thinking creatively about how to join people in their sacred ordinary.  This is evidenced by their willingness to have deep theological discussions in bars and coffee shops rather than inside churches.  It is seen in events like Blessing the Backpacks before children start a new school year or a Blessing of the Animals to recognize the importance of pets in people’s lives.  Studies show that religiously affiliated Americans find sacred meaning in the same ordinary things that Nones do, things like food, family, and friends.  This common ground among two different groups demonstrates the contemporary attitude in America that churches do not have a monopoly on God or God’s presence.  Churches who can honor and become involved in the many ways that people see God in the world will have better success connecting with contemporary Americans.  

The many applications of technology to the work of the church are still being discovered, but this discovery process has already led to some exciting innovations.  One application is to use technology to provide church resources to people not physically in the church.  This can include live-streaming a church’s worship service so that members who are unable to physically attend can still participate and feel part of the congregation.  This also means distributing videos, podcasts and other content to facilitate faith formation at home among families.  One of the most significant applications of technology, however, lies in its ability to build and maintain relationships.  Since social media platforms have enabled people to live and share their lives online, churches have an opportunity to be present on those platforms.  Their presence should not be merely to advertise what is going on in their church but to engage in relationship building.  One pastor considers his vocation in this new era to be a “relational leader” whose goal is not to preserve the institution of the church but rather, “to be in relationship, and in relationship we have an opportunity to share the Gospel, finding ourselves in relationship together with God,”.  Relationships motivate young generations and they are an effective way to share God’s Word.  Utilizing technology and social media to make churches a “meaningful node” in people’s networks will help to strengthen the mission of the church.

Books cited in this portion of the paper:
John Roberto, Reimagining Faith Formation for the 21st Century: Engaging All Ages and Generations
Keith Anderson, The Digital Cathedral: Networked Ministry in a Wireless World 
Diana Butler Bass, Christianity After Religion: the End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening
Nate Phillips, Do Something Else: The Road Ahead for the Mainline Church
Elizabeth Drescher, Choosing Our Religion: the Spiritual Lives of America's Nones
Diana Butler Bass, Grounded: Finding God in the World-a Spiritual Revolution     

Where the church has come from - Final Paper Part 1

I labored my way through a directed study course last semester to consider where the church is in contemporary society and what the role of Christian Education is going to be moving forward.  This was an important step in sensing my vocational way forward and I am so pleased that this course came together as it did so that I could read and learn what I did.  I have decided to share my final paper here.  Part of me finds this all so interesting that I can't not share it.  I do not expect it to be of great interest to many, but I am hopeful that it provides encouragement and food for thought for those who are in ministry or interested in the future of the church.  I am dividing the final paper into three posts, each of which will address one of the three questions that I sought to answer through my reading.  I would welcome anyone's responses and thoughts!

Learning objective #1: Consider the history of the church, how does the historical church help us understand the place of the church in the world today?

In January 2016, a new voice started playing on American country music radio.  Maren Morris, singing “My Church,” begins with these lines:

“I’ve cussed on a Sunday

I’ve cheated and I’ve lied

I’ve fallen down from grace

A few too many times

But I find holy redemption

When I put this car in drive

Roll the windows down and turn up the dial”

    As the song continues, it paints a picture of a woman who finds spiritual peace, “my soul revival,” and “sins washed away,” when listening to music and driving down an open road.  This is her “church.”  The songwriter conveys no need or desire for a traditional church, yet repeated calls for “hallelujah” and “amen,” demonstrate her roots in a traditional church.  This song represents a major challenge facing the church in contemporary American society.  People have stopped attending church in droves in recent years, yet studies also show that spirituality has not disappeared.  People have turned away from the faith they were raised in and are finding different ways to engage the spiritual or religious parts of themselves.  The question and challenge is how churches are going to respond.

    I and many other people within the church have tried to understand how we got to this place and how to orient ourselves in the midst of this dramatic change.  There are long range and shorter range lenses to help us answer these questions.  By Phyllis Tickle’s account, Western societies go through an upheaval every 500 years that bring about great changes.  1,500 years ago saw the fall of the Roman Empire, which led to the Dark Ages.  1,000 years ago saw a schism arise between the East and the West, which led to the Middle Ages.  The Great Reformation began 500 years ago, which led to changes in governments, the rise of the middle class, the birth of capitalism, and greater literacy, among many other things.  By this timeline, we can understand our current state as part of a new upheaval, which Tickle terms the, “Great Emergence,”.  

Diana Butler Bass also recognizes that we are living in a time of change, which she terms an “awakening,”.  She places our current state within the context of three awakenings that have happened during United States history.  The first occurred during the mid-18th century, which saw end of European styles of church organization and the start of more democratic, experiential evangelicalism within the US.  The second occurred in the early 19th century, when Calvinist theological dominance decreased, leaving room for a new understanding of free will that led to voluntary church membership and good works.  The third awakening occurred in the late 19th to early 20th century.  This period saw the rise of the social gospel movement (progressive politics) and the Pentecostal movement.  These changes moved the focus of churches from individual sin to the collective changing of the social order.  Our current awakening, a fourth, originated in the 1960s, which was a great time of change for American society, change which included the exploration of new religious practices, communities, and theologies.  Dr. Bass asserts that the path of this current awakening stalled in the 1980’s with the election of Ronald Reagan, which reflected the country’s desire to return to more traditional values.  This cause was carried forward by the rise of the Moral Majority all the way through to the present decade and the rise of the Tea Party.  Dr. Bass acknowledges that awakenings often inspire counter-movements like these.  The question remains, however, as to whether leaders will rise up to carry this awakening forward and help bring about a new age of American religion.  

    A final historical lens by which to understand the contemporary church comes from Dr. Bass’ understanding of the “Business of Religion”.  Beginning in the late 19th century, denominations began to organize themselves in a manner similar to corporations.  There were hierarchies of leaders, headquarters, divisions, marketing strategies, and training centers.  While this model was appropriate for much of the 20th century, both for corporations and churches, many believe it is no longer effective.  Many church members began to see how bureaucratic red tape, difficult finances, and out of touch leadership got in the way of accomplishing the mission of the church.  Some now argue that an organizational structure that once brought life no longer seems sustainable or desirable.  All of these historical perspectives affirm our perception that we are living through a time of great change.  These perspectives validate the uncertainty we feel in the face of these changes.  At best, they also direct us to not cling to what has passed but instead to focus on how we respond to the changes and forge a new way forward, as the church and societies have done in the past.

In this section of the paper, I used references from:

Phyllis Tickle, Emergence Christianity: What It Is, Where It Is Going, and Why It Matters 

Diana Butler Bass, Christianity After Religion: the End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening