In Raw Form

A friend of mine recently sent out an email asking for help. It read:

I’ve been asked to do a presentation later this month, and I’d love to pick your brains for ideas, rather than just presenting what I think you (and others) might think.

Here’s the topic:
the younger generation's expectations and dreams of the church for the 21st century
"What is the most significant aspect/thought that I feel is important for being the church in the 21st century?"

I sent her my response just a few minutes ago- very last minute, unrefined and raw. Then I thought I'd share those thoughts here for you to not just read but to respond to. I still didn't clean it up, forgive me. Nonetheless I would be interested to hear (read) what your answer would be to that question. As you will read in my scattered (potentially incoherent) ramblings, I do not have it figured out, I only have some thoughts and they are even complete.

Consider that your warning. Here we go!

"What is the most significant aspect/thought that I feel is important for being the church in the 21st century?"

First, that is a long period of time. It is interesting to think about the global church in this light as the United States seems to continue their rumblings about the shift to post-modernism when Australia, the UK, and western Europe are already through the transition and submerged in post-modern thinking. (oh well)

(1) The idea of bringing heaven to earth seems to be permeating the church right now specifically in the area of social justice. As we continue to hear that extreme poverty could end in our generation, in the next ten years it seems like the Church is starting to get a glimpse of that (and act). In addition to social justice, environmental issues are coming more and more to the front of the church. Environmental responsibility is an issue the church traditionally didn't address. It seems as though we are starting to realize that we will be held accountable; taking care of the environment is one of our jobs.

CS Lewis wrote
The world does not consist of 100 per cent Christians and 100 per cent non-Christians. There are people (a great many of them) who are slowly ceasing to be Christians but who still call themselves by that name; some of them are clergymen. There are other people who are slowly becoming Christians though they do not yet call themselves so. There are people who do not accept the full Christian doctrine about Christ but who are so strongly attracted by Him that they are His in a much deeper sense than they themselves understand.

Even though he wrote those words so long ago, it seems to hit the nail on the head for our culture today. I think we are seeing a shift in evangelism, church planting, education, financial investments (how we are spending our money) in response to the areas we are feeling responsibility for. We are seeing people, who may or may not associate themselves with the Christian community, associate themselves with Christ and what he said on the sermon on the mount and in other teachings.

In addition to these things, tied back to the idea of bringing heaven to earth, Louie Giglio, specifically, talks about the unreached people groups in the world and how we are more equipped than ever to reach them. As the world seems to be melting together in cities like Los Angeles and Toronto we understand that we, in a sense, have a global influence, a global stage in our back yards.

(Just wanted to share another quote - this one regarding social justice: Bono said, "But the one thing we can all agree, all faiths, all ideologies, is that God is with the vulnerable and the poor. God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house... God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives... God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war... God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them." )

Its seems as if there are these ideas we've talked about for so long are becoming actions, actions that can bring those very ideas to reality...people being reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ...for some that gospel looks like freedom from hunger, for others it is freedom from slavery, addiction, and for others still, freedom from the mundane. It is the freedom in Christ, through Christ, by Christ.

(2) My gut reaction to the question was to talk about community - as experienced in the New Testament Church. While community does seem to be an area that is being talked about more and more (both in a sense of churches having small group ministries to reaching out to neighborhoods) two thoughts came to mind. The second was that when we are reaching out to our community and the world around us, it seems to be tying back to social justice more and more. But my first thought pulled me back to an interview I heard recently (sorry I don't remember who is was, I think it was the folks at Catalyst)... anyway, they talked about how Africa, for instance, isn't lacking community. That is part something they have a pretty good grasp on, thus community is not an answer to your question...but I still don't know what is.

(3) I totally lost this thought...though I think it was a good one. Even though it was forgotten, I think it was more coherent that the first 2. Sorry about that.

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I really did totally lose that last thought. Crying shame, I really think it was a good one.

Enough of that... What do you think? How would you answer the question? Or what do you say in response to my answer? Fill me in.