Friday, July 21, 2006

It's Not the 1950's Anymore

Last week I was in Boston for a gathering of young clergy from the Lewis Center for Church Leadership fellowship group that I have been lucky enough to be a part of the last two years. Whenever I am with these folks I learn so much--not only from our presenters, who are almost always excellent, engaging and challenging--but also from my colleagues, 20 or so other pastors in their 20's and 30's serving churches of different denominations across the country.

One of our presentations this time was by Nancy Ammerman, a researcher, author, and professor of Sociology of Religion at Harvard. She talked with us about the challenges facing our churches in a changing society. Here are some of the highlights:

In case you haven't noticed...
It isn’t the 1950’s anymore.



Most of the people coming to church these days aren't a stereotypical middle class family consisting of mom, dad and 2.5 kids. Today, the church members you get:
· Haven’t been there all their lives
· Aren’t related to anyone who’s already there
· May not be coming “for the children”
· Probably didn’t grow up in your tradition or any tradition
· Don’t live in the neighborhood
· Probably found you on the internet
(But of all the demographic groups most likely to seek out a church, the "married with kids" group are still the most likely.)

Therefore, the models of church that are stuck in the 1950's are not well suited to the world we live in.

A Glimpse of The Changing World We Live In:

  • Growing numbers of immigrants: 11% of US population was born somewhere other than the US; born in places other than Europe (Latin America 41%, Africa/ Caribbean 10%, Asia 26%) and they aren't just immigrating to the coasts--they are coming to the South, Mid-West, small towns and rural areas.
  • Mobility: 49% of people live in same house as 5 years ago; 25% moved within county in the last 5 years; 25% moved in from outside the county—therefore there are fewer people with long term connections to our community.
  • Connectedness—80% of the US population has some kind of access to the internet, the majority of people have more education; this impacts the experiences and expectations that people bring into the church.
  • Congregational membership: fewer people are life long members of the same church. The churches with the highest stability are Roman Catholic and African American churches; the churches with the most people "switching" are Pentecostals, and sectarian groups like Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, because they have more converts.
  • Family composition: in 2000— 23.6 % of the population was married with kids (and this group is decreasing), 9.2% were single with kids (a stable number), 28.1 % were married with no kids (increasing), 16.6 % live alone (increasing), 9.2 % are seniors who live alone seniors (increasing), 13.3 % are "other households" (increasing).
  • Beginning of the last century, in the majority of homes one parent would die before the last child left the house so the empty nest phenomenon only came about in the last century.

These are some of the interesting trends in American society. And yet, every congregation is a constantly evolving, intentionally created community, therefore, you can’t make assumptions about the status quo.

So how does the church change to meet and engage with our changing society? Dr. Ammerman had some ideas. She called them "Leading in the Midst of Change: Seven Habits for Adaptive Leadership" (note the word is not leaders, but leadership—because leadership is a shared task)

  1. Adaptive leadership requires curiosity about the world:
    Walk around, drive around and hang out
    Talk to planning departments and get census data
    Read local newspapers
    Get to know public officials
    Talk to your own people
  2. It also requires honest self-assessment:
    · Ask: “How we do things here” and get to know your congregation’s culture
    · Examine the unspoken assumptions about “who we are”
  3. And entrepreneurship—which means imagining resources for getting things done
    · Resources come in all shapes and sizes—people, skills, energy, space, infrastructure, and money
    · Remember that connections are resources, too
  4. Playful experimentation—having a sense of humor
    · Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
    · Be ready to try things that seem a little crazy
    · Don’t be afraid to fail
    · Be ready to laugh when you do
  5. Adaptive Leadership should make it dramatic
    · Tell stories about who you are becoming
    · Create visual symbols and images (like using different kinds of bread for communion in a congregation that is multicultural)
  6. Practice Deep Hospitality
    · remember that newcomers don’t know anyone, don’t know all the rules, don’t know how to get things done, and may not know much about your tradition
    · Sunday morning is not an “in house” morning and worship should be designed to welcome new people
    · Remember that minorities of any sort will feel like outsiders
  7. Be Ready for Conflict
    · Congregations without conflict do not change
    · Yes, a few people just might leave
    · People will chafe as much over how things are done as over what is done. So negotiating the “how” is the important challenge for leadership

And The Eighth Habit: Spiritual Discernment. Pray, pray and pray more. Let God give the vision, and the Holy Spirit provide the power. With God all things are possible.

Well, friends...looks like we've got plenty to keep us busy! And I am really looking forward to working with you all at Woodside to build our adaptive leadership and engage our community. Be sure to let me know what you think about this, too, OK? You can post your comments below.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I really resonated with the suggestions on using images and symbols. I have participated in communion where different breads are used and it's very powerful. I think there are other creative ways we can spruce up worship perhaps starting with creating a worship space that is more visually stimulating!

I also resonated with the comment about worship shouldn't be an "in-house" event. I'm sure there are bigger things to think about on this thread, but a couple quick things that jump to mind would be to make sure we distinguish for people what our two song books are when to use the hymnal and when to use the supplemental. It can be confusing in worship finding the right hymn if you don't know about both. I also think on our web site we should have a Q&A page for visitors that would answer basic things like, "What can I wear to church?" and "Am I expected to put money in the Offering plate?"

Those are just a couple quick, initial thoughts.

revrachel said...

I love the FAQ idea for the website! Please let me know if you have other suggestions.