Who's Got The Wheel?

I've been having some conversations recently with some of my college friends. I've been excited to see what life has brought us all and where we are in our "Quest" for God's will in our lives. We're at about the same stage in life and from the same generation. We're "boomers."

We've all tried to stay hip, committed and involved in our local churches but we're really feeling that something is missing. The conservative churches are still stuck in the 50's era, and the progressive churches are targeting the "milliennials." We really can't plug-in to either group altough both have elements with which we resonate.

I've been reading a book Emerging Church.Intro recently that explains what emerging churches or "NextChurch" as I like to call them look like and what they're doing.

One thing I found interesting is that the author recognized that those of us boomers who are in, or have come from, "inherted churches" feel like we never really got to "take the wheel" of our church. What we got from our parents was not really an expression of church that fit us, either in architecture, decor, worship style, or mission, but we were powerless to change it. If we were church employees our jobs demanded that we conform to the "old ways" and if we were lay people we were marginalized by "the machine."

So here we are in our 40s and 50s still feeling like we're on the outside of our inherited churches looking in. Or those of us that have gravitated toward progressive newer churches see them targeting the "millennials" just as we're beginning to "get it" and hit our stride.

We've done the "windshield time" with God to know He's really there... to have a sense of His presence, but how do we turn that into a viable expression of church when we're kind of "tweeners..." ahead of the past but not ready or able to authentically jump into the "millennial" church.

How much does worship style factor into that?
I'd say that the style factor varies with the individual. But that's true within generations as well as across generations. What we appreciate as art, and in the arts, is widely varied. Just wander through your local Best Buy and you'll see a wider range of styles, genres, and sub-genres than ever in history. Maybe the new wave will be niche churches based on worship styles, or mission focus, as well as theological flavor.

Let me hear your thoughts on all of the above...

Allan

Here are some reading resources to spur the discussion

The Church on the Other Side by Brian McLaren

Aqua Church by Leonard Sweet

Leadership On the Other Side by Bill Easum

Present Future: Six Tough Questions For the Church by Reggie McNeal

I've read them all over the last year and they are excellent! Check 'em out.