Thinking of the Bible scene where the Satan tempts Rabbi Jesus by offering The World to him, I am thinking of the observation by others who say that the Devil is not likely to wear horns, tail, and pitchfork. Instead, the Evil One may take the form of this screenshot featuring the compact Internet device in many pockets and handbags. Smartphones promise a world of information, remote control of money and products or services, and eternal memory. It is able to give an answer to any question - validity to be determined, though. In many ways the smartphone deceives, distracts, and steals time and attention little by little, leaving individuals and organizations poorer as a result. By itself it is an inanimate object, but in the hands of experienced and inexperienced users it can cause great harm by immediate impact, by indirect effect, by intentional deception, by self-deception (confirmation bias; echo chamber). All this risk and harm comes with wondrous abilities, too.
What does this have to do with church life in USA since 2005 or 2010? Around that time adults and many children began to do more and more functions of daily life online. Eye-candy of color, sound, and motion tempt the user's attention. Outrage loops and algorithms tracking one's patterns of responding stirs emotions by proxy. And a mix of blind faith (not entirely confident how the apps work, what they extract from one's life) and unnatural self-confidence (because it says so online; am I right or am I right) contributes to greater and greater dependence on the device, each year or two building an appetite for a faster, stronger, more useful (and expensive) model. The net result of all this personalized bubble and imaginary independence is that churches grow smaller as young people occupy themselves in other (virtual) places and older people complete their lifecycle to join the heavenly host.
Everyday many mainline, once well-funded and endowed institutional bodies of believers shrink and fall off the vine, leaving remaining worshipers with a choice between seeking another group to worship with, dabbling with online or TV or radio preaching and teaching, or by doing nothing that has been structured and is built upon tradition.
Since the society is changing, in great part because of Internet both mobile and based on PC at work or home, a new vision now is needed of church belonging, worshiping, maturing, and expressing God's love of friends and strangers as with oneself. Churches before the Internet counted on a pyramid of financial and volunteer support: a wide base of light participation, an important middle core of moderate involvement, and a small number of big givers of time, talent, and treasure (money). Now in 2022 the total size of the pyramid is much smaller for many formerly well-established organizational "pillars of community" and "weavers of the social fabric." And the shape is maybe closer to a skinny rectangle with a smaller base of light participation, a proportionately bigger mid-section involved in much of the day-to-day functions of a body of believers, and a small layer of big contributors. With mainline Protestant church attendance dwindling, rather than to fade away, perhaps there is a way to redefine the shape of active church life, not measured by terms from earlier generations.
The society is less inclined to hear, to seek out, or to respond to "God is love" and "Jesus saves" than 30 years ago. And the flow of money into the coffers is less in total and competes with subscriptions, taxes, fees, and costs of food and shelter and transportation. Meanwhile 25% of USA households have children living in poverty on average, some places much less, other places much more. And gun violence and car crashes are the biggest threats to growing up. So with fewer people to attract, and less money from those present, but with never more urgent needs to address (poverty, illness, loneliness, lack of attention to what one says or feels, spiritual desert filled with mirages of distraction, lots of widows -single-parent families- and orphans, substance dependencies and anxieties, dangerous air and water), the question is how can CHURCH redefine itself as a new bottle for the new wine of Christ-followers eager to live their beliefs and touch the lives of others, even while praising God's abiding presence and direction. In other words: what could a new model for congregational life look like, tailor-made to fit these times of constant flux and transition seemingly unable to rest or stabilize?
In the church-planting times of St. Paul there were synagogues (after Temple destruction in 70 A.D. only synagogues) but many times the believers gathered ad hoc in a house or maybe outdoors. After 2000 years the idea of church turned into something really big, formal, hierarchical, institutional, and exulted. Paradoxically, it was exclusive (the gate is narrow; I am the Way) but also inclusive (intended for everybody). A majority of citizens registered with one church or another. When they moved, they requested a letter of transfer to verify their good standing. Post-war in the 20th century the abundant food and fellowship events were a balm for PTSD after many years of killing and brutality. Now those basic elements of the nostalgic church are weakened, reduced, or gone altogether. Rather than to lament the loss of previous traditions, and to strive valiantly to make things great again, it is far better to seize the moment of change as an opportunity to reformulate the dedicated, committed body of believers in all demographic points in life to carry on the most important functions of church life, while not aspiring anymore to recreate old structures and effects.
In the good old days, the annual cycle of church holidays, functions, committees and boards, fellowship and flower dedications, program of music, Sunday school events, and so on would involve each congregant in different ways and during different phases of life. The doors were open to all to join in, whether pursuing a membership class or not. However, seldom would a stranger venture a visit without a preexisting social link to people already present in the pews - relatives, neighbors, workmates, and friends might take an interest or respond to an invitation to worship or attend an event. In 2022 there now are far fewer worshipers, but still some of the core functions can proceed in new ways: Preaching and teaching can take hybrid form (both online and in-person; as a congregation and in small groups for Bible or book study). Praise and thanksgiving feels most satisfying in person, but some indirect joy comes at a distance online. too. Engaging in outreach beyond the walls of the church is more complicated when people's routines are scheduled by consulting online events and notifications and last-minute invitations. Instead of groups of people to engage with, today the communities are virtual and fragmented across many places. But since the modern-day sorrows are so many and so entrenched, problems not solved by throwing money but by giving attention and care, then still now there is a need and opportunity to be God's hands and feet, ears and eyes. Life events and rituals still occupy an important place, so that can continue into the future, too.
In summary, what exactly is different between the new model(s) church and the old model of "boards and committees" and pledge-drives with fund-raisers? Worshipers today are fewer but now are more eager for personal growth and seek opportunities to try out their stronger spiritual muscles. The physical footprint (and carbon footprint) of the church infrastructure is smaller and more multi-purpose, much like nimble workplaces and flexible family life, too. Smaller, lighter-weight, faster to respond to opportunities and emergent needs, more alert to peer (collaborative or mentoring/mentee) churches, and with thoughtful online presence, too. These are some characteristics suited to 2022 different to 2000. Proactive in-reach (not hosting outreach events but directly, purposefully reaching in) sets apart the new model church in society, too. Each of the festering and persistent social problems listed, above, needs a different plan of in-reach, but surely there is a way for God seekers to be present as witnesses to listen and learn, to respond and contribute.
Concluding thoughts on a new model for being a Christian and belonging to a new model of church in our times: (1) resist the urge to grieve the old ways or to recreate those times in disregard for 2022 social needs and conditions, (2) revisit again and again this conceptual work of fitting the core Christian functions into a new body shape tailored to the new society [kaizen =continuous improvement, readjustment], and (3) rest in God's love, knowing that human effort is limited but God's effort is unlimited. Not many people live to see a moment offering fundamental reassessment and reformulation of what we call church life. This chance to work things out, not to merely survive, but to thrive, is something not to squander but to wrestle with like Jacob did in the night before the morning light came and God named him Israel ['wrestles with God']. Dreaming a new shape of "doing" church is something to do now.
