Megashifts - Christianity Today

LEADERSHIP recently asked its editorial advisers, “What changes are you observing in ministry?” We filtered their answers and added insights distilled from conversations with researcher George Barna and pastor Leith Anderson, two respected observers of the contemporary church. The result was a list of seven broad “megashifts” in church ministry.

Many of these shifts are not sudden; pastors have been feeling their effects. Taken together, however, these seven shifts map out the terrain of ministry in the late ’90s and beyond.

1. Church attenders want choice.

In “Christianity in the Twenty-first Century,” Princeton sociologist Robert Wuthnow writes, “In the past century, denominationalism was … a very large part of what it meant to be Christian.” Now, says Wuthnow, “people belong to the Presbyterian church, not because of deep loyalty to the denomination at large, but because they like the pastor, they feel comfortable with the people, the building fits their architectural tastes, the church is not too far way, and it provides activities for their family.”

This shift is illustrated in the way pastors speak of their churches. Churches used to be measured in terms of membership–how many are on the rolls. Now they’re measured by attendance–how many show up this Sunday. Membership has been downgraded to the point of irrelevancy.

What’s more, when people attend a church, that doesn’t mean a final commitment to that church. They still want choice. They represent a new strain of church attender: the “multi-church members.” The parents go to one church on Sunday morning; they send their kids to a different church for the “happenin'” youth program; and they visit other churches for special events. One leader told of a couple who attend his church most Sundays but who go to another church on the first Sunday of the month because they prefer the other church’s Communion service.

As a result, churches are offering more choices–evening services, seeker services, traditional services. Small groups convene for a variety of life stages and needs.

William Frey, president of Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry, calls this the “shift toward ‘meeting people’s needs,’ [away] from the more biblical pattern of ministry, which [is] calling people into responsible discipleship.” Some people characterize this shift more positively: the church is more responsive now to people’s needs.

Whether positive or negative, there is a megashift from the virtue of commitment to the virtue of choice.

2. Training for pastors is more hands-on.

Education for ministry is increasingly shifting from the traditional seminary model to D.Min. seminars, to the local church, and to parachurch organizations. Seminars for pastors are popping up everywhere, sponsored by large churches or parachurch organizations.

A few examples: Leith Anderson, pastor of Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, has launched the Teaching Church Network, which matches churches and their leaders in a mentoring relationship. Leadership Network, a parachurch organization, helps train pastors in larger churches. Overlake Christian Church in Kirkland, Washington, sponsors an annual conference. The list goes on and on.

This shift implies another: from a grad-school model of training pastors to a trade-school model. The fastest-growing program in many seminaries is the Doctor of Ministry program, which usually follows a less traditional, more practical approach.

Related to this is the increasing number of business people coming out of the marketplace to work in the local church. Some, of course, attend night school to earn seminary credits, but many get trained on the job and/or through church-sponsored seminars. To give just one example, two of Willow Creek’s teaching pastors, Bill Hybels and Lee Strobel, don’t have seminary degrees. Formal theological education for pastors is being increasingly supplemented or replaced by apprentice-style training.

3. Today’s seekers are more spiritually inclined.

Recently a social worker told LEADERSHIP, “Fifteen years ago, when I studied social work, religion was taboo. Never was it mentioned, except in an occasional and hostile way. Now, as I’ve taken graduate studies, religion was mentioned in almost every class. Professors say, `You have to know your client’s spirituality.'”

Nowadays, you don’t have to prove God exists; people believe in God, or gods, or a divine force or consciousness. People seem to find a god or angels everywhere and in everything. Twenty years ago, Josh McDowell’s Evidence that Demands a Verdict rationally defended the supernatural. Today, however, many seekers don’t want proof of God as much as experience of God.

In addition, formerly, if a person had a religious urge or experience, she said, “I’ve got to go back to church.” Today, spirituality is mediated through many places: AA meetings, weekend outings at a lake or in the mountains, TV preachers, a Robert Fulghum book, a Chant CD. People are seeking spirituality; churches effectively reaching seekers today take this megashift seriously.

4. Pastoral authority is more openly challenged.

Disrespect for leadership is a national pastime–Congress, the President, school boards, union leaders all come under fire. Pastors are no exception. Serving a church has never been easy, but thirty years ago the pastor was at least publicly respected. Today, however, resistance to leadership seems more aggressive.

There are many contributing factors; one is that today’s lay people are more savvy. Many have attended seminars on worship or Christian education or leadership, or attended Christian colleges. They’re aware of the fastest-growing churches. They’ve heard on Christian airwaves the best preachers and Christian psychologists.

Information in the hands of lay people is a positive development, but it has created higher expectations. One pastor told of the board member who said to him, “I expect high standards from my employees, and I expect an excellent product every time you preach.” On the other hand, the information glut has made some lay leaders more wary. They’ve heard of reaching seekers; their radar goes off every time their pastor mentions outreach. At one church committee meeting, someone sniped, “You just want us to be a megachurch.” The target had merely suggested the church be more intentional about outreach.

The result is not surprising: Firings are up. A recent Southern Baptist study of pastors showed a 31 percent jump over an 18-month period. Articles on conflict consistently score high in reader interest. Parachurch organizations like Promise Keepers and Focus on the Family have created pastoral-ministry arms to help pastors counter burnout, depression, and moral failure. And the number of pastor-support ministries continues to explode.

5. Church members are more near-sighted.

In general, Americans are moving from being globally to locally minded. This trend seems counterintuitive, given all the talk about our world being a global village. But America in general and the church in particular seem to be circling the wagons. (See Leith Anderson’s “The Turn Inward,” in this issue.)

Some examples of this shift in the church: Denominations are having trouble replacing retiring missionaries; prayer movements are focused more on spiritual renewal in America than on world evangelism; giving to foreign missions is declining.

In addition, people today want local control of their money. Church consultant Lyle Schaller has said that his generation, those who lived through World War II, said, “Who better at handling our money than someone at the denominational headquarters who specializes in finance?” Now, however, baby boomers are more inclined to say, “Who better at making wise decisions about our money than we who are closest to it?”

6. Volunteers want meaningful work.

Many lay people are well-educated and have been managers or leaders in their field. Today, when they serve in the church, they expect to feel challenged. Earlier generations were motivated by a sense of duty; today’s volunteers look for personal expression and meaning in their church service. They have a low tolerance for sitting on committees.

Wayne Pohl, pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Trenton, Michigan, says that today’s lay people are a “temp workforce that commits to projects but not the institution.” They are leaner, meaner volunteers who expect to be trained and who expect to find significance. They want to “do.” The shift is from passive to active.

During one recent church leadership conference, thirteen people came from the same church. Eleven were lay people who spent their own money and vacation time to come. They were planting a seeker-style church and wanted the same training as their pastor. They viewed themselves as staff, just as responsible as paid church employees for implementing the vision.

7. Worship is becoming more active and spontaneous.

In “21 Bridges to the 21st Century,” Lyle Schaller writes: “One of the most significant changes that will affect churches in the decades to come is this: Motion and emotion are replacing passivity and the motionless presentation of the gospel.” This megashift is the source for as much church conflict as any.

If you visit a church started in the past twenty years, you’ll probably find drama, dance, and/or multimedia. More people raise their hands in worship. People hug and clap. Today’s worship also holds more surprises.

This creativity, welcomed by many and resisted by many, carries a price for leaders. One pastor recently said, “Twenty years ago I put together a worship service; now I’m supposed to craft a worship service.”

The new terrain of ministry is still being explored. Pastors who map this landscape will be better equipped to serve God in it.

**************************

Would you like to talk with the Leadership editors about the forces you’re feeling in ministry? They will lead a live, online discussion on Thursday, November 30, at 8 p.m. (Central Time). In America Online, type the key words “CO Live.” To enroll in Christianity Online, call 1-800-413-9747, ext. 174021.

*******************

David Goetz is associate editor of Leadership.

Kevin A. Miller is editor of Leadership.

lecurrmrj5L41115A2g