Is the Church outdated or just in a position to leap frog?

Join me on a variation of the Kevin Bacon game.  

Bo Sanders puts up a video  to prime the pump for his worshiping community.

Later puts this quote on his blog which is the overall point of the video: 

In technology, when you fall enough behind on your updates, you can actually trap yourself with the inability to update. This is the definition of irrelevant. The christian spirituality that is employed in much of the North American church may be in this kind of danger. I am nervous that we are looking to get resources (updates) from sources (servers) that don’t exist anymore.

My friend, also named Jason, reads Home brewed Christianity because both he and the site are way cooler than me. 

Jason shares the above quote and link with me via the outgoing means of internet communication in the next 15 years - email.  

With all that said, I hope you read the quote because it is a captivating metaphor. I only wish I could hear more of Bo Sanders'  thoughts on how this metaphor plays out right now. 

And while I try to put some flesh on Bo's metaphor I think about Africa and cell phones. Namely I think about how in Africa countries were so far behind the technology that they do not have phone lines. For a time, perhaps, it may have looked like Africa would be unable to upgrade to new technological advances because they were without the basic infrastructure of phone lines. 

However, these parts were able to leap frog phone line technology with the advent of cell phones. Now having phone lines is a thing of the past and parts of the world do not have to deal with this dated technological infrastructure. 

These two metaphors toss and turn in my head. Is the church in danger of being so outdated that we cannot even access tools from sources that do not exist any more? Or is the Church more in a position to leap frog over some things because the pace of change happened too fast for the Church to get build phone lines? 

Is the UMC mission statement part of the problem?

The UMC has a mission statement that we tout out all the default for anytime we are asked what our mission is.  

"To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world" 

Not bad really. It is clear and concise. It tells people what we do.   

And that is the problem - it tells people what  we do. 

Simon Sinek gave a great TED Talk based on his book, Start With Why. Take 6 minutes and watch just a part of the whole TED Talk.   

If you watched this, you will recall Sinek stated that everyone on the plant knows what they do. Some know how they do it. Few know why they do what they do. 

"And by why I do not mean to make a profit. That is a result that is always a result." 

The UMC is an organization that is very clear on what  we do. We make disciples. Different churches may or may not know how  they make disciples. But as an organization the UMC is not conveying why we do what we do. 

You may be thinking, "Well isn't 'for the transformation of the world' the why of the UMC?" Perhaps. But this is too vague of a why to mean anything. Transform the world to be different in what ways? 

Our mission statement is one that expresses what we do. And that may be part of the problem. We are clear on the what but not on the why.  

So in an effort to be clear on my why, let me say:

Everything that I believe we all need to be the change we wish to see in the world. The way I do this is by sharing lessons that make people think, speak clearly and to not be afraid, and I love everyone I encounter. I just so happen to be a follower of Jesus Christ who taught me the way to be the change.

Would you like to join me. 

More on the coins of Caesar

To follow up from the previous post, Jesus is not talking about taxes. 

Marshall McLuhan was noted for saying a number of things about communication, perhaps none more famous than "the medium is the message". 

This next quote either is hyperbole or is exactly how McLuhan feels about the power of the medium when he says the content of a message "has about as much importance as the stenciling on the casing of an atomic bomb.”

The point being that the medium you use to convey a message carries more power than the content of the message. This is in part why when you talk bad about your family it is much more acceptable than if I talk bad about your family - even if we say the exact same words. This is another reason why people cite Bible passages in order to justify their positions. If you have the medium of scripture then it carries with is additional weight than if a person shares their thoughts. The medium is a very powerful voice in the message. 

And so when we read that Caesar would put his image on the coins of the empire, then the coin is the medium of the message of Caesar. Since coins are used in every transaction in all aspects of the Empire, since nothing can happen without the shiny head of Caesar being involved, the message of Caesar is clear - I am present everywhere and I am all powerful. My image is what makes it possible to do anything. I am the god of these parts and I will change the world through these coins. 

When Jesus reminds us that humanity is made with the image of God impressed upon us then it also is worth noting that we are the mediums of God message. And through this medium of humanity God's message is clear - I am focused on relationship not on economics. At times I am strong and at other times I am weak. I bleed and cry and shout. My image makes it possible for life to be made. I am the god of these parts and I will change the world though these people. 

You and I are God's medium for God's message. Christians articulate that the Good News is not just that Christ died for us but that God lived for us. God could have chosen any sort of medium to convey the Good News. God chose a human being.

And that medium, Jesus, changed the world. We do not have every word that Jesus said but the content of his message is as important as the stenciling on a bomb. It was his life that was the message. It was the way he lived that changed the world. 

McLuhan popularized it, but God created the fact that the Medium is the Message.