into the river we go - rapids and all

(Chorus)
Wade in the water.
Wade in the water, children.
Wade in the water.
God’s gonna trouble the water.

~ Black American Slave Traditional (I don’t think it has an “author” but please correct me if I’m wrong)

I wrote awhile back about the changes that are afoot in all domains of society. Since then, I have read several articles and statistical reports discussing this very shift. So I thought I’d take some space to share (only) some of my observations.

One caveat I feel I need to make is this: Making statements about the things that are changing does not require a value judgment on either the past or the present/future. That’s another quality of my generation, we don’t feel the need to judge every single thing we observe. In other words, I’m not suggesting that “then” was bad and “now” is better or vice versa. They are simply what they are, observations…and of course, as always, they are generalizations and trends that I personally have observed so take it for what it’s worth.

• Most people around my age and younger have discovered that the American dream is… well… it isn’t….a dream that is. It doesn’t work anymore. This is due to many factors including the fact that income is not keeping up with increased cost of things like homes, food and transportation. Yes, we are probably still too consumeristic and greedy but not in proportion to the problems we’re seeing. This reality is shifting our values and forcing us to change our expectations. More and more people are cohousing with peers or their parents, to cite one example. Another example is an increase in exploration of alternatives to college. Attending university is becoming increasingly beyond the grasp of many especially as more and more of us are attempting to live without debt.

• There is an increased desire for the government to become more involved in areas such as health care, hunger, homelessness, the sex slave trade, etc. AT THE SAME TIME there is increased suspicion of politics (there seems to be a separation of politics and government in people’s minds) heirarchical models and authority. This is causing people to re-think their notions of how to influence governmental change.

• There is a growing concern for the decline in the value of life across the board resulting in more opposition to torture and death penalty as well as abortion AT THE SAME TIME there is a strong desire to take a different approach to these issues than in the past - focusing more on the grassroots level and addressing the root causes instead of taking a top down approach. This is leading to a shift in how people choose the president (for example).

• There is a more nuanced view of “value issues” such as homosexuality AT THE SAME TIME there are more dogmatic views of other value issues in the arena of justice, i.e. there is much less tolerance for intolerance unless someone is intolerant - then there’s lots of intolerance.

• Acceptance of the beliefs of the other is on the rise, seeking to engage people of different religions and antireligions AT THE SAME TIME many are seeking out beliefs and expressions of those beliefs for themselves that are solidly rooted in a dogmatic tradition.

• Even though many in the old guard are still lamenting at the loss of community and the increased individualism in our generation, I would argue that if that WAS the case, it is no longer so. There is an almost frantic feel to the seeking out of honest community, especially community that also makes a difference. AT THE SAME TIME these relationships must be life giving and must not carry any air of superiority - which means old notions of mentorship and accountability make most of us shudder.

All of this is manifesting in different questions and many people becoming increasingly frustrated by those who are asking the same questions while at the same time seeking new answers. (And this is not limited to age/generation. There is a whole younger generation picking up where their parents left off.) This deep shift that is occuring is affecting everything. The old addages and expectations do not apply as cleanly as before and the previous binary options manifest dichotomies that we no longer buy into.

The question I’m asking is this: Will Christ followers be moving along WITHin the stream of this shift, able to engage and provoke, able to be a prophetic voice? Will we be riding the waves right along with everyone else demonstrating a stability that can only come from a confidence in our God or are we going to continue the same trend of running along the shore line waving our arms phrenetically and yelling at people about the four spiritual laws and the reality of an eternal home? And if it’s the former (I hope and pray it is), how will we do this and how do our faith communities, theologies, notions of discipleship, reading of Scripture etc. need to shift in order to be successful?

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