On Tuesday and Wednesday, I attended the “Hit the Bullseye” conference in Lima, Ohio. A lot of good stuff there, even though I felt sick the first day.
Here are some notes from “Leading Change in an Emerging Congregation,” by Brad Stahl. I took this workshop on Wednesday afternoon.
- The emergent church is more about attitude than about age. Which thrilled me, because quite a few postmodern strains run through me, and I’m an old guy.
- Some people will minister to, some with, and some as post-moderns. The workshop leader was in the “to” and “with” category, but didn’t consider himself thoroughly post-modern at the core.
- The most dynamic testimonies come from people who are still struggling with their faith. But in traditional churches, we stink at admitting any struggles.
- We know there are absolutes, but postmoderns don’t.
- Sermons should be more an investigation of ideas than a sharing of objective truth. Lay the pieces out and let them put it together.
- Builders (pre-1946) come for the sermon; boomers (1946-64) come for the high energy and quality; busters (1965-1980s) come for what they can feel–the music and worship.
- Postmoderns value authenticity. If you screwed up, tell them you screwed up. They’ll relate to that, forgive you, and move on.
- “I haven’t had a ‘sweet hour of prayer’ in years. I don’t pray that way.” Likewise for yours truly.
- Conversion is a process. They can’t always pinpoint when they became a Christian.
- You can reach people 20 years older than you and 20 years younger. Interesting idea. So I’m no longer relevant to anyone under the age of 31.
- What you win people with, you win them to. You can’t expect to transition them to a service with a different style of music and preaching.
- Post-moderns don’t want to commit to something unworthy of their commitment. But they’ll buy into radical commitment. We boomers were the original non-joiners, but still do a lot of stuff out of duty. Post-moderns don’t know from duty.
- They like the idea of “hanging out.” Don’t want things to be planned. They engage with chaos. Uh…not me on this one.
- Why am I the only United Brethren in this workshop? Out of the 40 UBs attending this conference?
The March 3 Time magazine featured an article about George Clooney. I like him a lot. He’s got journalism roots, which brings a degree of open-mindedness, of considering both sides of an argument, plus a heavy dose of cynicism. Legions of celebrities think they’re smart, and flaunt their actual ignorance (Hail King Sean Penn!). Clooney is, indeed, smart, but he’s sufficiently wise to avoid over-using his celebrity platform. He views himself with realistic self-depredation. 
