Something that church leaders know but I’ve never heard discussed is the pastoring of hybrid Christians. What I mean by this is that in our world teaching and theology are “in the cloud”. At any given moment I can listen or watch a sermon, podcast, lecture, debate, teaching, discussion, etc. by any leader that I am drawn to. I can download a book, article or go to a post online in a heart beat. I can engage in discussions about any of these by various mediums – all outside of a community of believers.

So as people assimilate more and more of these fragments or pieces of theology, it is my contention they become hybrid Christians. I would say that most, but not all, Christian people that I talk to these days are not strictly Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian…they are hybrid. They simply do not fit into one tribe. They carry bits of teaching from the flavor of the month or from a leader who really communicates in a way that speaks to them.

So what does this mean for us in pastoring people and communities?

What does it mean when we still often stand up & teach on the weekend as if we are the lone or most important voice in a persons spiritual journey?

How do we protect those entrusted to our care?

How do we enter the conversation or facilitate it?

Do we use others as the teacher in our communities and just play off of or work off of their teaching?

Is there a danger to so much being assimilated individually outside of communal presence? (I ask this question because I believe there is a certain amount of damage that happens because the Bible is often read and interpreted individually – especially those letters or documents that were written to groups/churches. We often take communal statements & make them personal or miss the emotion or the tension intended by the author in a community reading.)

What do you think?

This is a diagram I drew in class last January. I was relating an observation about life and more specifically discipleship in the exurbs. Here’s the gist of it.

*Built on the 1/3′s life model (1st Third – Formation; 2nd Third – Productive Time; 3rd Third – Giving Back)

*The first third for the most part are years where people are receiving and learning to give.

*Giving often goes hyper in the 18-25 age group as people are learning, passionate, free…and don’t have many obligations.

*They have time

….. (Let’s Fast Forward)

*After 55 (roughly) people have time again. The kids are gone + they have a lifetime of experience

*This group is often more financially stable

*They are often retiring soon…again they have space.

*They can be discipled and hopefully disciple others.

….. (What I’ve Come To Grow Deeply Concerned About)

THE LUMP!

*25-55: Mortgage(s).Careers.Kids.Soccer.Dance.Acting.School.Family.Friends(sometimes).
Football.Basketball.Cheerleading.Gymnastics.Trying to get a Workout in. Multiple Jobs.ETC.

*Oh yeah, church…which in the 21st century world most often = events

*Church events (worship, small groups, fellowship, retreats, mission trips)

*Those in The Lump…don’t have or don’t make the time. There is no space to be in a community no margin for time or often for giving of resources.

*At best what is most often happening is drive-through or 1 hour church which is far from discipleship.
Usually the worship gathering is all people give the community and discipleship isn’t happening.

*To be honest I’m not sure what what’s happening…what we are replicating/making.

…

What do you think? We batted this around in class for a while.

Are my fears real? If so how do we turn it around?

If we don’t, the suburbs/exurbs are lost.

“I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin the shift from a “thing-oriented” society to a “person-oriented” society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break the Silence”