Engaging Christians ‘in a Google world’
Winnipeg Free Press October 16, 2010 | Anonymous Does the church in North America have a future?
Yes, says Christian futurist and author Leonard Sweet. It just won’t look the same as it does today.
“God will not be left without a witness,” says Sweet, who will speak in Winnipeg Oct. 19 to 20 on the topic Toolkit for the new Millennium. “The question is whether it will prevail in its present configuration.” For Sweet, a professor of evangelism at Drew University in Madison, and author books such as Jesus Manifesto: Restoring the Supremacy and Sovereignty of Jesus Christ, The Gospel According to Starbucks and The Church in Emerging Culture, it’s a matter of whether Christians are willing to change so that Jesus is relevant in today’s culture.
“The church still lives in a Gutenberg world of words, chapters and verses, but most people today live in a Google world of story and images,” he says.
Sweet calls this the “TGIF world” — Twitter, Google, iPhone and Facebook. People born before 1973, when the cellphone was invented, are immigrants in this new world; people born after that date are natives.
Like immigrants anywhere, many older Christians find this new world a scary place, he says. The temptation is to “stay together, speak our own language and preserve the old ways,” instead of engaging the new reality.
If the church wants to be relevant to the culture today, it has to “speak its language” and use the communication tools the culture is accustomed to, says Sweet, a father of two teenagers. googleiphoneappnow.net google iphone app
“The first thing missionaries need to do when going to a new country is to learn the language of the culture they are trying to reach,” he says, noting that it’s the same for the church today.
The church also needs to be willing to change the way it does worship services, he says. This means, among other things, being less rational and sermon-focused.
“The church is a left-brain culture,” he says. “It’s rational and linear. But we live in a right-brain world of images and stories today… the church has been half-brained for too long. We need a whole-brain approach to faith.” For Sweet, this means a greater openness to the arts and images and less emphasis on expository preaching and teaching.
“We can’t continue with the same preaching style,” he states. “We need to think in stories, like Jesus did.” It also means “no more 20- to 30-minute sermons,” he says. “Nobody today can maintain their attention that long.” He cringes to think of how he once derided Sunday school teachers who used flannelgraph — a felt board where Bible characters were used to act out stories — and chalk pictures to bring the Bible to life.
“They were on to something,” he says, noting they were ahead of their time. “The Bible stories I know today were taught to me by those chalk artists. They understood how to teach the Bible with images and stories, not verses.” Churches also need to be flexible when it comes to how people gather today, he notes; the traditional Sunday morning model, in a traditional place of worship, may not be the only model in the future.
“People are meeting in house churches, pubs and coffee shops,” he says, adding that “there will be lots of changes, innovations and diversity” in the way people gather in the future.
He also sees a change from “parking lot churches” — churches where people drive to gather for worship — to “pedestrian churches,” where people can walk to church.
“People want to walk to church today, just like they want to walk to the grocery store and work,” he says. “People want a neighbourhood sense again. We need to put up a sign in our churches: ‘Walk-ins welcome.’” As for denominations, they will still have a role, he says, but that role will change. “It will be resourcing, not regulating,” he says. The question will be “not what you should do, but what do you need from us?” Some things haven’t changed, Sweet maintains. “The most important thing is to be focused on Christ and his Gospel, to marinate our minds in scripture,” he says. “We need to rediscover a passion for Christ.” Sweet’s presentation in Winnipeg is sponsored by the Synod of Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. this web site google iphone app
For Peter Bush, pastor of Westwood Presbyterian Church and clerk of the synod, Sweet’s visit is important because “he challenges us to think deeply about the new time the church is in and how to be open to the new opportunities around us.” Sweet’s visit is open to all but Bush hopes many Presbyterians will attend.
“We just have to look at what has happened to our church over the past 50 years,” he says, noting that the Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario Synod has lost a third of its members — down to 4,000 people from 6,000, most of them “greying.” “We can’t afford this model of church anymore,” he says.
Sweet will be giving a free presentation Oct. 19, 7:30 p.m. in the Laudamus Auditorium at Canadian Mennonite University, 500 Shaftesbury Blvd. He will also be speaking on Oct. 20, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at CMU; cost for the day is $50 per person.
For more information, or to register, go to www.sweetinwinnipeg.ca or call 837-5706.
Anonymous
“For me it’s the same!” Italian Americans over the last century and a half in the U.S. had the tendency to translate certain Italian expressions literally into English, the other first generation speakers knowing what the intended meaning was. Hence in Italo American communities, depending on region, etc. many of these direct translations have assimilated into common spoken English. You could say “For me it’s the same” where I live and everyone would not only know what you said but not realize that it was not proper English. I myself didn’t realize it until I read this blog entry. Here a common expression would be “For me it’s the same no matter what we do” translating, “I don’t care what we do.”
That is so interesting. I love to get your IA perspective on things like this. I am *so* American, you know!
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I think I finally figured out what I *maybe* used to say instead of “for me it’s the same.” Ready? Same difference. Another weird saying to be sure, but I’m pretty sure that’s what I used to say.
P doesn’t say “chiudere” the TV, so we’re cool there. Of course I’ve also heard Americans say “close the lights” (although not where I’m from) so maybe it’s not that far off for certain areas of America either.
I do a lot of literal translations to myself (you know I don’t actually speak English all that much anymore!) like “It rains on the wet” just because I find them funny, but nothing else is coming to mind right now….
I am pretty sure I get the “chiudere” from my FIL! He is wearing off on me. he he. I said something really odd to my sister on the phone last night, too. I called her and there was static on the line and I said, “It’s not working, the phone.” Instead of “the phone’s not working.” Gah!
michelle of bleeding espresso’s last blog post..love thursday: bringing home the bacon
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These kind of things are fun and helpful
Thanks, Maryann. Glad you enjoy them.
maryann’s last blog post..Dining With Johnny Depp
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It happens all the time. Not only that, but I can hear my friends are also rearranging the verbs, adjectives and nouns in English to fit Italian grammar. I catch myself doing it, too. When writing you can catch it in editing, but in speech, well, the bird small quickly flew above there…
I know. It so funny how our minds somehow confuse one language’s grammar with another language’s vocab. It is fun when you around people who “get that it is funny.”
Judith in Umbria’s last blog post..Giusy Ferrero: hot and new
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I deliberately use *I know my chickens* (from the Italian *conosco i miei polli*) because it makes me laugh and I have older relatives back in Canada that say things like *guarda bene* (for the English *it looks good*) So it really happens both ways.
That is funny. I know it works both ways – I hear P slip up all of the time! And I like knowing my chickens, too…
joanne at frutto della passione’s last blog post..Eurochocolate revisited
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Always such a treat learning another language.
Though not Italian, one of the funniest things I ever witnessed was in French class in High School.
Obviosuly the word *moi*, meaning me, is a fairly easy word, learned on like what the 2nd or 3rd day??
Well, in second year French, we were reading from the textbook and one of my not so astute classmates came to the word *moi* (which is pronouned like *mwah*) and said *moy*.
Yeah, *MOY*???!!!!
We all fell off our chairs laughing. Teacher got soooo mad at him, she kicked him out of class for the rest of the day.
True Story.
Wow. I wonder how he’d say “oui?”
My Mélange’s last blog post..Travel Photo Friday : Greece is the Word
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I too grew up hearing (and using) *close the lights* and *open the TV* from my immigrant grandparents.I always thought it was just that my grandparents were a little odd. Now I know.
He he… seems your grandparents were perfectly normal Calabrians!
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When I am speaking English I throw random Italian words into my conversation without realising. Normally it’s just ‘aspetta’ or ‘cosa’ but still I didn’t mean to say them in Italian…
Sometimes when I am not thinking and I am speaking English I say ‘Shall we take a coffee?’ Because in Italian I often say ‘prendiamo’ This really sounds odd.
That is cute, Leanne. Aspetta is a HUGE one I tell my family all of the time in the states. LOL. Maybe they can learn Italian, too, eh??
Leanne in Italy’s last blog post..Cinema review; Vicky Cristina Barcelona
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Hi Cherrye…I am in Italy now, for the next 10 days…Liguria…I speak such little Italian, but getting by..but forget verbs etc..just try and ask for something..I normally end up talking with my hands..:-)
Welcome to Italy, Anne! Using the hands worked for me for years!! Still does when I am listening in dialect! :0
Anne’s last blog post..Taking a break…….
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So funny!
It happened and still happens to me and my family/relatives here talk like this (translating literally)…Also like Leanne said, throwing in a random Italian word (in an English conversation) every now and then…You don’t even know all the laughs we get listening my aunts talk! I agree with Pat, could be an Italian-American thing…or perhaps just being in Italy far too long, but I definitely think it shows your hard work of learning Italian is paying off by making these blunders… 
Thanks, Carla! Imagine how strange it is for people without a history of Italian language … they seriously think I’m losing my mind!!
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I always heard “close the lights” or “pass the vacuum” growing up from my stepdad who was raised by Italian immigrant parents.
My maternal grandad – English but raised in SE Pennsylvania, had equally unique idioms which I always took for granted.
Like “pass the vaccum” over the floor?? I could *so* see my husband saying that. These bilingual idioms are charming, aren’t they?
jenn’s last blog post..bad bad kittehs
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I butcher French. I used to speak it better as a kid, but lost much going to school.
I’ve butchered the English also. I always mix my metaphors/
Good new is that I amuse those around when I speak either French or English.
Keeping it interesting, at least, Nadine!!
Nadine’s last blog post..Virtual Personal Assistant
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Thanks, that really put a smile on my face
Prego!
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My grandmother says “Close the light!” she’s not even the one from Italy, her parents were!
my sister and I have been making fun of her for years for saying it, now I know its just an Italian thing.
she once said “You just wanna stay your face open” when she meant “You just want to stay awake” too. is that just a blunder on her part or could that have some base in Italian too?
Ha. I’ve never heard you just wanna stay your face open, but it sounds like something that could be translated directly. That is fun. Thanks for sharing!
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[...] Guide to Italian Phrases [...]
I know this post is old, but I HAD to respond!
I’ve been saying “close the this” and “close the that” all my life…..I thought I was the only one! “Come on , close the TV!” still cracks my wife up!!!!
Ha! That’s funny. My friend’s little boy (Irish) asked his mom to “conserve” something for him the other day instead of “putting it up.” Too cute.
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