Next-Wave Ezine > church & culture

A Modern Parallel: Culture, the Church and lessons from Detroit
By Sandy McCann

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Today as I listened to, felt and appreciated the power of my GM V-8 engine as I climbed a steep hill near my house, I was overcome with a feeling of sadness for the diminishing state of the American icon, General Motors. I do not claim to be an expert about such events in the business world but I am moved by the sinking sense of loss as I observe the responses bordering on desperation flowing out of Southeastern Michigan and into other areas with automotive ties.

As I thought of this I became suddenly aware that much of what is going on in the world of the North American automotive industry is a hyper speed version of what has been happening over the last few decades as the established denominational churches in North America navigate the same cultural changes.

Watching the increasing focus on survival in both the corporate and UAW camps and the apparent lack of willingness to do a real world assessment of the culture and reconcile to work together is bringing great discomfort. Both sides rely on chosen leaders who want the best for those they lead. Both sides want the company to succeed and they think they have the answer. However the global market of 2006 will never be anything like the past dominance of the big three American brands so a new paradigm is needed to allow the automotive business to emerge into the new global economy.

Reflecting on the apparent desire to avoid change seen in these challenges in the automotive industry, one can understand how painful it is for the organized church in North America with its equally proud heritage to accept similar changes, live the new paradigm, and emerge.

The way local congregations have traditionally cared for their membership could be compared to the unions of the automotive industry. Protected and gathered into community with like minded people, life was good. A look at the drop in union membership over the last 15 years or so should be taken as a symptom of the cultural shifts, a shifting that leaves many people sadly neglected and estranged from what they had put their hope in.

As church leaders strive to keep things the same (often in well-meaning pursuit of God’s direction) amongst the local bodies of believers throughout America that we call church, they are potentially neglecting people who have hearts to be part of God’s purpose. Those people perhaps do not yet carry the “union card” of faith in God, but there also are a great number who have just been “idled” and need to be recalled to the work the Master designed for them.

My personal passion for these “idled workers” was stirred when my two oldest children were “laid off” by a youth group that only desired to assist those who already knew their place on the team. I am trusting God that my now grown kids still have their cards tucked away and that God will help them rediscover them at the right time so that they might rejoin the team. I would like to join God’s movement to facilitate that event.

In a world filled with broken homes, drugs, violence, and so many other hurts it seems that having questions about God should be considered the norm. It does not seem to take much imagination to think that churches should seek those with questions and lead them to the One with all the answers. Jesus welcomed questions. His answers were often posed as questions back to those who had asked. It appears that Jesus led people to seek God in a way that would allow them to find His answer to them personally. Jesus gave colorful answers even though those of His culture living under the law might have felt they wanted black and white. Color is designed by God, and we should seek to embrace it as Jesus did.

Speaking for myself and probably many others of the baby-boomer generation, it’s hard to not want the relative safety of the past we grew up with. Not to deny the flaws in the old ways, but it’s hard for some of us to shake off our wish that North America could return to a time of implicit Christianity in our communities, where people loved and believed in God because those that led them loved and believed in God. Most accepted the process of believe, belong, and behave, because that was just the way it was. This world God designed, however, is about change; how we approach it needs to reflect God. In the past, we bought American cars because we believed in American engineering and American workers. I still do, but I recognize not everyone around me does any longer. Churches like the unions of the past were the right thing for the culture of our past. Are they the right thing for now? Change is hard.

Sandy McCann is a dreamer of things related to the Emergent-Missional church. After accepting Christ as her Lord at the age of 34, she felt a call to action in helping each person to find their unique connection with God through worship and service. Sandy has been married to Roy for 24 years and is a homeschool mom to three of their six children. She has recently begun an Emergent Cohort in her home area of Northwest Arkansas and does an educational outreach for the missional model through her website www.acts-vision.org.

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