Megathemes: Part One-Education

I follow Diana Butler Bass, author of A People's History of Christianity, on Facebook. Today, she posted an article from The Barna Group, "Six Megathemes Emerge from Barna Group Research in 2010," which revealed some things that were observed through a survey that this group conducted over the last year. None of the six "megathemes" were really earth shattering to anyone who has been a part of a congregation anywhere in America in the last five to ten years.

Just so no-one thinks The Barna Group is some fly-by-night organization, let me tell you a bit about them. According to their website, this group was founded by George Barna and

is a private, non-partisan, for-profit organization that conducts primary research, produces media resources pertaining to spiritual development, and facilitates the healthy spiritual growth of leaders, children, families and Christian ministries. (www.barna.org)

This research has been going on since 1984, so these folk have seen a lot.

I found the first sentence of the article very telling: "Change usually happens slowly in the Church." As I finish Dr. Bass's book, I know that this is true. The Church has been slowly evolving (yes, a dangerous word) and changing since it's humble beginnings centuries ago. In the last twenty years, however, changes have come to the Church so fast that they are too much to process. Things that we took at face value have been questioned and shaken. Some might say that this is happening because of the Internet or television or our all-access exposure to all sorts of concepts and views of God that were once whispered but never really discussed. The Church has been playing catch up most of my adult life, and in some ways, I think it's not doing very well to keep up.

The first "megatheme" something I started figuring out when I would talk to my fellow Christians about scripture and they would give me blank looks. At first, this really stunned me. I grew up in a church environment rich with scriptural teaching and exposure. The first story I remember being told was the story of David and Goliath. While I cannot quote scripture precisely (I knew one minister when I was a child who could quote any verse in the Bible. It was a skill that was counted as exceptionally valuable in our denomination. I still feel a pang of guilt that memorization of scripture was not as important to me as I was taught it should be.), I know the stories, the people, the history, and the thematics of scripture. Many Christians, especially those of my generation (the article refers to us as Busters), however, do not. The article says something in regards to this weakness:

As the two younger generations (Busters and Mosaics) ascend to numerical and positional supremacy in churches across the nation, the data suggest that biblical literacy is likely to decline significantly. The theological free-for-all that is encroaching in Protestant churches nationwide suggests the coming decade will be a time of unparalleled theological diversity and inconsistency.

I agree and disagree with this observation. Biblical literacy is most likely to decline significantly, and yes, it will bleed down to many Mosaics (generation born 1984-2002) because Biblical and theological education is not pursued in many local churches. I know of some churches that have almost completely abandoned Sunday school. Many Christians not only have no Biblical education but also have no idea about the history of the Church.  With the decline of Biblical literacy, I can see people depending more and more on those who are considered educated to deliver and interpret the information of the scripture. In a sense, we are coming full circle back to the Christianity of the Middle Ages where the very few shared the scripture with the very many who could not read. Ladies and gentlemen, we are voluntarily walking into a very dangerous place. As far as the "theological free-for-all" I'm not sure that will happen on a congregational level except amongst those who actually have education. How can one argue theology if one has no idea what theology is or what one's theology might consist of? I'm not saying that most Christians are stupid--that's not it at all. I'm just saying that one cannot argue what one does not know.

I do agree that the next decade is going to be a time of "theological diversity." I already see that in our churches and outside our churches amongst those who have rejected the church but not the faith or God. We are looking for new ways to see and know God. Some of us have and will run to scriptures and, hopefully, contemplate the words and the truths that undergird the words. Some of us will see the things that connect our faiths with the faiths of others. Some of us will want to redefine and respeak their faith. As far as the "inconsistencies," I'm not so sure that there haven't always been inconsistencies. This is where things like denominations rise. Whether we like it or not, people have all sorts of views of how to relate to God. Education will not pull us all into some sort of theological line where we are all made of the same cookie dough and spout the same platitude about God. Education will allow us to be strong and make our decisions about God, our personal relationship with God, our relationship to the rest of the Christian community,  and the communities we live in. Education beget personal theology which, hopefully, reflects the faith walk of the individual.
 

Part two will discuss out-reach and how the church seems to be less about out-reach and more about other things.

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus: First Sunday of Advent

Lectionary Readings


Isaiah 2:2  In days to come the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it.
Psalm 122: 8   For the sake of my relatives and friends I will say, "Peace be within you."
Matthew 24:44  Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.


And So...We Wait

Tomorrow begins my favorite season in the Christian calendar. For some reason, Advent turns me into a small child all over again. I always find my love of Advent rather ironic. I was raised Southern Baptist. We always had a Christmas play, Christmas choir service, Christmas parties, and Watch Night Services (this is where you sit up all night and pray and sing). We did not light candles, have an Advent wreath or even say the word Advent. I didn't learn about Advent till I became Methodist as a teen. The candles captivated me. The prayers and singing captivated me. It was, and still is, a moment of supreme happiness for me.

The word "advent" comes from the Latin word adventus, which means to come. It is a time many view as a preparation not only for the coming of the Christ Child, but also the second coming of Jesus the Messiah. This second meaning is not an idea I'd contemplated much till now. I've always seen Advent in terms of the Christ Child. The scriptures for tomorrow, however, focus strongly on the second coming.

Expecting Jesus

It seems funny. Humans have spent a lot of their time here on Earth expecting Messiah in some form or other. The Hebrew people predicted Him early on. Look at the scripture from Isaiah. He tells of a leader who will come and people will stream to Him. If we read the entire scripture for tomorrow from Isaiah, the prophet describes this leader as a man who shall  

judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. (Isaiah 2:4)

I find this scripture interesting because by the time Jesus was born, the People of Israel seem to have forgotten this part of the prophecy. They awaited a Messiah who would lead them in war against Rome. Here, though, Isaiah indicates that peace shall reign under this king. He is not exactly what people think of as king, but then God never offers us the expected.

Jesus was unexpected. He was nothing like what His people wanted, but everything they needed. He attempted to re-teach what it meant to be with God. It's too bad they weren't ready for Him. I'm not sure we're really ready for Him now, two thousand years later.

He's Coming Again

This is where I may get into trouble. The scriptures in the Lectionary this week focus on the Second Coming of Christ. I was raised Southern Baptist, so that phrase has very strong, specific meaning. It conjures up visions of God on His throne telling people to go to hell. It's a time of fearfulness. Many people spend their lives waiting for this moment, predicting this moment, and thinking that this moment is the crux of our faith. Lots of us grew up afraid that we would be the goats instead of the lambs. What's interesting about the scripture in Matthew is that it basically we don't know when He is coming back, but we need to be ready. There are lots of interpretations about "be ready."

I am not really ready to embrace the fearful approach to this. I know a lot of people who skitter around in fear over this moment. I used to do this too. As I read this scripture tonight, and contemplate what it is trying to say, I have to admit, I feel a bit skittery about it too. I almost decided not to use it because of that feeling. Then it hit me--when we celebrate Advent, we are awaiting the Christ Child. We aren't afraid of Him. He brings salvation.

The One we await today--post resurrection--is the same Christ Child. He brings salvation, reconnection and love to us all. He is our Messiah. He teaches us to see God as He is, and to know that God sees us as we are. Matthew's "be ready" may well mean for our hearts to be open to the possibilities that the Christ Child is offering us as He returns.

As Charles Wesley says (and we sing [though not often enough]):

Come, thou long expected Jesus, 
 born to set thy people free; 
 from our fears and sins release us, 
 let us find our rest in thee. 

As we anticipate our Christ Child, let us contemplate and remember why He is coming (and why He is coming again). 

 

Rebirth and Prophecy

Beginnings...Again
Just so no one thinks this--I have not decided that I'm reincarnated nor that I am now to be called the Prophetess. This is the third incarnation of my blog Shekinah or Shekinah Blessing on Wordpress. I started this blog back in April, on Posterous,  as a way to contemplate, discuss, and examine the spiritual journey I am on currently and, hopefully, in the future. When I moved to Wordpress, I did so with the idea that I would be able to have a more attractive blog. Then I stopped writing for a while, mostly because I needed to regroup and life took over. I decided to move here to Blogger because I have forgotten my password for my Wordpress account, and Wordpress only recognizes my information for a blog I ran a few years ago. Very frustrating, but not life ending. In a way, this rebirth is allowing me to really think about what I want to do with this blog.

The Future
The goal for this blog is pretty straightforward. I want to share my journey, my doubts and fears, my questions and musings about God, the Higher Power, Jesus, Mother God, Father God, and the Holy Spirit. I want to look at everyday living and things that really make me go, "Huh." I want to try and see glimpses of what the unfiltered God. I also want to share all of this with you, my friends, family, and anyone else out there who wants to go to the brink and gaze over the side with me, just to see what I see. 

Like I said when I started Shekinah back in April, I am not a minister, theologian, or anyone who holds any authority. I am a lay person with theological and philosophical questions. I read the Bible (not as much as I should), I walk in the real world (like all of us), and I read and listen to many different voices (God speaks in many voices and many ways to me). I also pray. A lot. I know that Paul was right when he said, "We see through a glass darkly..." but I also know that even in this state, we have a chance to see and be with the unfiltered God, and I hope that this blog, my journey will help me and you, valued reader, share those glimpse and rejoice.

Plan
Right now there is no exact plan and no precise schedule for this blog. I have some vague idea that I am going to try and post three times a week. This will allow me to do all the things I usually do plus plan and post for this blog.

My topics will cycle around spiritual things and ideas that are going on in my mind and heart. I will warn you I bump around a bit so there may be posts about scripture and then posts about philosophy. There will definitely be links to things I think are interesting as relates to God and man.

Just So Readers Are Warned
Because this is a blog about spiritual journey and questioning, there is no doubt that something I write or muse over will offend someone. Those of you close to me know that my beliefs (especially right now) are going in a lot of directions. I know that some readers will either not agree (perfectly ok by me), or just be offended. Once again, those of you who are close to me understand that I tend to be straightforward and as honest and open as possible. Discussion of and expression of disagreement is encouraged. Hostility and nastiness because you are upset is not.

People who are blazing for a fight, need to understand that if I review posts and they are inflammatory and not conducive to open and honest discussion, those posts will be eliminated from my blog. It's not that I am censoring, but this blog is intended as a place for safe and well-spoken thought, not for the latest and greatest flame war. There are other places people go for that kind of online sport. If I, or others offend you greatly, understand--there are many, many other blogs that may be a better fit for your and your spiritual beliefs.