(HT: Bob Roberts)
Hi friends, the above video (link) shows an awesome presentation that describes the current rate of growth in the world as measured by certain metrics. It is a Brave New World indeed. I doubt that Aldous Huxley would have envisioned that growth in the world would happen at an exponential rate. Futurism tends to extrapolate current reality in a linear fashion.
When faced with an exponentially growing world, we must ensure that our message and our walk (theory and praxis) also grow exponentially. How often do we convey a message in linear terms to an audience that is embracing accelerating flux and change? If we do this, then we run the risk of appearing like those futurist representations of “the future” that we saw when we were kids…… only to find that reality looks nothing like what was projected.
When trying to reach people with a message of a coming Kingdom of justice, peace, hope, love, and goodwill, it must become an imperative that we change the way in which our message is communicated to match the context into which it is being projected. Often a mismatch will occur when we are preaching a message that seems like yesterday’s news to many – not because the message is old, but because there is an incongruance with the context or “worldview” within which it is articulated.
How about you? What are the areas that we need to be innovating in order that our message of “the Kingdom of God is at hand” matches this brave new world of growth at break-neck speeds? Discuss.
Technorati Tags: Futurism, Aldous Huxley, Growth, Kingdom, message
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So is the church “ready” for what people’s souls are looking for on Facebook & the “information” they are gooogling for?
@Amelia: I really do not think so. Even in our streams of Charismatic Christianity much of the language that we speak is inherently alien to many of the people who hear it. BTW, I was listening to a really good lecture by Professor Chip Heath (http://www.madetostick.com)on how some stories and messages “stick” and stand the test of time – even though they may be urban legends. He suggests the acronym SUCCESS (Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional Stories) as the ingredients. Much to think of as we apply this to the church and its mission. Much of the church’s mission has become “unstuck” in recent decades. We need to return to the core message.
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