Bytes to Bits

UCC Crest

I was recently at the Annual Gathering of the Conference of Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario. And, as is the wont of our collective gatherings, there was lots of theological reflection, Polity & Process! One very exciting item has been reconsidering the length of the Conference’s name – we sure have a propensity for words … okay, so I am digressing …

So, I mentioned Polity & Process, right? So this wee reflection comes from that moment of three days with 300+ people piled into an arena in Morden. We were discussing a Proposal to direct General Council – the national body of the church – to consider how to address blogging for Ministry Personnel. Now, I need to be honest here, I am not a fan of any attempt – well it feels like that to me – to police technology. The blogging is not the issue, the reality is it is the choices one makes when putting pen to paper, or in this case byte to binary. But this is also a tangent …

So, what really struck me was the response that I heard from several high school students who supported the Proposal! WHAT!!! I know, I know … I was struck with the need to stop and think … usually a better response owing to my personality type, the knee-jerk thing can indeed come back and kick you – trust me!

Okay, so I calmed myself, did some centring, went and shared some space with a friend, who kindly endured me, and did some debriefing … so here’s some of what struck me …

A lot of the generational stuff that Emerging Spirit has been working with parallels (in rough strokes) those up to the Baby Boomers with those of us since (late BBers, Gen X & Y …). And often the distinctions revolve around – for lack of better terms – binaries: i.e. save <-> spend, group <-> individual, place <-> journey. The generational data, of course, are tools, but ones that I have found helpful both in my own leadership/self-knowing and my ministry. So what to do with this anomaly of younger people supporting the apparent policing of technology?

Well, of course, it’s not an anomaly. I suspect this is a new generational distinction that must be understood. In other words, we need to begin to not just understand the Emerging Spirit demographic, but those who are following. And what clearly seems different to me, is the sense of affirming authority. Now I am no anarchist, generally speaking, but I admit to a VERY healthy sense of cynicism and doubt when it comes to institutional authority (I literally have read 1984, by George Orwell, into the ground).

What I am struck by is the post-9/11 world/generation where there has been a drift to accept, perhaps even want, the state, the group, the mucky-mucks to ensure our safety. The world of fear is going to be a new filter for the church as this generation comes to age. As much as the Emerging Spirit data has allowed me to understand those who have come before, I realise I really need to understand those who are following me. Just as my language may possess the same intent as someone who experienced the ’30s Dust Bowl – for instance ‘testifying’ and ‘selling the message,’ are clearly different words that both speak to the desire to passionately share why this Christian thing is important, I and we are going to have to do the same intentional work from now on for those in the ‘post-Emerging Spirit generations’ of 30 and under if we want to ensure our message, our evangelising, our branding is relevant.

So, now I have put some bytes to bits, if I have offended anyone, please do refer to the Ethical Standards and Standards of Practice for Ministry Personnel and let me know if I need to dust of my copy of The Manual … and if you are simply intrigued, disagree or want to share some digital words, well that would be just swell!