New Questions, New Roles
New Questions, New Roles
Written By: Aaron Manes
Bowling alleys are a funny place to begin this conversation but did you know that pre-COVID bowling alleys were making more money than they have ever made? They were seeing more people come through their doors than ever before. And yet, the amount of people who were a part of bowling leagues is at an all-time low. People still go bowling, just not in leagues.
The cultural fabric of how Americans operate in groups has changed dramatically over the past 70 years, and it will just continue to change. The church is not immune to this change. Scott preached back in April, and he used charts and graphs to talk about how people aren’t attending church like they used to, yet they still describe themselves as spiritual. We are in the midst of what I believe is an awakening. It isn’t just me. You can read authors like Diana Butler-Bass, David Kinnaman, and others who report the same. The work of the Holy Spirit is ongoing and is changing the way people interact with the church.
I believe the roles of spiritual leaders have to change as well. All cultures have always had people who seemed more “spiritual.” That list might include Empaths, Witches, Medicine Men, Healers, Prophets, Priests, Pastors, Mystics, Maharishis, Enlightened Ones, and so on. The “spiritual” people in a community were in a more formal role in their society. So people would come to them for their spiritual interactions. But what seems to be happening now is happening less formally.
The Pew Research Center reports that at least half of people in America say they have had a “religious or mystical” experience. These experiences are often not easily explained. To those familiar with the language of the Enneagram, they are intuited or sensed. The presence of God comes as a feeling for most. It’s like how Carrie Underwood sings, “Jesus take the wheel” You might hear them say, “I felt God with me.”
The language is essential here. People are “feeling” God in their lives instead of attending a formal place of worship to participate in a service. If the research is correct, this will include at least half of you in the room and watching online - you may or may not have told people about an experience you had with God.
In 1950’s America, the assumption was that most everyone identified as some brand of Christianity. Then in 1990, a new category showed up. Forty years ago, about one million Americans reported having no religious affiliation or that they were “done” with the church. The studies aptly named them “nones and dones.”
In the last 40 years, that number went from 1 Million to 70 Million - roughly the population of California and Texas combined. These people are religiously independent. They say they are spiritual but not religious, meaning they aren’t participating in organized religion. They are bowling, just not in a league.
The specific shape that Christianity will be taking in the next decade is already with us; we can already begin to see its contours. Most of what we come to understand as God’s leading in our lives happens in reflection. It happens through experience. We may be attuned enough to know it while it is happening, but for the most part, we understand it after it has already passed us.
It reminds me of Moses tucked into the rock as God passes by. That is a picture of God I like to hold on to. God is caring for Moses; Moses had an encounter with a God that is alive and moving.
In his book, “Unbelievable,” Bishop John Shelby Spong says, “People are no longer compelled by an explanation, but rather they are compelled by an experience.” American Christianity, especially in the post-Billy Graham era, has primarily concerned itself with what someone believes. However, our culture is now more concerned with what someone is becoming.
That is what is unique here. And for me, it comes back to the spiritual roles that I mentioned before. Pastor Blair sent me this cool work that The Sacred Design Lab at Harvard put together, and these are new roles for the church. A list that once looked like this:
Empaths, Witches, Medicine Men, Healers, Prophets, Priests, Pastors, Mystics, Maharishis, Enlightened Ones.
can now begin to look like this:
The Gatherer, The Seer, The Healer, The Steward, The Elder, The Venturer, The Maker
These are different kinds of roles and are accessible for everyone in this room and watching online. These roles aren’t compartmentalized.
They do things like:
Bring people together (Gatherer)
Give us spiritual vision (Seer)
Heal systemic racism and bring in the misfits (Healer)
Use their financial blessings to fund new opportunities (Steward)
Be open-hearted mentors (Elder)
Begin new ministries and outreaches (Venturer)
Imagine new ways to present God to the world (Maker)
These roles may not have the same road maps that the more traditional roles do, but they will have a guide along the way. The Holy Spirit will be leading them.
Click Here to view the work of Harvard’s Sacred Design Lab.