The Courage to Change

In the past year or two, the world of books and publishing has undergone a seismic shift.  E-readers and iPads are claiming a steadily-growing share of the book market, brick-and-mortar establishments (like Borders) are closing up, and the economy is making it more difficult for new authors to secure publishing contracts.  When you add in the recent announcement by J.K. Rowling that her new Harry Potter e-book material will skip the publishing and bookselling middlemen, things don’t look too bright for the traditional book industry.

Many lament this changing tide in the format and use of the written word.  In the face of any change, grief is a normal experience.  Yet lamentation does not have to be the last word in any period of change.  No one exemplifies this more than Dodocase, a group of artisans in San Francisco who make handmade covers for iPads, Kindles, and Blackberry Playbooks using traditional bookbinding techniques.  In this way, a traditional skill and beautiful craftsmanship are finding new relevance in today’s hi-tech world.

This is a lesson for today’s church to take to heart.  The American church is facing a culture that is less churched than at any time in living memory, and rising generations that are increasingly spiritual, yet decreasingly religious.  Churches are emptying and closing while people are thirsting more than ever for God – because the vessel for the Gospel (the church) is out-of-touch and irrelevant.  The church laments this new reality – but can it do anything else?

Yes, it can:  the church can choose the path of the Dodo – or rather, the Dodocase.  Instead of bemoaning or ignoring the new reality, the church can plunge into the world and find new ways to keep the Gospel fresh for a hungering generation.  Why?  Because while “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8), the Gospel message has to find new vehicles when contexts shift and cultures change.

This means that it is an exciting time for the church:  we are called to find fresh expressions of proclaiming the Gospel and “doing church” for our new day.  Lots of people are in on the conversation – people like Tom Sine, Reggie McNeal, Alan Hirsch, Phyllis Tickle, and many more.  Yet no one is more needed in the conversation than you – the person on the ground, God’s kingdom agent in the midst of our world.  What new and exciting thing have you seen God doing?  How has the Gospel touched some piece of your cultural landscape?  And how has the church made a difference in the world today?  I look forward to your thoughts and stories as we all help each other serve God’s kingdom in a changing world.

In Christ,

Adam