"This is the age of transparency and accountability." I don't remember who said it, but it struck me as important enough to write it down so I could reflect on those words. This definition of our new age presents some interesting challenges.
As a consultant and marketing professional I try to understand organizations and what makes them tick. When I look specifically at the church several questions and thoughts arise. What does it mean for us to live in an age of transparency and accountability? How transparent are we? Who holds us accountable?
Transparency
At times church members challenge me when I talk about 'marketing'. There are many who believe our message will somehow magically be shared, so we shouldn't buy into the secular world of advertising and promotion. Often the fear is that we will be seen to be manipulating and that isn't comfortable if we are people of integrity.
My concern is that we seldom state what we really believe. It's called transparency. What do we share openly about our beliefs in God, Jesus, and the Bible?
As many of us have grown and our faith has evolved, our understanding of God and the stories of the Bible have changed. Do we feel comfortable letting others know what we actually believe and what we still question?
How transparent are we about how we use our money? Do we find ways to increase financial givings by manipulating the message, or are we encouraging people to make a shift in thinking?
How do we use the word Stewardship? Is it just a cover up for fund raising, or is really about sharing the gifts we have and protecting our resources for future generations?
Accountable
Perhaps those who are not attending church are holding us accountable! How does the community outside of the church perceive us?
The demographics of our congregations are changing - many congregations are missing the baby boomers (38-55 year-olds), Generation X (26-37), and Generation Y (14-25). I recently read an article that highlighted some of the characteristics of the X and Y generations, and it connected for me.
The Gen Xers of our population grew up in a time when the divorce rate was at its highest and the hole in the ozone layer had just been discovered. We were finding lead in our water, Aids became an epidemic, and there was a growing sense of helplessness. These are the children of the hippie generation and they expected that they would love, have sex, have great jobs, and make lots of money.
We all remember the recession times in the late 80's. The dreams of many of these people died. They could no longer trust everything they had known.
The Generation Y cohort has been born into a boom time. They have had more parental attention than probably any previous generation - they are optimists. They know what's happening in the world and they are high achievers.
Your Congregations
When you look around your congregation, which of these groups is missing? Maybe it's time to explore why. Are we not being accountable to them by meeting their needs? Are we not transparent enough to meet their ethical standards?
We have to begin by being honest with ourselves and our communities about our faith and our relationship with God. Then we have to do like Jesus and share that message in ways that truly communicate with the generations that are missing from our churches.
This is a challenge to really explore our faith as individuals and to ensure the life we live models that faith.
Joyce Madsen is a member of the staff team at the Congregational Life Centre.
Congregational Life Newsletter. November 2004. Vol. 11 No. 2.