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Commentary
GEN-X RISING: Want to be relevant? Try being authentic Jeff Conklin-Miller, Aug 28, 2007
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Jeff Conklin-Miller
By Jeff Conklin-Miller Special Contributor
Editor’s note: Mr. Conklin-Miller is filling in for Andrew Thompson, who is on a short sabbatical.
I recently told a wonderful older woman in our church, “We ought to fix up this narthex so that it looks and feels like a Starbucks.” I can only imagine what she thought of her new 30-year-old pastor.
“We could put the cushy chairs here and the espresso machine right there,” I continued. Her tilted head and narrowed eyes told me she didn’t get it. It didn’t happen.
There goes another example, you might say, of a United Methodist church stepping up to the edge of hipness and backing down instead to the status quo.
The issue is relevance. And it’s played out in countless articles, blog posts and conversations (usually at Starbucks) among young people who feel “the church doesn’t speak my language.” Sadly, many of them are seeking that connection elsewhere.
This is what leads pastors like me to think about remodeling the narthex.
Church growth is a popular topic. We all want to grow, but how badly does the UMC want to grow the numbers of younger people, Gen-X’ers like ourselves?
If you want to reach younger people you have to know their ways and speak their language. You have to be relevant.
But my fear is that as we seek to speak in a language Gen-X’ers understand, we will end up serving the marketplace instead of Jesus. Instead of offering a way of life that finds meaning in serving, we offer a product to fulfill individual desires.
That’s what niche marketing is all about: tapping into the desires of small groups of people. It’s why we think seriously now about the specific needs of men and women, children and youth, and younger generations.
I’m not saying we shouldn’t care about relevance. But I’m concerned that it becomes only a means to an end, a strategy for market domination.
It’s easy to forget the simple truth that the church is still what it was at the beginning: a holy people, following Jesus in worship, prayer and service.
Before remodeling to look like Starbucks or finding a drummer who rocks the house, we should focus on worshipping God and following Jesus. Rather than solely strategizing to reach a new generation, we should be concerned about whether the church can demonstrate that it’s worth following Jesus today.
Instead of focusing on relevance, we should strive for authenticity.
You know when something’s real and when it’s not. That’s why, strangely enough, the most relevant thing the church can do is to keep doing what we are already doing. We worship God. We eat together. We pray for the world. We reach out in service and love.
When we are authentic, speaking the language of our culture comes naturally. Learning generational needs is no longer a strategy for growth but a natural step in living out the gospel.
You can install the espresso bar and hire the barista, but you can’t fake love. When it comes to authenticity, you either are or you aren’t. In a consumer culture saturated by the market’s empty promises, there’s nothing more significant than a voice saying something real. Nothing is more relevant than that which is authentic.
If we seek authenticity over relevance, there’s no guarantee more Gen-X’ers will show up at church, or that we’ll stop membership decline or churches from closing. But we might be able to keep our focus straight.
If we look for a reason to hope for the church’s future, this at least is a place to start.
The Rev. Conklin-Miller is an ordained elder who served churches in the California-Pacific Annual Conference for 11 years. He is now a student at Duke Divinity School.
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