THE CHURCH

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THE CHURCH
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THE CHURCH FROM BELOW

• The Church is a natural community
• It fulfills many socialization needs
• There is recognizable fellowship in the Church
• There is a sense of community which is
  foundational (not a luxury, but a necessity)

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THE CHURCH FROM BELOW

• The Church is a political community
• There are socially ordered relationships and
  patterns of authority and decision-making
• It is not a question of whether politics will
  exist in the Church rather, it is only a
  question of the quality of the politics
• Ol Boy networks often are alive and well. This
  is not entirely negative, but can have some
  negative considerations
• There are positive considerations as well

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SENIORS

• Birth Years before 1926
• Formative Factors
• World War I
• Great Depression
• Serious about faith, close relationship with God
• Appreciate stability
• Close family ties
• Rooted in community
• Generation least affected by stress
• Actively engaged in church, volunteer activities
• Part of the Greatest Generation

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BUILDERS

• Birth Years 1927-1945
• Formative Factors
• Great Depression
• World War II
• Cold War
• Appreciate stability
• Family, Community, Friends, Employment
• Not open to change- prefer predictability
• Emphasis on Duty, Obligation
• Part of the Greatest Generation
• Satisfaction found in simple things

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BOOMERS

• Birth Years 1946-1964
• Formative Factors
• Cold War
• 60s Counter-Cultural Movement
• Vietnam
• Question authority (the establishment)
• Uncertain of the relevance of the church
• Curious mixture of laissez faire and
  utilitarianism
• Search for Excellence in all of life

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BUSTERS

• Birth Years 1965-1983
• Formative Factors
• Watergate
• Vietnam Syndrome
• Inflation, Unemployment
• Age of limitations
• Question authority (Boomers are Establishment
  now!)
• First generation not to have it better
• Interested in process of growth, embrace change
• Disenchanted with superficial stuff- even in
  church!
• Interested in relationships, involvement
• Want options, not directions
• Feel abandoned, are disillusioned

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MOSAICS/MILLENNIALS

• Birth Years 1984-2002
• Formative Factors
• End of Cold War
• MTV Age/Clinton Presidency
• Desert Storm
• The Digital Generation (non-linear thinking)
• High Levels of Stress/Anxiety
• Self-Reliant- and Skeptical!
• Interest in spirituality
• Believe in the Bible- but not in absolute truth!
• Brighter than previous generations (IQ)
• Relationships more important than achievement

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GENERATIONAL VALUE SYSTEMS

• Key Factors in Generational Identity, per Strauss
  and Howe, The Fourth Turning, An American
  Prophecy
• A Common Location in History
• Common Beliefs
• Perceived Membership in a common generation

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GENERATIONAL VALUE SYSTEMS

• The major generational watershed, as far as
  religious beliefs and practices are concerned, is
  between those who in our research we call
  Pre-boomers (born prior to 1946) and those who
  have come after. Although Boomers (born
  1946-1964) and Xers (born 1965-1979) differ in
  some respects, they are much more like each other
  than like Pre-boomers. Jackson Caroll, Circuit
  Rider, 225

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GENERATIONAL VALUE SYSTEMS

• G.I. Generation Value Cohort (pre-1946)
• Consumer Generation Value Cohort (post 1946)
• Deferred Pleasure vs. Instant Gratification
• Group vs. Individual Orientation
• Assumptions of Sameness vs. Difference
• Spirituality of Place vs. Spirituality of
  Pilgrimage
• Results Bimodal Congregations, Gil Rendle, The
  Multigenerational Congregation

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CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS

• Currently, 75 of Americans are Caucasian
• By 2050, only 50 of Americans will be Caucasian
• The Hispanic population has overtaken
  African-Americans as the largest minority
  population
• In some areas of the country (e.g., parts of
  California), there is no longer a majority
  population
• Racial and Ethnic diversity- a fact of life
• 15-20 of population moves every year

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CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS
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CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS

• Contemporary American Beliefs
• God helps those who help themselves, 81
• All religions teach equally valid truths, 40
• All people pray to the same G/god, 53
• If you do enough good, you will go to heaven, 55
• Jesus was not resurrected physically, 40
• The Bible is not completely true in all it
  teaches, 34
• The primary purpose of life is enjoyment, 58
• Satan is not real, only a symbol of evil, 60
• Whatever works is the only truth you can know,
  32gt

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THE CHURCH FROM BELOW

• A community of common language meanings,
  priorities, and values. This becomes conventional
  for the In-Group
• A community of Interpretation
• Common meanings
• The difficulty of translation
• A community of memory and understanding
• Characterized by an inner continuity and empathy
  among persons who have understood and relived the
  same events. It has a shared story.

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THE CHURCH FROM BELOW

• The Church is a community of action and belief
  it espouses a mission or a purpose which can be
  expressed in many forms of action
• Evangelism
• Education
• Edification
• Worship

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THE CHURCH FROM BELOW

• A sociological description of church the church
  is a body of persons who share some measure of
  common life, values, meaning, and loyalty. It has
  an historical continuity, identifiable by certain
  beliefs, ways of work, rites, outlooks, and
  feelings. It may be more But it is at least the
  above.

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THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD

• The First Church Orthodox Churches, the Roman
  Catholic Church Protestant churches in Eastern
  Europe, Greece, Middle East, Ethiopia, South
  India
• The culture tolerates Christianity at best in
  some instances, governments are openly
  antagonistic
• There is a certain reliance on the spiritual
  legacy of what has gone before. In some
  instances, this substitutes for vital
  Christianity
• There are examples (e.g., Poland, Russia) of a
  renewal of traditional Christian churches.

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THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD

• The Second Church Western Europe, USA, Canada,
  Australia
• The second church is undergoing a time of
  serious crisis
• Malaise and apathy
• Ground for renewal (Pentecostalism, evangelical
  churches)
• The effect of materialism
• Breakdown in commitment
• Yet, a renewed interest in spirituality among
  young people

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THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD

• The Third Church Central and South
  America, Africa, Asia
• A developing church, characterized by youth and
  activity
• In the stage of early commitment
• A simplicity and integrity to it
• A church of the poor
• Many forms of lay leadership prominent
• New relationships with the second church
• Legacy of Liberation Theology remains
• Pentecostalism is quite prominent

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THE CHURCH CULTURE

• Christ Against Culture
• Christ opposed to culture, either-or (Tertullian)
• The Christ of Culture
• Agreement, guiding civilization (Lib.
  Protestants)
• Christ Above Culture
• Synthetic (Aquinas)- affirming, transcending
• Christ and Culture in Paradox
• Duality, both obeyed (Luther)
• Christ Transforming Culture
• Antithesis, yes, but Christ converts men and
  cultures (Calvin)

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THE CHURCH