10/06/08
A Lesson From Joe Biden and Sarah Palin
The Vice Presidential debate was, without a doubt, an engaging affair. On the right stood the young (by political standards) woman from a small, remote town in the Northwest, her speech softly inflected with a twang, her experience in politics counted in months. On the left stood the grey haired man from the metropolitan Northeast, his speech smooth and measured, his decades of Washington experience hanging like a badge from his lapel.
And after the hour and a half debate I felt drawn to both. Despite their contrasting personalities each candidate was able to cut across boundaries to speak to Americans with a variety of different backgrounds and situations.
It just so happened that on the day of the debate I received mailings for two different conferences. Without mentioning a word about age or demographics in their publications, their target audiences were painfully obvious. The one conference featured a sweeping glossy photo of brightly smeared paints – inside, photos of twenty and thirty something hipster speakers filled the panels; the other’s cover featured a stately picture of an elderly pastor, hands folded reverently – inside, the schedule and paragraph upon paragraph explaining the various plenary sessions filled the panels.
It isn’t often that we can turn to politics to learn something, but the debate last night reminded me of a simple truth we all too often forget in our churches: the church is not a business. We should not narrow our ministry to a target demographic. As shepherds we must cultivate the ability to speak across generational and demographic boundaries. Like Palin and Biden we come from a variety of backgrounds and will naturally pull those similar to ourselves into our ministries. But we must be able to speak outside that narrow audience.
We must do so first because we are called on earth to reflect the heavenly bride of Christ: a gathered multitude of every tribe and tongue praising God. Now, will our churches ever reflect this bride perfectly? Of course not. But it is still our calling to be a church that reflects this heavenly picture as best we can on this earth. Such a picture – young and old, Asian and Latino, rich and poor – this will make an enormous impact on your ability to influence and speak into your communities.
We must do so second because it serves those in our churches better. The elderly are empowered to mentor the young, our understanding of God is expanded and enriched through a broader cultural engagement, the rich are connected in meaningful relationships with poor – the call to care for “the least of these” is given a face.
So cultivate the ability to communicate outside of your niche. Expand your local church’s vision of the kingdom of God and the possibilities within your doors to reflect that wonderfully diverse kingdom.
Comments
Right on! (OK, I just dated myself!) I agree, we need the church to represent the same demographic as the world, otherwise we become irrelevant to a portion of the world, and in the process build in blind spots. Almost every “monogenerational” church (or any monocultural church) I have had contact with suffered one of two extremes. The young monoculture was easily drawn into heresy and dissension because they lack the wisdom of the old. The old monoculture eventually dies on the vine because it never gets new members and has not the insight (if it even has the desire) to reach those outside.
Anytime we segregate ourselves behind the church doors we will diminish our effectiveness in reaching the world, ministering to those inside the church, and discipling for spiritual growth.
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