For the Joy of the Journey

Continuing the Sharing Good News series, today is a post from Pete Enns’ blog by Aaron Bjerke. I found it to be informative and challenging as I think about the audience for Good News in our culture today.

“Searchers”: The Ignored Demographic of Spiritual Secularists 

Throughout my pastoral experience over the past decade, I’ve noticed a new demographic emerging through questions that I’ve been asked by other congregants. There is a growing sub-demographic in the secular population that is searching for a spiritual experience, and it hasn’t received a lot of attention from the church. Whether it’s feeling stressed at work, increasingly dissatisfied with a relationship or money, postmodern Americans are increasingly seeking a spiritual remedy.In 2017, the meditation market (as it has been called) was a $1.2 billion industry in the U.S. Some project it will be worth over $2 billion by 2022. This growing trend is everywhere. For example, meditation rooms are the hottest new work perk, and CEOs are personally seeking out a practice of meditation in order to become better leaders. One observation is that the meditation movement is where the yoga movement was in the mid-90s, which means the ceiling for the meditation market is still miles high.The meditation market represents a spectrum of practices—such as mindfulness, transcendental meditation, or various forms of Buddhism—and promises an experience of peace, productivity, happiness, etc. This is done by taking back control of the mind and taming it. Consumers of these practices are generally not “skeptics”—the Richard Dawkins of the world who are hostile toward spirituality—nor are they “seekers” who are exploring the Christian faith and dialoguing with other Christians. These two groups have been engaged with success through various evangelism programs. Rather, those in the meditation market are what I’m calling “searchers”: seculars searching for a spiritual experience. 

Is it true? Vs Does it work?

This difference comes down to Modernism and Postmodernism. Modernism attempts to construct a coherent worldview through the pursuit of an absolute truth. The Church’s response was to make a fact-based case for Christianity—e.g., eight reasons why Jesus was historically real, five reasons why the resurrection is true, etc.Postmodernism, on the other hand, is marked by relativism and individualism, which has produced a culture defined by the phrase “you do you.” The value proposition for a Postmodern person is whether or not something works. “What works for me works for me, leave me alone.” This is where searchers reside, and they are not initially looking for a 200-page book of claims or a bulletproof sermon. They would rather taste and see whether what is offered is good.In other words, the modernist asks the question “Is it true?” whereas the postmodernist asks, “Does it work?” And if it works, then for the postmodernist, it is true–because truth is found in something that works. This is not to say that facts do not matter to the postmodernist. But the searcher says, “If something gives me peace, relieves my stress, gives me satisfaction, or provides a feeling of transcendence, then it works, and it surely must be true.” This is the story I’ve heard when Ivy League-educated lawyers in New York convert to Buddhism—it gives them an experience of peace. 

Re-imagining Ministry

The church must respect the searcher posture if it’s going to make any missional inroads into today’s culture, and the Bible gives us a picture to consider. In John 4, Jesus first told with the woman at the well “I work.” He said “I know you’re thirsty. I’ll quench your thirst forever.” It’s only after that that he has a theological conversation about mountains and her sin. He interacted with what she wanted to satisfy most—her thirst—and showed her that he works.What is it for the church to take a “Does it work?” approach to ministry? It means we must consider how we can help others experience God in non-modernist ways. The Bible and prayer give great opportunities for such a mission.Regarding the Bible, the skeptic/seeker approach (modernist approach) would seek to show that the Bible is presenting facts: spiritually, historically, and scientifically. The searcher’s approach is more reflective in nature, asking questions such as “What does this mean?” This question points to the importance of story, because what drives a story is meaning—“What’s the point?” And, if it’s true that the best stories always win, then a ministry approach for searchers does the hard and important work of learning how, as the hymn says, to re-“tell me the old, old story, of unseen things above, of Jesus and his glory, of Jesus and his love” in a way that is less about facts and more through the lens of the story of the power of Jesus in one’s life. For what could be more powerful than quenching your thirst forever?Regarding prayer, the claim of Jesus working in one’s life is not the prosperity gospel: follow Jesus and your life turns around. Rather, it’s saying that even if your life doesn’t turn around you can still have peace and joy amidst the chaos and unmet expectations, which is exactly one of the promises in the meditation market: peace in a chaotic life. Except unlike meditation, which is a form of control (and any therapist worth his or her weight knows the problem emotion of control is anxiety), the path of Jesus is one of prayer. This is significant because when you pray, you learn that God is in control—not yourself. Therefore prayer is not a posture of control but a posture of surrender, and it is that posture of surrender that the church needs to introduce to searchers. Up to this point, this demographic has largely been ignored by the American church. Like the woman John 4 who told her friends “come and see” the one who told me everything about myself, the church too must decide to strive to introduce and show searchers the same claim that Jesus revealed of himself at the well: I work.

Aaron Bjerke is planting a church in NYC out of Redeemer Presbyterian Church. Having been an Assistant Pastor there for seven years, he is excited to see a new expression of the gospel take root in the city for those searching for a spiritual experience. Originally from Minnesota, he lives with his wife, Erica, and two kids in Manhattan. Visit his church at www.TheWellNYC.life

This post is a continuation of thoughts and questions regarding evangelism. If you have not read my previous posts you do so HERE and HERE.

Although not directly mentioned in my initial post, I am of the opinion that our view of salvation will significantly influence why and how we share good news. The subject of salvation arose from a 2008 post, shared In part below:

Written By Jason Zahariades,  the post is related to his journey and its path to Eastern Orthodoxy .You might enjoy reading the entire post. The excerpt below relates to salvation, thus the connection my post today. Jason first describes the judicial view of salvation which is has been my prevailing belief about salvation for most of my life.

For most of my Christian life as a western Evangelical, I lived and operated under the judicial view of salvation that is common to western Christianity. In addition, I had fully embraced the reduced popular version that one hears in many witnessing opportunities. It goes something like this:

“God loves you and has created you for a wonderful purpose. However, humanity rebelled against God and therefore all people are born and live under the guilt of sin, compounded by their own disobedience. We are all guilty of breaking God’s Law and because the wages of sin is death, every human being is condemned to die. But because God loves you so much, he sent his son to die on your behalf. On the cross, Jesus took upon himself the wrath and judgment reserved for you. So if you accept Jesus’ gift simply by believing it in faith, you are forgiven of your of guilt and God now views you with Jesus’ righteousness.”

Or to reduce it further into how most western evangelicals think, salvation means we’re forgiven of all of our sins and as a result, we will go to heaven when we die. This viewpoint focuses primarily on the individual and treats salvation as an event and a commodity regardless of the actual state of one’s life.

Jason then describes salvation as he has come to understand it as a result of his theological reconstruction.

Salvation is the process of restoration to what humans were created to be. Rather than sin being the breaking of God’s Law, the root of sin is the movement from being to non-being. Sin is the distortion of our humanity, of who we are supposed to be as God’s image on earth. Rather than being truly human, sin makes us subhuman. So the problem of sin is much deadlier and sinister than mere guilt or disobedience. It is the warping, distortion and brokenness of who we are as human beings. It is the full corruption of my mind, heart, body, soul and relationships. In this light, I don’t just need to be forgiven. I need to be healed. I don’t just need assurance of admittance into heaven in the future. I need assurance that who I am in the present is being transformed out of my desperate and destructive subhuman existence and into the image and likeness of God as I was divinely intended to live.
So salvation isn’t primarily about guilt and forgiveness. It’s about brokenness and healing. It’s about delusion and illumination. It’s about distortion and transformation. It’s about death and life in the here and now. As a follower of Jesus, I truly cannot say, “I am saved.” I can only say, “I am being saved.”
Christ’s crucifixion has conquered evil, destroyed death, reconciled creation, redeemed the human nature, and released God’s forgiveness. In other words, Jesus has made God’s salvation completely available to all people. But as St Paul exhorts the Philippians, “work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Salvation is something that is worked out progressively with God.

(From my original post): As is usually the case, I am much clearer about where I’ve come from than where I am going. Jason’s understandings are deeper than I have delved before but they reflect a direction in which my thinking is moving. I am confident that salvation is more than just having assurance of eternal life in heaven. What we believe about salvation has profound implications on our understanding of God and our relationship with him as well as how we live out our daily lives in the Kingdom of God ..and how we share that news with the world around us.

It is not my intention to lapse into discussion about the views of salvation Jason presents, though a conversation would  be in order. What struck me, as I re-read,  was the potential implications to how and why we share good news. Each perspective has potential to shape our message. As Jason describes the western Christian view, I cclearly hear the echoes of disenchantment. His Eastern Orthodox view embraces enchantment and tickles my progressive tendencies. 

Thinking on this produces several challenges for me, and, any others so disposed:

1. Re-examine presuppositions and understandings of salvation. ( I suggest writing them out) I understand this is no small matter, but neither is sharing good news.
2. Submit all presuppositions and understanding to critical examination. (I encourage serious conversation with serious followers of Jesus)
3. Upon finding any presuppositions or understanding of salvation to be incorrect or incomplete, revise the previous documentation accordingly.
4. Determine to what extent, if any, new understandings might change why and how good news should be shared.

I do not see this as THE issue or solution to concerns regarding sharing good news. There are numerous issues related to the challenge of sharing good news in today’s culture. I increasingly resist solutions that rely on guilt to motivate and nostalgia to define methods. Modernity has made many presuppositions about how to share good news doubtful. 

In succeeding posts I will continue to raise, what I see as, underlying issues and ideas to stimulate thinking and initiate meaningful and appropriate change. 

Prayer is always welcomed.