I've spent too much time listening to political punditry this election season, but I have learned that even with good intentions, much of importance gets lost. If you try hard, you can probably find messages of substance from the candidates, but there has also been a lot of exaggeration and focus on issues of image and appeals to fear - on both sides.
Even in the midst of the tremendous economic - and social - disruptions of the last month, there has been little of solid reflection on what the future might hold or good analysis of our current situation. I have read a lot in the last few years that tries to describe the social structures of our nation and the world as a way to imagine what the church of the future should be. Nearly all of them seem to assume that, although our world has changed in many ways over the last several decades, it will go in a straight line from this point on, so whatever is disintegrating will either continue to disintegrate or will recover to status quo and move straight forward.
A few years ago, I read Generations by Strauss and Howe. It is a big book, reviewing the history of the generations of people in America since the early 1600s. The authors provide a map through time of four generational types that follow one another in sequence, and the characteristics of the times that correspond to those lives. The thesis is that history does not progress in a straight line, but in an extended wave form or, better, in a spiral of recurring phases, but with details that differ due to circumstances, technology, etc. It takes quite a bit of space to describe all of this and I'm sure some of you have heard some of it - I am surprised it hasn't appeared in this blog before now. The point is that their theory indicates that what is now is NOT what will be. The disintegration and chaos of our times is not forever, but is very likely to resolve into a new era of rebuilding and order. However, it is not inevitable, and it could take very different forms.
I don’t like to sound like a prophet of doom, because I believe in hope and the wondrous presence of God in all life, but I also believe that we are in for a time of troubles that will take a few years to resolve. I think we as a society have come near to the a crisis phase of the cycle, and are about to turn in a different direction. To do that, we need to spend some time rethinking our priorities and values as individuals, as families, as a church, and as a society. Our young people need to develop good civic (and Christian) values and personal strength and the ability to work together with all kinds of people to solve problems, and to build a respectful society where honesty and integrity are prized more than power and money. We, their elders, need to examine our lives and reclaim ideals of hope and peace and rights for all so that the young have models and mentors and leaders for their journeys.
The disintegration of the 20s led to the troubles of the Depression and was brought back by the discipline of a war that had a clear purpose and justification as good as any war could ever have. The authors suggest that when crisis is addressed with clarity, and the young adult generation has the opportunity to serve and mature with a sense of purpose and direction, that society rebounds and rebuilds with energy and strength. The generation shaped by crisis goes on to become leaders for the next two or more generations. The generation that served in WWII in its young adulthood provided presidents from Kennedy through George H.W. Bush, and has continued to provide civic and national leaders until just the last few years, when the last have moved into their mid-80s. This practical and problem-solving generation has given all of us the infrastructure and corporate structure that shaped us. But other generations are also important to our social health, each contributes in vital ways to our life. What is built in one era will not necessarily suit the needs of another, so we must do some judicious destruction to make room for another era. We must also balance concern with the physical and structural with the spiritual and philosophical, with arts and music, with personal growth as well as corporate growth. History will judge how beneficial that correction has been, but it has brought us to this point.
I believe that the churches who believe that God cares about the "kingdom" coming near to this life on earth as it is in heaven have a particular responsibility to lead through this time of challenge and trouble. We need to be the ones to speak about "doing for the least," to stand up for the rights of every person to pursue wholeness and with their essential needs met. But we also need to lead our country and our society in a re-evaluation of priorities, to set the stage for a restructuring based on valuing people above ever-growing profits, respecting workers as much as stockholders, and being good stewards of all resources.
We start with ourselves and our own values; we share them, and our passions for them, with our youth and children, we listen to the ideas and world-views of our young adults and encourage them on their journeys. We move out into the world as leaders in our communities, workplaces, leisure environments with commitment and hope. God is present here. It is God's blessings we share, and God's realm we experience in our lives, when we listen to God's leading for us.
(I guess I made up for infrequency with length! I hope it is worthwhile!)
Peace!
Marlea
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