A number of thinkers have noted a sea change in our culture, a drift away from the cynicism that began to blow in the 90s towards a new mood, one found especially amongst the young. This new mood could be described as a kind of sincerity, a desire for hope and change, an attempt to reach beyond cynicism and irony. Such a mood sounds like good old-fashioned idealism, yet there is something more at play. This is an idealism which quickly dissolves to despair when it encounters the painful reality of life and the complexity of actual change. The new mood is a kind of naiveté born of a generation raised on the mythology of Disney and happily-ever-afters. The despair comes when this naiveté runs into a world of ISIS, Ebola, and an escalating war in the Ukraine. This is what happens when Yes we can! meets No you cant...because things are a lot more complex than you understand. When naiveté comes across the constraints and complexity of real life it produces anxiety. The promises of our culture, delivered by teachers, marketers, and politicians create a sense of entitlement and overinflated expectations. When these expectations are not met, the individuals mood swings perpetually from naive optimism to overwhelmed anxiety. For pastors, this shift in mood is essential to grasp. Increasingly those who come into our churches bring expectations that far exceed our ability or mandate to deliver. When we are unable to deliver, the Church or even God shoulders the blame rather than the expectation itself. It is understandable that many wish to escape the morass of cynicism and despair that secularism creates, but shallow optimism, striving sincerity, and hope minus God can never get us there. Ultimately this new mood of naiveté is born out of a hope disconnected from the worlds only true source of hope: God. Naiveté is immaturity, an approach to life and the world untested by reality. Our role as pastors is to build up, to create communities centered on Christ which move people to maturity in Him. Therefore, take heart, pastor. Your job is not to deliver on false, overblown expectations. Your task is to model and teach those infected by naive optimism to hope in faith, and to tell those who are overwhelmed that the Savior who has overcome the world. Mark Sayers is a cultural commentator, writer, and speaker, who is highly sought out for his unique and perceptive insights into faith and contemporary culture. Mark is also the Senior Leader of Red Church in Melbourne, Australia.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Nov 2014 18:22:17 +0000
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