My two nephews – under the age of ten — are visiting us all the way from the other side of the world. This morning, I found one of them playing a video game with his friend back where they live. Part of our breakfast conversation was how his friend was trying to call him during the night, not recognizing the twelve-hour time difference between them. Their platform of choice for connecting was a video conferencing tool provided to them through their school.
I am not a parent, so I do not know if kids in the USA are being offered access to video conferencing platforms by their schools to connect with their classmates or not; nonetheless, I find it fascinating that for a child today time zones and distance is not a barrier. Tools are available to them to connect.
The other part of our morning conversation was how Christianity is on the rise in Asia and how young people are finding community via church – and they like it, in fact, they seem to want it.
This comes at the heel of our conversation on Wednesday where some expressed deep concern that the younger generation in America do not find church relevant – and that there is increased anxiety and isolation.
One could try to draw a correlation between less church and more isolation and anxiety; OR one could ask is it really about the tools, platforms, or forums; OR is it about something else that makes the tools, platforms and forums desirable and relevant to one people and not to another? My concern is that in church in America we may be too quick to place blame and not always committed to patiently exploring the reasons why the body that offers healing, joy, hope, and love is being passed over and dismissed. Would it benefit us to study Asian Christianity and Asian culture in general that is finding Christian faith so much more relevant than the same generation in America? What do you think?
My experience from Saturday nights is that people in America – like anywhere else in the world – benefit from gathering, breaking bread together, expressing our care for each other through prayer, visiting each other, and holding each other in deep care just as we explore together the scriptures in ways that reveal to us not only who God is, but who we are as God’s very own. And then we can all rise to worship our living God with music and praise. In other words, perhaps our approach to leave neatly packaged faith and opting to experience God through the freedom of the Holy Spirit is the realism that people need for an authentic relationship with God and with each other. Perhaps it is not the tools, platforms, and forums, it is how and what we choose to believe. Do you agree/disagree? Please share in the comments.