Living a moral life in a fast-changing world

Our world is changing, and the pace of change is dizzying. Rapid change is not easy for seniors such as my wife and me. We prefer slowing down, but the world insists that the list of needed changes is expanding and demands attention. I feel dragged faster and faster, when what I really want is to slow down. My reaction is somewhere between, “Stop the World! I Want to Get Off” and “Slow Me Down, Lord, I’m Goin’ Too Fast.” Trying to keep pace with the world’s need for change is not attractive.

I recognize that a lot of things need changing. War should never be an option for settling disputes. The gap between the rich and the poor of our communities, nation and the world is unacceptable. Judging people by the color of their skin is truly evil. The resources to end hunger and poverty are available, but collectively, we do not care. Homelessness is ugly and the lack of health care for everyone is obscene. Our collective onslaught on our environment must be stopped.

In good conscience I cannot make a case for going slow. There is too much at stake.

The Barna Research Group studies religion in America. Recently George Barna, founder and president of the organization, summarized the group’s research in the past year. I read his summary and I saw both good news and bad news for churches in America. Religion in America is in flux. Dropping out and moving around is occurring at a rapid pace. People are not staying within the religious traditions in which they were raised. The desire and commitment to be religious has not diminished, but the vast majority of Americans feel free to leave teachings of church and home and to formulate their own understandings.

This is bad news for creedal and hierarchical churches of every stripe, Catholics, mainline Protestants, Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Pentecostals, and every kind of Fundamentalist.

The benefactors of rapid religious change are the “new start” churches. These range from the very large to the very small. The megachurches with their strong leadership have been big winners. They have not had to battle the old guard of the more traditional denominations. They make decisions more quickly, do not hesitate to ask people to change, and they act quickly. The other benefactor churches are the house churches that have exploded like popcorn. They are small, eager to discuss and argue, and have the ability to decide to “do” the gospel with great agility.

In a recent Time magazine article, the spotlight was turned on one of the huge megachurches of America. Willow Creek Community Church is in a suburb northwest of Chicago. It was founded by Bill Hybels and has grown to more than 23,000 members. The church was suburban lily white. In 1999, Hybels was given a book to read by a friend. He read “Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America.” He quickly concluded that racism is “not just an individual issue but a justice issue.” Racism became a part of his preached message. Ten years later the church is 20 percent minority. Even more telling is the pre-school where white children are now experiencing minority status.

This is what can happen when a flexible population meets a passionate Evangelical who is committed to ending racism.

The story of Willow Creek is parallel to the story of Saddleback Community Church in a southeast suburb of Los Angeles. The pastor of Saddleback is the well-known Rich Warren. People were surprised when President Obama invited Warren to give the invocation at his Inauguration. It should have been no surprise. The reality is that Rick Warren has built an Evangelical megachurch with a social conscience second to none in the nation. Warren has marshaled Saddleback to be a major player in the realm of social justice, health care and poverty relief.

Saddleback is another example of what can happen when a flexible population meets a passionate Evangelical who is committed to loving Jesus and doing justice.

Another of my favorite Evangelical ministers is Jim Wallis, the founder of Sojourners. He has become a minister to whom people listen. His latest book is titled “Rediscovering Values on Wall Street, Main Street and your Street.” He has become the leading spokesman for Evangelicals who want to live a life with a Jesus ethic. No segment of American life is outside of his searing analysis. I love Wallis especially for his insistence on living the life of peace.

Wallis finds willing partners in the flexible religious population of America.

I am actually encouraged by the shifting, flexible religious population of America. They bring energy and an honest search for the moral, ethical life. Teamed with Evangelicals with a social conscience, they may create the new day that we all need.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister who lives in Palmer. His e-mail address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.