Fast Forward

Survival of the connected. This is the future, according to Wikinomics, as it looks at how mass collaboration through Web-based tools is transforming the nature of creating products and services. From designing software to finding cures for diseases, authors Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams share stories of companies who have embraced the use of collaboration on a massive scale, including the sharing of proprietary information, in an effort to harness the collective genius – the skills, ingenuity and intelligence of participants across organizational boundaries – and are finding new growth and success. Wikipedia, Flickr, YouTube, and the Human Genome Project are promoted as examples of global self-organization leading to innovative outcomes.

Touted as a road map for doing business in the twenty-first century, Wikinomics is based on a $9 million research project led by author Don Tapscott, chief executive of New Paradigm, a think tank and strategy consulting firm. The four principles of the wikinomics path include openness – transparency and access both internally and externally to ideas and resources; peering – horizontal participation instead of top-down control; sharing – allowing greater access to intellectual property, products, bandwidth, and knowledge; and acting globally – engaging and cocreating across physical and geographical boundaries.

While I wouldn’t rush out to buy the book, and advise an adequate supply of caffeine to get through most of the techno language, there is some information that applies to campus ministry. Insights into the Net Generation (N-Gen), the first generation to grow up in the digital age, and their role as active participants in the Web rather than passive receivers of information, and their tendency to scrutinize and validate views and claims, be skeptical of authority and highly value individual rights to privacy and expression of their views should inform our approach to evangelism and discipleship. Interns and staff entering the scene are more likely to value highly collaborative and collegial work environments that allow for fun and flexibility in balancing work and life. (Tapscott’s book Growing Up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation and its website http://www.growingupdigital.com/ may be worth a look.)

One story that stood out is that of Geek Squad founder, Robert Stephens, who built an elaborate wiki to keep the rapidly growing number of agents informed and to gain insights for improvements and innovations. Puzzled by the lack of participation in the wiki, Stephens realized he had failed to notice ways in which the agents were already collaborating – talking shop, swapping tips, and building rapport through online multi-player video games. As Stephens concluded, first observe – notice how self-organization is already occurring, and then implement – use strategies that people are already engaged in. Why waste time and resources, he concluded, by trying to get people to do something they don’t want to? Are there areas where we think that “if we build it they will come” instead of capitalizing on ways collaboration is already occurring (i.e. Facebook)?

How can, or should, we engage students, staff and the community together in a collaborative process in light of our mission? With clear goals and guidelines, what would it look like to involve more people in developing strategies and tools for ministry? What are the benefits and challenges of expanding the pool of participants? With email becoming a time-consuming tool (according to the book, Fortune 1,000 employees spend four hours a day on their in-box on average), how can we use blogs, wikis or other web tools to increase the efficient use of time? Join in the discussion!

You can find out more about Wikinomics at their interactive website: www.wikinomics.com.

The first Jesus is a historical myth of whom we know virtually nothing about, “a sketchy historical figure” who is less than consistent and full of contradictions. The second Jesus is a religious leader invented by the church to fulfill its agenda. The third Jesus, however, is a cosmic person embodying the highest level of enlightenment. It is this Jesus, a type of savior (but not the Savior), whose purpose on earth was to save the world by showing us the path to God-consciousness. At least according to Deepak Chopra.

Some might wonder why this book cannot be ignored. Despite remaining several weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List, this New Age book is intellectually insulting, devoid of logical coherence and blatantly opposed to Christian orthodoxy in its attempt to reinvent Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God. Not surprising from the man deemed the “poet-prophet of alternative medicine” by TIME magazine (June 1999). Yet it would be naive to deny that the basic premises espoused in the book – that the New Testament writings cannot be trusted to provide a historically accurate picture of Christ and that the church has sought to create its own version of Jesus because a desire to fulfill its own agenda – are influencing this generation’s views of God, sin and salvation.

In his own words, Chopra summarizes the essence of his book – “I have written what I think the New Testament actually means.” Replacing the “timeworn” traditional perspective of Jesus constructed as a compromise by his followers because of his failure to bring about God’s rule on earth, Chopra plays an illogical game of pick and choose, selectively determining which words of the gospels are Christ’s and which are those written by the writers of the gospel in order to make sure that Christ fulfilled the prophecies regarding God’s chosen one in the Old Testament. Rejecting the reliability and authority of the New Testament scriptures, Chopra has no problem in accepting certain Gnostic teachings as true. He faults those who walked with Christ for putting words into Jesus’ mouth, yet somehow thousands of years removed from the historical events Chopra claims that he alone knows the real Jesus!

An Amazon review favoring the book describes it as an “imaginative reconstruction of the inner meaning of the gospels … it will disturb the minds of the orthodox, and delight the spirits of mystics and progressive Christians” (1). Indeed, Chopra equates being God with being awake and faith in God the same as faith in yourself, with “awareness,” not Christ, as the path to heaven or “God-consciousness.” In line with New Age beliefs of the divinity of man and global unity, Chopra teaches that with a higher God-consciousness, “’I’ and ‘God’ become one and the same.” Heaven and hell, Christ’s return and a coming judgment are espoused as concepts propagated by the church because sin continued to exist despite the promise of forgiveness by New Testament writers.

Raised in a family influenced by both Western medicine and traditional Hindu beliefs and practices, Chopra first came to the United States in 1970 for a medical internship eventually serving as chief of staff at a New England hospital. In the 80’s Chopra embraced the message of Transcendental Meditation and later the practice of ayurveda, a philosophy originating in India that focuses on the balance of mind, body and spirit for health.

Living in California, Chopra opened The Chopra Center with the mission of “bridging the technological miracles of the west with the wisdom of the east.” In addition to writing and speaking, he is a founding director of and President of the Alliance for a New Humanity. The Alliance is pursuing “the birthing of a critical mass of consciousness” in order to bring “forth a better world through a combination of personal and social transformation … arising out of a recognition that there is only one humanity, one continuum of being” (2).

In a partnership with Frito-Lay, a division of Pepsi, to develop a “wisdom-based” economy, Chopra is slated to begin “consciousness work” with all of its employees through his Soul of Leadership training. The goal is to train 49,000 people next year (3).

While the teachings espoused in The Third Jesus seem so out of the mainstream as to be absurd, there are elements gaining acceptance. In 2007, Barna research found that like Chopra, 46% of born-again Christians surveyed agreed that Satan “is not a living being but is a symbol of evil.” And 26% of that group believed that Jesus committed sins while living on the earth (4). Only 3% of 19 to 26 year-olds who say they have made a commitment to Christ, according to the Barna Group, embrace a biblical worldview consisting of eight elements that includes the accuracy of the Bible, the supreme nature of God, the sinlessness of Christ’s life, the existence of absolute morals and that Christians are responsible to share their faith. It also found that those who embraced these eight components lived a radically different life of faith (5).

Chopra’s re-inventing of Jesus as a spiritual guru and his Babel-ish call for the “birthing of a critical mass of consciousness” and a new humanity that needs no savior are ideas edging into Western thought. Many EveryStudent.com emails I receive challenge the reliability of the Bible and Jesus as the only way to salvation. Spiritual transformation has been shown to be connected with what one believes. In an effort to deal with the negative perceptions of evangelical Christians we must not shy away from addressing the tough realities of sin and the holy demands of God. With humility and grace we must respond to objections to the gospel and intentionally build into our disciples a complete biblical worldview, helping them to see the Jesus written of by those who saw, heard and touched the Word of life.

1) Sam Keene, “Editorial Reviews,” 10 June 2008 <http://www.amazon.com/Third-Jesus-Christ-Cannot-Ignore/dp/0307338312>.

2) Chopra, Deepak, “New Humanity – Part 2,” 24 April 2006, Huffington Post, 10 June 2008 <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deepak-chopra/new-humanity-part-2_b_19720.html>.

3) Thomas, Eliza, Interview, Deepak Chopra, Feb 2008, 28 June 2008 <http://www.consciouschoice.com/2008/02/conversations0802.html>.

4) “Born Again Christians,” Barna Group, Vers. 3.0, 28 June 2008 <http://www.barna.org/search>.

5) David Kinnaman, and Gabe Lyons, unchristian (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2007) 75.

Sex and The Soul, by Donna Freitas, explores and analyzes the hook up culture prevalent on the college campus.  To read Harvey Mansfield’s helpful review from the Wall Street Journal, go to: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120943338777251553.html

Missional is a term that is showing up a lot (no, I mean A LOT) these days. What does the phrase Missional Evangelism connote? 

To get an idea, survey Christianity Today’s overview of the study by that title:

http://biblestudies.stores.yahoo.net/miev.html

Keith

“Christianity has an image problem.” What comes to mind when sixteen- to twenty-nine-year-olds think about Christians and Christianity? Try “hypocritical,” “judgmental,” “antihomosexual” and other negative terms. According to author David Kinnaman, president of the Barna Group, the perceptions of young American adults reveal a growing level of hostility and resentment towards all things Christian, including Christ, that are impacting our ability to engage the culture with the gospel.

Based upon three years of research commissioned by the Fermi Project to study the perceptions of Christians and Christianity by sixteen- to twenty-nine-year-olds, unchristian (Baker Books) describes how young American adults are becoming increasingly negative about and resistant to Christianity, a view often fueled by skepticism and resentment as a result of damaging personal encounters with Christians and the church. The results of the study are honestly and skillfully presented, balancing statistics and analysis with practical insights from Kinnaman and other Christian leaders on ways Christians can engage and redeem the culture without compromising theological truths and a passion for Christ. Instead of surrendering to the attitude, “Jesus said they will hate us,” Kinnaman acknowledges the complexity of the issues while emphasizing the need to wake up to the realities of how we are being perceived and to respond appropriately to areas in which we have failed to represent Christ.

In his book, Kinnaman explores six broad themes related to the negative perceptions of Mosaics (born 1984-2002) and Busters (1965-1983), exposing how deeply this age group rejects and feels rejected by Christians. These categories include views that Christians are hypocritical, too focused on getting converts, antihomosexual, sheltered, too political, and judgmental. The three most common perceptions noted from the research are that Christians are antihomosexual (fixated on curing; political activists), judgmental (prideful, quick to find fault, don’t love people) and hypocritical (morally superior attitude; say one thing but do another) with an overall view that Christians are known most for what they are against, not what they are for. Something that is not explored as much in depth in the book is the equally common attitude of indifference towards Christianity.

The chapter, Get Saved!, regarding how Christians are perceived as being insincere and concerned only with converting others, reveals that those on the outside of the Christian faith don’t like being “cornered” into conversations about faith and do not believe that Christians are sincerely interested in them as individuals. (Kinnaman prefers to use the word outsiders instead of unbelievers or the lost, a term that includes atheists, agnostics, those from other faiths, and unchurched adults who are not born-again.) Surveys and interviews showed strong contempt for evangelistic methods that are perceived as gimmicks used to trick people into paying attention to the presentation of the gospel. The target of more advertising, media and marketing than ever before, this generation is particularly skeptical of the motives of programs and people that promote faith in Christ.

Efforts to share faith were found to be most effective when they were “interpersonal and relationship based” (p.70). Radio, TV and tracts had virtually no impact on decisions to trust in Christ according to those Busters who claimed to be born-again. Mass evangelism strategies were found to create “three to ten times as much negative response as positive” (p.71). The study also found that Mosaic/Buster believers are reluctant to be assertive in sharing their faith, are highly sensitive about what others think and feel, and are less likely to feel compelled to share their faith with others.

Spiritual depth is viewed by Kinnaman as a vital factor in effectiveness in reaching the culture. He believes that too often we promote a form of Christianity focused only on a decision to accept Christ, a simple and costless faith. Many of these young people have attended church at some time in their life; nearly two-thirds of adult Mosaics and Busters claim they have at some point made a commitment to Jesus Christ, yet they have disengaged from the church and most do not live substantially different lives from non-believers. Spiritual transformation, a process involving embracing a biblical worldview (based on eight elements) that defines and guides decisions and how one interacts with the world, is seen to be the key to living out a genuine and real faith—living in the culture in both purity and proximity, humble and respectful to outsiders.

What does this mean for us who want to reach every student with the gospel? Kinnaman suggests that we must avoid simplifying the message of the gospel to be just about a personal relationship with Christ. Outsiders must see Christians whose lives reflect service, compassion, humility, forgiveness, and other qualities that reflect the life of Christ. We must be careful that our enthusiasm for evangelism includes a passion for fostering relationships and an environment that encourages deep spiritual transformation.

Certainly, we need to understand the complex issues that influence what this generation thinks about Christians and Christianity in order to be more effective in presenting the gospel and increase the possibility of being heard; however, UnChristian also encouraged me to reflect on my own attitudes and actions and ask God to show me where I am misrepresenting his character.

Kinnaman outlines four ways in which the church can help to change these negative perceptions. He encourages us to respond to criticism appropriately; connect with people by being examples of followers who think (have a biblical worldview), love (as Jesus loved) and listen (to God and others); interact creatively with the culture (by communicating truth in clear engaging fresh ways) and serve people (showing compassion, kindness, true interest and concern). This book does more than just tell us what is wrong and what we need to change, it offers insight into the hearts of those we are trying to reach, and provides hope that it is possible to overcome the label unChristian through living out the gospel and demonstrating that we are for Jesus, not against outsiders.

For more information go to www.unchristian.com