You know things are changing, but the real question is how quickly and how deeply.
Well, the change is pretty fast and pretty deep.
In fact, unless you’re under 25, the world into which you’re born doesn’t really exist anymore.
You may have heard of the Beloit College Mindset list. It comes out every year and often makes the news.
The list is designed to get college faculty (and others) into the headspace of the entry class of mostly 18-year-olds. Essentially, it’s a tutorial on how much the world has changed since the people who will be teaching that class were in college.
Here are a few random snippets from one of the most recent mindset lists:
- Outer space has never been without human habitation.
- They have never licked a postage stamp.
- Princess Diana, Notorious B.I.G., Jacques Cousteau, and Mother Teresa have never been alive.
- They’ve never used a checkbook.
- Hybrid automobiles have always been mass-produced.
- Films have always been distributed on the Internet.
Clearly, the world has changed.
It’s changed for church leaders, too—radically. So, what happens when church leaders move on, unaware of what’s happening around them?
It’s simple. Church leaders who are out of touch never touch the culture. Church leaders who are out of touch never touch the culture. Share on X
Missing the change around you means you will:
- Increasingly speaking a language that people younger than you won’t understand.
- Make assumptions that aren’t widely shared or are just erroneous.
- End up answering questions no one is asking.
So, what changes do church leaders need to know?
10 Changes You Need to Know About The Church
1. Church Attendance Is Now a Fringe Activity
With the exception of a few US communities (deep in the Bible Belt), nobody asks which church you attend anymore because the assumption is you don’t go to church.
If respect for scripture indicates how people feel about Christianity, according to a Barna study, it’s pretty clear most cities in the United States are moving quickly away from some of the historic tenets of Christianity. In most cities, nobody asks which church you go to. Because almost nobody goes to church. Share on X
That doesn’t mean church attendance is impossible. It just means it’s not normal.
Take Las Vegas, Nevada. Only 14% of Las Vegans both read the Bible and believe it’s accurate in its principles.
Yet Vegas has more than a few thriving churches, including Central Church, with 8 locations and upwards of 20,000 attendees. (You can hear Lead Pastor Jud Wilhite’s story on Episode 54 of my Leadership Podcast).
Churches like Central don’t fill up because people in Vegas are looking for a church to attend. Almost no one in Vegas is looking for a church to attend on a Sunday.
Churches like Central fill up because Christians invite their friends.
Increasingly, church attendance is a fringe activity. Increasingly, church attendance is a fringe activity. Share on X
2. “All Welcome” Means Nothing
Almost every dying church has an “All Welcome” sign nobody takes seriously.
Think about it: if you didn’t go to church, would you take that as an invitation?
Next time you drive by a church building, ask yourself, “What would it take to convince me that I can walk in uninvited and participate in what they’re doing?”
Increasingly, I think unchurched people think about walking into a church the way you might think about randomly walking into a wedding to which you weren’t invited or into a corporate retreat for a company for which you don’t work. It would just be weird.
In the future, the only way non-Christians will keep showing up at Christian churches is via personal invitation.
Regardless of what any sign might say, the real welcome comes from your members. Regardless of what any sign might say, the real welcome comes from your members. Share on X
3. Regular Church Attendance is Irregular
The assumption used to be that if you were a committed Christian, you would go to church every week. In fact, even most growing churches still silently run on that assumption, even as the leaders admit that weekly church attendance is far from the norm.
Culture has changed so radically in the last decade or two that even committed Christians aren’t in church as regularly as they used to be. (Here are ten reasons why.)
Honestly, this has got most church leaders still scrambling. Many church leaders are trying to figure out how to help people grow when they don’t go.
Innovators will have to figure out how to make sure that a step away from church attendance isn’t a step away from Christ, which, despite people’s best intentions, seems to be the case more often than not.
Before you start to rail on the organized church and argue that ‘nobody needs the church,’ read this. The new regular church attendance is irregular. Share on X
4. A Band, Lights, and Haze are Traditional
You might have cashed in a lot of chips to redo your church’s approach to music over the last decade or two. And that’s wonderful.
But increasingly, having a band and even lights and haze is pretty normal in many churches.
In fact, as Tony Morgan first noted several years ago, the way we do worship music in the ‘contemporary’ church is not that contemporary. In fact, the band, guitar, keyboard, and lights are the new traditional ‘rock’ worship.
The culture has moved on to other music: hip hop, R&B, DJ, pop, and so much more.
Many ‘contemporary’ churches sound like they’re programmed for 50-year-olds.
Culture sounds less like Coldplay or U2 and more like Bruno Mars, Drake, or Chainsmokers.
I’m not saying we should mimic everything. I’m just saying don’t think you’re current when you’re not.
If you find this irritating, trust me, it is. It’s just that self-awareness is the key to so much. So be aware. Church leaders, don’t think you’re current when you’re not. Share on X
5. The Show No Longer Captivates
If you’re over 30, you remember the church of your childhood was probably trying to be ‘contemporary’. They just weren’t very good at it.
Church often provided a fairly low level of excellence in terms of singing, production, and sometimes, speaking.
That has changed massively.
With the connection that’s happened online, many preachers and musicians have become so much better at their craft. Production levels have soared at local churches.
And it’s not enough.
I mean, it’s good that we’re doing things well. But reaching people is about more than just doing what you do with excellence.
It used to be that great preaching and great music grew a church.
Now it’s more like the cost of doing business.
Bad preaching and bad music can kill a church, but great preaching and great music don’t automatically generate church growth.
Something more fundamental is shifting. And it’s not all bad. In fact, it could be the rebirth of the church based on God’s movement and activity.
Cool church is dying (here’s why), and something else is connecting with young adults in its place (I wrote about that here). Great preaching and great music no longer automatically generate church growth. Share on X
6. Your Church Members Follow A Dozen Ministry Leaders Who Are Not You
Go back to 40 years ago. Chances are the only pastor a church member knew was the pastor at their local church or their neighborhood church or someone they heard on TV or radio.
Even in the 90s and early 2000s, as culture changed, to ‘follow’ another preacher meant ordering their cassettes or CDs or tracking them in a very limited way in the early days of the internet.
In contrast to today, when many Christians actively listen to, read, follow, and more than a few other ministry leaders, subscribing to their podcasts, reading their blogs, and otherwise tracking with their church.
Insecure pastors might struggle with this.
But if you can get over your insecurity, it’s not a bad thing.
Secure leaders don’t compete with other church leaders, they complement them. Most of us may never preach like some of the top leaders out there. That’s okay.
We need to be us. They need to be them. When you realize it’s a complement, not a competition, everyone benefits. Secure leaders don’t compete with other church leaders, they complement them. Share on X
7. God Has Become Generic
As the Barna Group’s research has shown, even though most Americans self-identify as Christian, almost 50% function as post-Christian in their practices and beliefs.
In other words, what people define as Christian and what constitutes genuine Christianity may be two different things.
Communicators and leaders, take note. It changes how we use the term ‘God.’
Trying to lead people into a relationship with God can mean almost anything to post-Christians, including their own definition of whatever spirituality might look or feel like.
Leading them into a relationship with Jesus is very different.
In a post-Christian culture, God is generic. Jesus is specific and personal. In a post-Christian culture, God is generic. Jesus is specific, and personal. Share on X
8. People Don’t Know What They’re Converting To
It’s so easy to make assumptions that people who attend your church know what they’re stepping into. After all, don’t most people know what it means to be a Christian?
Well, no, they don’t.
This problem has become so widespread in our post-Christian Canadian culture that, a few years ago, I devoted an entire series to explaining what people are converting to when they convert to Christianity.
Church leaders will have to become far more innovative in the language and metaphors we use to help people understand the basics of the Christian faith.
It’s very difficult to become a Christian if you don’t even understand what that means. It’s very difficult to become a Christian if you don’t even understand what that means. Share on X
9. Background Understanding is Often Zero
In the same way that people don’t understand what becoming a Christian means or why it matters, post-Christian people have very little Christian background from which to draw.
Again, that’s a communication challenge for church leaders.
Gone is the era where any preacher can say, “As we all know…”
No, we don’t all know. We don’t know who Moses was, who David, who Sarah was, or even really who Jesus was. But can you tell us? Can you explain it in a way we all understand?
The big surprise, of course, is that if you do this well, many Christians will thank you too because they didn’t really understand it either. Gone is the era where any preacher can say ‘As we all know…’ Because we don’t. Share on X
10. Having No Church Background Can Be Better Than Having Some Church Background
Our culture has gone through a few decades of people leaving the church.
Often there are stories of heartbreak and disappointment there that really sting. Just read through the thousands of comments on this blog. You’ll see many. And it breaks my heart.
But we’re moving in real time away from a generation of people who are done with church to a generation that doesn’t know church at all.
You would think that’s an obstacle, but perhaps it’s an opportunity. Having never attended church is as much an opportunity as an obstacle. Share on X
7 Changes You Need to Know About Culture
1. We Seem to Be A Lot Angrier and More Polarized
We seem a lot angrier than we used to be. Not to mention polarized.
Back in 2010, Twitter wasn’t the rant-machine it’s become today. Nope, it was still something you posted your food pictures on and used to connect with friends and share ideas.
But as culture and politics have become more tribal, polarized, and factional, many people have noticed that anger seems to get you noticed. So does positioning yourself against your (horrible) opponents. And what has all this noticing got us? More alienated.
Anger, we’re learning, can get you heard, even if you have nothing to say. Sadly, we’ve also discovered that hate generates more clicks than love.
I outlined five reasons that anger is the new epidemic here. Anger can get you heard, even if you have nothing to say. Sadly, we’ve also discovered that hate generates more clicks than love. Share on X
So what can you do about it? Here’s a radical suggestion: become a healthier leader.
We’re already seeing a big move away from toxic bosses, abusive workplaces, and lower tolerance for aberrant behavior. As divided and divisive as many public leaders are now, that allows huge room in the middle for leaders with solid character and reasonable, rational views that actually still resonate with most people.
Our unhealthy culture is hungry for healthy leaders. Be one of them. Lead with dignity, integrity, trust, and humility. You might be surprised at the response you get over time.
2. People Stay Home A Lot More
In the same way that you used to go to work, you used to have to go to everything.
Increasingly, everything now comes to you. You could argue that the rise of Amazon is not just because of what it sells, but because of how it delivers. In the same way that you used to go to work, you used to have to go to everything. Increasingly, everything now comes to you.Share on X
Uber Eats and other food delivery services bring you dinner. So does almost everything else you can imagine. You never have to leave your home.
So many people don’t. Or at least not as much.
We’ve seen attendance at church, pro-sports games, conferences, and live events struggle more than usual.
What being at home is doing to both the environment and our souls is up for debate, but the trend is clear.
If you’re waiting for people to line up for you in the future, you could be waiting for a long time. If you’re waiting for people to line up for you in the future, you could be waiting for a long time. Share on X
3. You No Longer Go to Work; Work Goes To You
For those of us who do office work, the decade could hardly have been more radical…with huge implications for emotional and mental health, as well as for endless opportunity.
You used to go to the office. That’s how almost all the work happened.
Around 2012, all of that changed.
First, high-speed internet combined with widespread access to wifi became normal.
Second, by 2012 cell phone companies made LTE and 4G networks standard. So wherever you went, you had access to data quite reliably.
Third, cloud-based computing emerged out of its experimental stage and became robust, secure and normal. Everything from VPNs to Google Docs to Microsoft Office became cloud-based, not desktop-based.
Finally, mobile-first computing emerged as the new standard. What you used to need a desktop for, you can now access it on your phone, tablet, or laptop effortlessly.
As a result, if you’re a knowledge worker, there’s a very good chance you’re holding almost everything you need to do your job in your hand.
This means that thanks to technology, you no longer go to work; work goes to you.
As a leader, creating a world-class team just got easier because location is no longer an issue. You can now have a virtual workforce that includes both in-person and remote team members.
It also means a lot of us live in a grey zone because work follows you everywhere; you’re never really on and never really off.
In the next decade, you’ll see both workers and employers get much better at enforcing stricter personal/work boundaries so we don’t all lose our minds. Employers who lead the way on this will gain a distinct advantage.
If you want more on how to navigate this shift, I have a lot more gaining a competitive advantage in the changing workplace here.Thanks to technology, you no longer go to work, work goes to you. Share on X
4. Content is Everywhere. Meaning Isn’t.
In 2010, we weren’t all celebrities yet.
Instagram didn’t launch until October of that year. Twitter hadn’t become the polarizing rant machine it is today. Facebook was still catching on, having amassed only 500 million users. YouTube was a few years old, and Snapchat and TikTok weren’t around.
Fast forward to today, and it seems like everyone’s a content creator and/or brand clamoring for attention.
There are so many opportunities here for leaders this probably deserves its own post.
But let’s offer two:
First, the crisis we’re facing today isn’t a crisis of information; it’s a crisis of meaning. The future belongs to leaders who don’t simply offer content (or themselves) but who can broker meaning. The crisis we’re facing today isn’t a crisis of information, it’s a crisis of meaning. The future belongs to leaders who don’t simply offer content (or themselves), but who can broker meaning. Share on X
Along with that will come another superpower for leaders: curation. You don’t have time to shift through millions of hours of video or browse endless articles. Years ago, you started drowning in content.
No, what most of us are looking for is the content that matters most to us. And Google or a quick search doesn’t always produce that.
So here’s the second shift: in a world drowning in content, content curation will become a skill set equally valuable to content creation. Leaders who can reliably point people to the best content and ideas will likely have as much influence as the leaders who create the best content.
5. Tech has Become Your Best Friend and Worst Enemy
In 2010, most of us still had a fascination with tech that bordered on a love affair. Tech was seen as an unstoppable force that created good in the world.
Now, I’m not so sure.
In some ways, tech is your best friend. You can do more today and stay more connected than anyone imaged three decades ago.
But because tech is so ubiquitous—in everything from speakers in your bedroom to your car to your fridge to an endless stream of devices that have you constantly connected, it’s also your biggest threat.
Constant distraction is the enemy of intimacy and the cause of deep exhaustion. It’s the enemy of deep work and clear, uninterrupted thinking.
I share more on why I’m changing my mind about technology in this post.
In the next decade, if we’re to stay sane, the ethics of tech (everything from privacy to how we use our devices and the limits we place on ourselves) need to advance more quickly than tech itself.
We’re quickly approaching the point of a culture where we don’t own our devices; our devices own us. And when technology runs you, it can ruin you. We’re quickly approaching the point as a culture where we don’t own our devices; our devices own us. And when technology runs you, it can ruin you. Share on X
6. The Unique Experiences We Keep Seeking Feel Less and Less Unique
One of the big trends of the last decade is to move from accumulating things to acquiring experiences. Younger adults are skipping bigger houses and nicer cars for trendy dining, travel, and adventures that make them unique.
With the increasingly rapid emergence of post-Christian culture in America, people of all ages are looking to fill their souls with something.
And so we strive for unique experiences, personal challenges, and adventures that make us stand out.
Instagram makes all of this easier and harder than ever.
One of the things we’re discovering about ourselves is the more unique we try to be, the more we realize how many out there are just like us and how soul-numbing that feels.
All of this has led us as a culture to moments like we saw in May 2019, where the traffic jam to reach the summit of Mount Everest not only turned deadly (as almost a dozen climbers died) but shocking as literally hundreds of climbers were stalled out trying to reach the summit as the picture above, shows.
If you want to hike Mt. Everest, get in line.
What’s the point? Well, for starters, clearly, we’re all searching for something to make us feel significant.
What’s the opportunity? Deep, robust theology that talks about the soul crisis that’s emerging in our culture and how to address it.
I think John Mark Comer and Mark Sayers are doing a very decent job at it. If you only have 24 minutes to listen to a podcast this week and want to understand what I’m driving at here more deeply, make it this one. One of the things we’re discovering about ourselves is the more unique we try to be, the more we realize how many out there are just like us and how soul-numbing that is. Share on X
7. Video Didn’t Kill Audio. Instead, Audio Exploded.
As short as a decade ago, most of us were still driving to the store to rent DVDs and watch cable TV. During the 2010s, video content creation and consumption accelerated at exponential rates thanks to faster internet speeds, YouTube, and progressively more powerful phones and devices.
But surprisingly, video didn’t kill audio. Audio also exploded.
Two popular expressions of the profusion of audio are podcasts and audiobooks.
Let’s start with audiobooks.
A decade ago, the conversation was whether digital books would kill physical books. Not only did that not happen, but audiobooks emerged as a growing phenomenon. My latest book is typical of the book market these days. 66% of all sales to date have been hardcover. Audiobook sales come in next (at 18%—higher than a rapidly escalating industry standard of 10%). Kindle comes in third.
Expect audiobooks to continue to grow as listening grows in popularity throughout the 2020s.
On that note, podcasting has seen an even bigger boom. Although podcasting had been around for years, the 2010s saw it move from a curious niche market to a powerful force you can no longer ignore.
There are now estimated to be 750,000 podcasts in existence. While the average podcast gets something like 141 downloads in the first 30 days, the real promise of podcasting is being able to gain traction for your ideas or content with limited investment.
My leadership podcast (subscribe for free on Apple and Spotify) just passed 10 million downloads. A generation ago, to bring you half a dozen interviews with world class leaders each month would have required a big staff and millions of dollars (or at least hundreds of thousands of dollars) in infrastructure and air time costs.
I started my podcast five years ago for a total investment of less than $1000. While I now have a team and small infrastructure and increasingly fly to interviews to do them live, I essentially still run the show out of my house (literally my basement).
The point: podcasting has created a much lower barrier to entry for content creators. And according to most reports, these are still early days for podcasting; we’re nowhere near the peak.
One of the reasons I think audio content continues to increase so rapidly is because listening allows you to multitask in a way reading or watching doesn’t. You can commute, work out, cook, do yard work, go for a walk or bike ride, and listen to an audiobook or podcast, which is exactly why so many people do.
The opportunity: podcasting and audio listening is still exploding. If you have a message worth sharing and you haven’t tried podcasting yet, don’t wait much longer. A decent microphone (here’s the $69 mic I use for remote interviews) and Garage Band on your laptop can get you started. Surprise! Video didn’t kill audio. Audio exploded instead. Share on X
