Archive for January, 2011

>Joseph Myers writes in his introduction to “The Search to Belong” that “we live in a culture that now prioritizes belonging over believing” (6). This idea seems to be a major thrust in the EMERGING CHURCH and provides for Myers a foundational preamble to his thoughts on belonging. And while it may be true that today’s culture prioritizes belonging above believing, can it be said as well that today’s culture values belonging SUPREMELY?

Sure, when one pits “belonging” against “believing”, the idea of belonging is sure to win out because postmodernity has placed “believing” (at least in the evangelical sense of believing) at nearly the bottom of the cultural priority list. Today’s culture values just about anything above believing. In some sense, this foundational preamble for the emerging church (and Myers’ book) is a strawman of sorts. What happens when one pits “belonging” against “self-pursuits” … like getting the job we want, or the education we want? Or, what happens when one pits“belonging” against “material possessions” in the cultural fighting ring of clashing ideas? I think I know a lot of people who would take an iPad over belonging. It would seem that both self-pursuit and material possessions would beat belonging by knockout in the first round.

In assessing generational trends, Jean Twenge terms those who were born in the eighties (and later seventies) up to today as “Generation Me.” She farther defines what she means when she writes, “GenMe is not self-absorbed; we’re self-important. We take it for granted that we’re independent, special individuals …” (Generation Me; 4).

She builds on the idea of the current generation being self-important by stating, “GenMe trusts no one, suggesting a culture growing ever more toward disconnection and away from close communities. Trusting no one and relying on yourself is a self-fulfilling prophecy in an individualistic world where the prevailing sentiment is ‘Do unto others before they do it to you’” (36).

Twenge states that all of the self-talk that GenMe has been given, such as “You’re Special” and “You can do anything you want to do in life” has produced in GenMe such a high expectation for themselves that it has resulted in an incredibly high amount of stress and anxiety as GenMe attempts to fulfill their high expectations of themselves.

She states, in conclusion, that ANXIETY and LONELINESS are two of the major byproduct of all the self-focus and self-pursuit … unless, of course, you can find a bunch of other people who totally ENJOY focusing, pursuing, serving and loving on YOU. Unless you’re Kim Jong-il or some Saudi prince, you probably don’t have a crowd of people wanting to join you in your own pursuit of yourself.

Robert Lane writes, “There is a kind of famine of warm interpersonal relations, of easy-to-reach neighbors, of encircling inclusive memberships and of solid family life” (The Loss of Happiness in Market Democracies; 9). What happens during a time of famine? People look for food. And what happens when that famine is relational? They start looking for belonging.

Community, life together, family, church, sharing physical possessions, the new monasticism … all these things are a rebellion of sorts against the cultural assumptions of GenMe.

Belonging, it would seem is not only valued above believing, but it may be that belonging may SOON be valued above the self.

TO BE CONTINUED …