Our friend Russ Bredholt is back with a new entry for us to ponder. I
always appreciate his musings and comments. Russ managed to have a
household accident a few weeks back and dropped me a line to explain.
I was real worried until he told me he was back playing golf, but
only with a nine finger grip. He's back thinking too. Here are his
thoughts on the Mindset of a New Generation

"At a recent meeting of college presidents a presentation was given
by Dr. Diana Oblinger, professor of business at the University of
North Carolina. Dr. Oblinger's subject was changing technology and
its implication for higher education.

The more she talked, the more I realized just how much her material
would also relate to the church.

To underscore her point about a shift in priorities and values among
younger adults, Dr. Oblinger listed the following as characteristics
of the
"Information Age Mindset:"*

-Computers aren't technology
-The Internet is better than TV
-Reality is no longer real
-Doing is more important than knowing
-Nintendo over logic
-Multitasking is a way of life
-Typing is preferred to handwriting
-Staying connected is essential
-Zero tolerance for delays
-Consumer and creator are blurring

Each item listed above was commented on for clarification. Space
does not allow us to go into that kind of detail. Most reading this
column will be able to interpret these points. They make for
interesting discussion.

What I want to do is highlight Dr. Oblinger's response...offering
advice to leaders of educational institutions and speaking to the
issue of how, if at all, to respond. Her counsel comes in the form
of questions (good advisors do this). The emphasis, you will note,
focuses on internal values first.

Dr. Oblinger raised four questions. I modified each and added a
comment in order to fit the context of the church:

1. Why are we doing church?

Before trying to get into the details of overhauling how we do
church, can we simply ask ourselves the simple question: What causes
us to be here in the first place?

2. What kind of experience do we want our people (members/attenders)
to have as a result of being connected to our church?

I believe in mystery and serendipity, but there is something about
leaders working to intentionally shape and influence relationships
and experiences so they are more positive than negative.

3. Does information technology change our traditional mission?

Maybe it does not change as much as we think. Perhaps it is the
context of mission where adaptations are to be considered.

4. What is distinctive about our church?

We have written on this subject before. It is our observation that
most congregations don't know what sets them apart from other faith
groups. (A good way to find this out is to interview the newer
members of the church.)

Those that enjoy some measure of results do so in part because they
are not the same as everyone else. Effectiveness is often related to
the degree of difference. Churches can be long on vision and short
on follow-up.
Attention to detail is the most overlooked aspect of congregational
life, other than time with the spiritual disciplines.

Before we get too wrapped up in technological advances, it is still
worthwhile to come back to a few basic questions that help us clarify
what is important to us. It is becoming clearer what is of interest
to young adults.

The question is whose values will prevail?"

Give feedback directly to our friend Russ Bredholt, Jr. by emailing
him at rbredholt@aol.com. His source for the comments come from an
article by Jason L. Frand in Educause Review (S/O 2000)