Church called to lead a reformation in the electronic revolution, futurist tells APCE

Rewired brains require new ways of learning, communicating, Sweet says

by Jerry L. Van Marter

VANCOUVER — Because it seems to be part of Presbyterians’ genetic makeup to lead reformations, renowned United Methodist futurist Leonard Sweet said here today, they should be leading the current worldwide digital transformation.

      So why aren’t they? Sweet asked the 900 North American Presbyterians gathered here for the annual conference of the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators (APCE). “Those who master the current media form to the greatest degree have the most trouble moving on to the next form,” he said. “Presbyterians have so mastered the book culture they seem now to be the most challenged by the electronic revolution.”

      That revolution, he continued, “is completely rewiring our brains … changing forever the ways we learn and know.”

      Sweet outlined four key elements of the electronic revolution — it’s experiential, participatory, image-rich and connectional — and said the church must embrace this acronymical EPIC if it is to be a transformational force in the world.

      The greatest cultural metaphor for this revolution — and how to creatively adapt to it, he said — is Starbucks. “Why are we willing to spend $3 for a cup of coffee that we would only spend 50¢ for 20 years ago?” he asked.

      “It’s because they’re not selling you a cup of coffee, they’re selling you the experience of coffee,” Sweet insisted. As Americans have become more isolated from each other, Starbucks has willingly become the country’s “front porch” — a place where people feel they belong and can “just hang out,” he said.

      “You see,” he continued, “the culture has no problem believing in things. It just believes in the wrong things and is desperately hungry for an experience of the transcendent. The Bible doesn’t say, ‘Intellectually comprehend that the Lord is good.’ It says, ‘Taste and see that the Lord is good.’ Starbucks understands that concept. The church has forgotten it.”

      To a chorus of groans from the crowd, Sweet said “reality” television is here to stay. “Digital culture is participatory. Television is passive. What we’re seeing with reality TV is the digital revolution transforming the medium of television.” Interactivity in media means that success will increasingly be measured “not by the quality of the performance but by the quality of the participation.”

      And images have replaced words as the conveyors of meaning, Sweet continued. “Every Starbucks cup looks the same, all the stores have the same look and feel — they don’t need to tell you anything with words. Same with Nike — you see the swoosh and that’s all you need to know.”

      Therefore, Sweet said, “every church should have an image statement. There is no logos without the logo.”

      And finally, he told the educators, “the church must rediscover that it is in the ‘connection’ business.” Starbucks’ willingness to be America’s new “front porch” and its success at being the connecting point in countless communities should be a lesson to the church that there is a desperate need for connection, for relationship. “And when the church fails to provide that connection, the culture will surely find ways to do it instead of us. … Just look at Dr. Phil and Oprah.”

      The church must give people experiences of God, because people are going after the wrong experiences, Sweet said. Further, the church must create participatory experiences that connect people with each other in meaningful relationship. “Ask your young people whether they find more meaningful connection in their Internet chat rooms on Saturday night or in the pews of your church on Sunday morning.”

      And the church must give the culture the right images, Sweet said, “because we’re dying as a result of all the wrong ones.

      “God didn’t send us a principle, God sent us a person. God didn’t send us rules, God sent us a redeemer. And God didn’t send us a statement, but a savior who invites us all into a relationship and an experience of God.”