Whom Are We Trying to Reach?

I am always surprised when I am reminded that there are other people in the universe besides me. I think we all have a tendency to think that everyone is (or at least should be) just like us, don't we?

In "The McDonaldization of the Church," John Drane asks the question "Whom are we trying to reach?" He answers the question with a discussion of seven categories of people he has come up with. I have kind of a love/hate relationship with categorizations, but I found these to be particular helpful despite my mild aversion to the whole principle of fitting someone in a box.

His seven categories are the desperate poor, the hedonists, the traditionalists, the spiritual searchers, the corporate achievers, the secularists, and the apathetic. I will not discuss them at length. I just want to mention one concept, in particular, that jumped out at me.

Drane's thoughts about "the traditionalists" probably challenged me the most because I think a lot of people in my home church would fall into this category. He describes them as "people who are fundamentally happy with where they are now." (p.77) It strikes me that this has nothing to do with political persuasion, although most of my congregation are probably Republicans. The point is that these people don't really want things to change. They might not see what I think of as "improvements" in the church from quite the same perspective.

So who's right? I usually fiind it's safe to assume that I am. Just kidding.  My point is exactly that...maybe they don't actually need all of the changes I would like to cause in their lives.  I'm not sure if this is always a "transformation" issue. To be sure, we all need that. If a person's traditionalism keeps them from the transformational power of the gospel then that is definitely a problem.

The spoken word, coming straight from the heart of the speaker, sharing personal stories of faith, will always win hands down over abstract theorizing. (p.80)

This is something the pastor I work with is pretty good at. Me? I'm a little more abstract. I'm a little more into mixing things up, too. And that's okay. Because I'm good enough...and smart enough...and, well, you know the rest.

I guess what I'm wondering is whether all of this change is really the best thing for some segments of the population. I'm always surprised when I am reminded that there are other people in the universe besides me. I'm even more surprised to think that those others might not need the same kind of community and experience that I long for.

Comments

[Patrick]

Bill, I like the way you think! Imagine my suprise when I discovered you lived in my universe!?