Keynote Speaker – Pt. 3, Path toward the technomadic

Group 236

How would a technomadic look at the omnipresence of God?

A technomadic doesn’t understand our agrarian ideas of who God is. So how do we speak to them? What tool will send us on the path toward the technomadic?

Kennon Callahan* promotes that people live out, grow, lead their lives in “events”:

  • One-time
  • Short-term
  • Seasonal
  • Long-term
  • Weekly, monthly, year-round

 

Church Life Conceptualized as Events

Overwhelmingly, people grew their lives in one-time events, followed by short-term, seasonal, long-term and weekly, monthly and year-round.

What if we started a church that would meet just once? What if we started seasonal churches (for those who attend worship only at Christmas and Easter)?

What if, among the terms of the members of the church council, we had one-timers, some short-termers, some long-termers, etc.?

What if we had a one-time choir?

What if confirmation happened in several one-time events?

 

In Tension and At Peace

The agrarian mindset can be in tension with this. One part of the agrarian mindset that is problematic: Excellence (It is a demon!) We got so hyped up on the quality that we forget it’s the relationship we’re after.

It is OK to try and fail. Relationships are still formed. Better to fail quickly than to dwell in long-term failure.

Why do people who are confirmed leave after confirmation? You’ve just told them after two years that they only way they can connect to the congregation is over a long time. A technomadic will not accept this.

If you start breaking up what you do in a congregation into these categories, you’ll be doing the same thing you’re doing now, and you’ll still be meeting weekly. It will just be done a different way.

It will take you a year to figure out how to do this, so be at peace with this.

You can be significant in people’s lives through one-time events. You can still have relevance in this way.

 

* from twelvekeys.org: Dr. Kennon L. Callahan, is a researcher, professor and pastor, and a sought-after church consultant and speaker.  Author of many books, he is best known for his groundbreaking Twelve Keys to an Effective Church, which has formed the basis for the widely acclaimed Mission Growth Movement, which is helping congregations across the planet.