Fads Schmads!

Fads Schmads!

Do you ever get tired of fads? I do. I was sitting here doing a mental list of fads that I have experienced throughout my life. As I was thinking about them I began to realize that most fads have us spending extra time, money and energy on something that really doesn't matter. Where do fads come from? I am not really sure, but once one catches on it is difficult not to be sucked in to prove that we are down with the times.

I was especially thinking about fads, because I was thinking about how current Christian culture absolutely loves fads. The fads come in all shapes and sizes from the less sophisticated things like Christian diets, Christian boy bands, Christian diets, Christian gyms, Christian candies (I wonder if they are approved by the Christian diets) to the more sophisticated like fads of ministry philosophy. People in full time ministry are constantly being bombarded with the best and latest ways to lead their churches towards success, growth, prestige, etc... Many of these things are started with the best of intentions, but then somewhere along the way get off track.

In the current modernity vs. Post-modernity debate I see this trend continuing. I am so grateful to be made aware of post-modernity and how it affects church, but honestly I am getting tired of some of the things that I see emerging in this new culture. We definitely have to explore these issues, but often times when end up worshipping the new form instead of using it as a tool to help us. You see this throughout church history and I think we are on track to repeat this same error if we are not careful.

I remember reading something a year or so ago about worship. It said that when we experience God's presence in a particular way in our life (example- I was playing my guitar and singing and felt God's presence), then we try to bottle up that experience and repackage it and repeat it again. The problem can be, that the next time that we pull out the guitar and sing our attitude might not be in the same place that it was the first time, but we insist that this is how to experience God's presence. After a while people sing and play guitar because that is what you have to do to experience God, meanwhile it has been years since anyone has actually had something similar to that first time.

Instead of desperately seeking God in "spirit and in truth" we try to make up rules and formulas about the appropriate way to experience God. So, when I hear people deeply and passionately giving dissertations on Post-Modernity little warning flags pop up, not because PM is bad, but because we tend to elevate the fads over the heart of God.

I think that we have something in Christianity that is better than any fad and it is is the one thing that we (normal human entities) are always trying to avoid. It the call to love God and love man. It is so difficult for us to do that we are constantly trying to make up inferior fads to replace it. So, I want to continue the conversations on how we can improve the church, but I don't want to get caught up in the latest fads just for the sake of the fad.