In my last few posts I have mentioned how I feel that God has put some things in my heart to consider pursuing. Not always, but many times I think we are called to recognize the needs around us and then figure out how to use what has been given to us (what I call our stewardship package) to meet those needs. If done for God' glory and in response to God's prompting, then this intersection of needs with our stewardship package is how each of us can make the biggest impact for the Kingdom of God.
In my next set of posts I will outline the needs that capture my attention the most:
The Needs - Introduction
Interestingly enough, I think we most notice the needs for which our stewardship package is designed for meeting. I also believe we recognize, tune, and grow in areas based on the needs we see. So, recognizing needs and understanding our stewardship packages don't exist in a vacuum. They work in ever increasing synchronicity - like dance partners. I mention this because there are a lot of needs out there that I won't be listing (world hunger, health issues such as aids, cancer, etc., overloaded prisons, etc.).
There is another reason I don't list what many would consider to be obvious "needs" - I think many of the needs listed by our politicians and preachers are symptoms and not root causes (e.g. - overloaded prisons, obesity, etc.).
With those two disclaimers, I begin the list of needs that capture my attention. Here is the first one:
Need #1: Desire for Transcendence
We all desire to be part of something bigger than ourselves. We are all looking for a bigger story in which we can play a part. We are all searching for a way our lives can have meaning.
I believe that this is a God-given desire shared by all of humanity - regardless of time or culture. In fact, I don't believe he "gives" it to us. I think this desire is the result of turning to other things for meaning and significance in our lives. The desire for transcendence is simply the gravity pulling us back toward God as we foolishly try jumping toward other things.
More people are beginning to realize that many of the things on which they placed their hope and desire for meaning hasn't worked. Here is a list of a few failed / failing attempts of our culture to find transcendence outside of God:
a. The attempt to save ourselves – the death of Modernity. We now know the universe is not as mechanistic and predictable as we once thought. Science and technology have not brought us the utopia that was promised by those who ushered in “The Enlightenment”. Certainty and control are wobbling in the knees and will fade in time with each generation that passes.
b. Institutional religion. With increasing frequency people who have gone to church their entire lives are noticing very little transformation in their life or in the lives of those around them. Instead of blaming themselves for their repeated attempts to have a consistent quiet time, they are wondering if there is something wrong at the core of the church itself. On the surface, the evangelical churches look very successful, but I believe that is just the larger churches assimilating people who have left the small, Baptist churches just as Wal-Mart and Home Depot are putting the mom and pop stores out of business.
c. Fame and Fortune.
We have seen the self-destruction of our wealthiest and most famous personalities since the introduction of films and television. We did not learn from watching them. We now live in an age of abundance, and most people are learning from their own experience that materialism doesn't fill the God- hole. Here is a quote from the book A Whole New Mind:
"Abundance has brought many beautiful things to our lives, but that bevy of material goods has not necessarily made us much happier. The paradox of prosperity is that while living standards have risen steadily decade after decade, personal, family, and life satisfaction haven't budged. That's why more people - liberated from prosperity but not fulfilled by it - are resolving the paradox by searching for meaning. As Andrew Delbanco puts it, 'The most striking feature of contemporary culture is the unslaked craving for transcendence."
d. Ostriches.
There is a group of people who live in denial of the call for transcendence in their lives. These people do all they can to drown out the inner voice that we all hear - drugs, shopping, overeating, pornography, alcohol, are just some of the behaviors that capture addicts into believing that they can fill that need in their lives.
e. Superficial Existences.
For example: Sports are a wonderful part of our culture. However, so many people make their association with a team or school a part of their core identity. By associating with a sports team, one is given the chance to be part of something bigger than themselves – there are 100,000+ people Neyland Stadium for every home game! I believe the generations behind me will be much less interested in placing their hope for meaning and search for transcendence in such superficial meta-narratives.
Simply, at an accelerated pace, people are realizing that they have put false hope in people, places, and things. Even those who looked for transcendence in God are realizing that how they attempted to do that did not work for them. It has a left a vacuum in our society. As a result many feel ungrounded, insecure, and anxious as this core needs continues to go unmet.
Tomorrow’s Post: Needs 2 – 5
Remaining Posts on the topic of P.F. Change:
-My Stewardship Package
-My Vision / Ideas on how My Stewardship Package intersects with the needs I have listed
-Conversation with myself
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