Time to Rethink the Sermon?

Don Tapscott says the Net Generation has come of age. The next generation is in our high schools, our colleges and entering the work force in large numbers; and they are uniquely different from previous generations. Some vigorously criticize young people of this generation suggesting they are dumb, spoiled, narcissistic and lazy (p. 3-5). Tapscott, however, likes these young people. He believes they are misunderstood, in large part because they hold different values and expectations, but he expects them to change our society in significant ways for the better. In fact he says the Net generation is already changing the world as we know it. He says, “As the first global generation ever, the Net Geners are smarter, quicker, and more tolerant of diversity than their predecessors. They care strongly about justice and the problems faced by their society and are typically engaged in some kind of civic activity at school, at work, or in their communities “(p. 6) Although not written specifically for the church, Tapscott’s observations strongly challenge some fundamental practices of the church. We dare not ignore the cultural shift that may be required of congregations if we are going to speak compellingly to the next generation.

Don Tapscott is a management strategist, author, speaker and business manager of nGenera Insight, a software platform company. He has authored 14 books. Grown Up Digital is a follow up book to his 1997 book Growing up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation. Tapscott’s interest in the Net Generation was piqued in part through watching his own kids and their friends growing up in a world infused with technology. He observed a new comfort level with the digital world in these young people. For them the new technologies were no more complicated than opening up the refrigerator. So Tapscott launched a major research effort interviewing nearly 6000 Net Geners (presently between the ages of 14 and 34) from 2006 to 2008. His research is described in 40 reports and informs his book, Grown Up Digital (p. 5).

Tapscott’s research has identified eight norms which characterize the Net Generation today (chapter 3). These norms inform his observations delineated in the rest of Grown up Digital, as he discusses the ways Net Geners are changing education, employment, consuming and family life. Here’s what Tapscott found: 1) Net Geners prize freedom . They value being able to make their own choices and are unafraid to take what older generations might consider significant risks. 2) They want to customize everything from their Facebook pages, to the products they purchase, to their jobs! 3) They have an instinctive ability to scrutinize and evaluate information, people and products probably honed through years of skeptical observation of material online. 4) They insist on integrity. They expect honesty, transparency, and authenticity in their work place and within whatever institutions they choose to trust. 5) They are natural collaborators. If the previous generation was criticized for being unable to socialize because of an over reliance on email and cell phones, this generation has figured out how to utilize technology to be in constant communication and to enable productive relationships across many miles. 6) They have a love affair with speed. Fast is normal. 7) They want to have fun – always, whether that be at home or at work. 8) They are huge innovators. They love to create and recreate everything.

Tapscott’s chapter about how the Net Generation is reshaping education has significant implications for the church. Tapscott points out that the Net Gener’s value of freedom combined with their preference for collaboration seems to leave the traditional “lecture” in the trash can. Tapscott says the “lecture” is actually a typical Broadcast form of communication which is not particularly compelling to the new young people and may actually be view unfavorably (p. 130 - 131). Tapscott points out that many net geners don't really watch much TV anymore as older generation did and still do. Broadcast form of communication is simply not interactive enough for them. If they can’t enter into a conversation, ask questions and disagree, they aren’t interested. This means the all knowing sage imparting information is ineffective with this generation. They don't learn this way. As an example Tapscott points out that Net Geners don’t watch the news on TV. They get their news from a variety of sources loaded into their personalized newspaper on the internet that they can access on their own time. Because Net geners prefer an educational style that is not lecture based, a few universities are experimenting with the way course material is presented to students. In 2007 MIT posted all of its 1,800 courses on the Web for anyone in the world to see. The effort was called the Open Educational Resources movement (p. 138). Anyone can now get the syllabus, lectures, notes, assignments, audio files, etc. for each class taught at MIT through the internet for free. This policy has apparently had an interesting effect on the students. Most of them don't go to class anymore. They pick up the materials and talk about them in study groups. Then they spend their spare time tinkering with all the great equipment at MIT. They seem to be engaged in an entirely different kind of learning.

Another example of creative education Tapscott mentions is a learning project that took place at Middle College High School in Memphis (p. 140). In 2008 the students put together a performance to mark the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s death. The teaching staff gave the students several options for learning about Dr. King: talking to a school secretary who remembered the 1960s in Memphis, books, web sites, visiting the local civil rights museum, etc. They were encouraged to explore freely on their own or in partnership with other students. Then the students shared what they had learned and began to create pieces to contribute to the school presentation working with other students as they chose to: singing, writing scripts, creating a digital presentation. The entire project was student driven.

So I wonder what all of this means for the Christian church whose worship is still so centered around the presentation of the Word of God through a sermon, which looks dangerously like a lecture. Most sermons today are not interactive or collaborative. We might expect a question of clarification during coffee hours, but to raise one’s hand for a comment in the middle of the sermon would be significantly frowned upon not to mention scary to the preacher. So how engaging is it for our young multitaskers, who are comfortable with 2-5 pieces of technology serving their need for information, communication and socialization all at once, to sit and listen to one who dares to speak, uninterrupted, for God?

I find myself wondering what might happen if we tried worshipping around tables or in cluster groups in the sanctuary, exploring God’s word together in the place of a sermon? Suppose we invited people to bring their laptops and web devices so they could connect to the WiFi in the church. We might even have computer cubicles set up around the worship space so two or three could gather around and explore together. Then instead of a lecture, we might have a discussion. Questions would be welcome. Insights might be shared. There might even be disagreement. I think there would still be a place for the minister to lead, guide and stir the heart with connecting bits of story and leaps of imagination. As a preacher, this idea is both exciting and terrifying. It is uncontrolled and unpredictable, but maybe that leaves more room for the Spirit.