In today's changing times, defining the identity of culture rapidly transforms its profile from generation to generation. The influx of nationalities, religions, ideologies, politics, social economies and cultural trends, melded together over time. In the past, describing change in the world was accomplished by observing global events outside of our local spheres. To observe change from a distance is to stand apart from reality, by residing alone and out of touch with people. Glocal, is a new term that is defined as global and local societies, which have melded together to form a unity of local diversity. The boundless sea of society is a rage of crisis, uncertainty, differences, openness, multiplicity, and change which describes our current reality. The world and culture of today is no longer separated and compartmentalized by continent, nation, language, trend or currency. In this new millennium, society revolves around the changes of the people and their culture. No longer do people adapt to society, but society has to adapt to the changes of people. In other words, the tail wags the dog in today's world-view. The concern of reaching people today exists in the way the church adapts to people.

The church is no different than society's endeavor to understand its people. However, a dichotomy exists between churches that do make an effort to meet society's people and those who do not, but exist for their own sphere of concerns. The truth is that the world is changing around us whether if the church cares or not. The need for reaching people in connecting them to Christ stands in front of our doorstep. The reality is that the world is no longer at the church's doorstep, waiting on Christians to take care of them as seen in the early 18th and 19th centuries. What happened in the 20th century? The church declared that people must come to church to find God. Today, the world no longer embraces a "come-and-get-it" evangelism. People of today are self sufficient and independent. They would like to step into the church, but are hesitant or unwilling because of past negative experiences. People are in a real need of God and the authentic care-acceptance of God's people. There is a high interest in spirituality along with the bewilderment of what to believe and who to trust. Mark Mittelberg, in his book, "Building a Contagious Church," addresses a relevant question to these current issues. He says,"…are we prepared to help them? Are we becoming the kind of people…that will be able to assist them in embarking on spiritual journeys that will eventually bring them to Christ" (Mittelberg, pg. 20).

Many churches understand the need of relativity in their community - connecting people to Christ. This need is important because of the immediate circumstance of "culture chasms." In most Evangelism 101 Sunday school classes, they teach the diagram involving a gap placed between God and man. The picture poses a question of how can one cross this gap over to God – the answer is the bridge of Christ. This illustration is a great explanation but is not relevant in toady's times, as it was 20 years ago. Because culture and time have progressed so rapidly over years, people face more complicated challenges in this modern era. Secularization has influenced people to walk away from Christian values and beliefs. When we introduce the secular world to God, the question is "which God, and why is He the only way." People respond differently to both the Bible and the world-view. They perceive both ideologies as unrelated. The problem here is the disposition to relate their secular reality with the reality of the Gospel. The church has been far behind the curve in correcting this view. Mittleberg has uncovered this unknown to the church sphere in his description of "culture chasm." He says,

"The culture chasm consists of the barriers that keep a secular person from hearing and understanding our message. These include things like language, dress, musical tastes, personal motivators, cultural norms, habits, beliefs, degrees of spiritual interests, styles of learning, and traditions (both secular and religious) – and the list can go on. These things are all apart of the larger sin chasm…I'm talking about the more generic, spiritually neutral aspects of living in any society. While these may be is some sense neutral, they certainly are important and have a huge effect on what people think and understand as well as on how they hear the Gospel." (Mittleberg, pg. 49)

Because times are changing so rapidly, it is necessary for the church to adapt to the current culture needs. In order for the church to exist as a resource for people, relevancy is a key ingredient. Church has more to offer than evangelism and Sunday school programs. The body of Christ is designed to provide nourishment and resources for all of its members and to share that same love to those in need of Christ. George Barna, in his book "The Second Coming of the Church," clarifies the need for relevancy in the church. He says, "The world around us is changing at an unprecedented pace. What worked ten years ago is already obsolete; cultural analysts estimate that our culture essentially reinvents itself every three to five years"(Barna, pg. 2). Barna also points out how vast our diversity has become in modern America, leaving whites in the minority. "Today, Caucasians in the United States are at zero population growth: they are bearing enough children to "replace" those who die but not enough to expand the size of the Caucasian population," (Barna, pg. 52). The population and diversity of people is expanding faster than what the earlier trends predicted. Today, even in a given two mile radius of any town in America, culture and needs are as diverse as a 20 mile radius city. How do we adapt outreach and ministry to such a changing culture?

Worship and evangelism are effective tools in reaching people. However, when it is packaged, perfect and formal, its authenticity is diluted by the overload of performance and the loss of genuineness. In the senses of the seeker, they are searching for love with action. Mike Slaughter said it best in reaching today's people. He said that people need demonstration not information. That was the life of Jesus, he demonstrated love rather than talking about it. How can we demonstrate the truth, love, authenticity and the unconditional acceptance of God in our worship services? The answer is found in removing personal barriers and meeting people where they are at relationally. There are many venues God gave the church to demonstrate his characteristics. Powerful forces of worship, art and sermon-story telling are utilized in conveying the person hood of God. By conveying the person hood of God in worship is through examining His characters. The book, "Spiritual Entrepreneurs," by M. Slaughter communicates how pertinent and authentic worship services are essential in reaching the unchurched. Slaughter give this insight on relevancy in worship: "Why do we cling to worship forms that are so formal, when our everyday lives are so informal? Sometimes we try to force on others what doesn't even work for ourselves" (Slaughter, pg. 62).

A few years ago, we visited Mosaic, in the downtown area of West L.A. This congregation has two meeting places, one in a nearby school and another in a bar – which is rented out on Sunday nights. We visited the rented out bar location. The meeting place acquired an intimate coffeehouse setting. Dim lighting by the use of multiple candles filled the shadowy bar. The church-art deco was simple and portable. There were a few art paintings on display to exhibit the work of local artist. People were very genuine and friendly in welcoming us to their place of worship. As the time drew near to worship, a mass crowd filled the club's dance floor now transformed into a worship center. Guests and members were very enthusiastic and happy in gathering together. A circle formation of chairs outlined the worship area, facing people across the way from another. The worship leaders greeted the people and invited them to join in worship. The music was very raw and edgy, similar to a garage band sound – not polished but very captivating and casual. The style is who they are, for the purposes of relating and reaching a postmodern ocean of people. The combined elements of light, art and music personified a unique worship experience. The congregation passionately worshiped without reservation. In bringing the experience to a tapered intimate level, poetry was expressed through media art and simple instrumental music. After a couple more songs, the pastor, Erwin McManus, seated himself on a stool in the middle of the sea. His presentation was very dramatic, captivating and progressive, like waves of storm. His use of story, sent out sonar waves to probe the realities of underwater culture. His delivery mirrored the preceding worship elements and imagery. The people were held captive by his unquenchable sermon style. Personally, I was greatly moved by waves of intensity, which fueled my undistracted focus. The connection of the entire service defied tradition and was strangely sacred. Biblical truths were moved from obscurity into clarity. Worship was real and unprecedented.

My experience and familiarity of Sunday church was polar opposite from Mosaic. I began to question and challenge my own views on the how's and why's of what do on Sunday mornings. Is the American white church the only system to proclaim the Gospel? Do we really have evangelism figured out? It seemed to me (and still does) that in the Church, we spend far too much time catering to sub-culture needs rather than making ourselves more available and more tangible to the world. We live in a time of constant change. We are witnessing a dramatic influx of culture, trends and customs as well as the political and economic impact in the U.S. The movement is unstoppable. Moreover, there is also a compassionate and unstoppable force to connect people to the love of Christ. "An Unstoppable Force," by Erwin McManus declares the inceptive need for reaching people in this culture of change, He writes:

"Everything begins to change when the world becomes your friend, when the nations become your neighbors. For many American churchgoers, pluralism ended an age of certainty. It became arrogant to think that we were right and everyone else was wrong. It was presumptive to believe that our American convictions could also be imposed on a Chinese colleague or especially on someone who had never heard…If a spiritual expression wants to be considered as legitimate in the emerging culture, it must be able to cross the barrier of racism and isolation." (McManus, pg.53)

 For ministry to grow it begins with God and ends with people. In connecting to people we need understand culture. We need to be creative and receptive in forming the DNA in our local churches in order to meet the needs of our society. In decoding heart molecular structures: authenticity, accountability, unconditionally, partiality, spectatorship, passiveness, inactiveness and dryness are in need of reform and revitalization. A Second Reformation is already in progress. The solid faith we live and conceptionalize is slipping through generational cracks. This chasm exists on the basis that we are not in touch with our surrounding world-culture.  McManus wrote, "A strange freedom comes when you have clearly defined a reason for existing. Once you're settled on what the church is about, you'll be able to innovate and create without fear," (McManus, pg. 196).

The work of God needs to be returned to the people, not to our own affiliations. In the first Reformation, the word of God was returned to his people. The implications of universal priesthood for Christians, have yet to be experienced glocally. The latent effectiveness of church outreach resides in the truth of God's Word. The power of holistic community worship dwells in the life of God's spirit working through the hearts of people like you and me. From our homes, work places and churches, we have a guest list set before our dinner table. We have food already prepared for those in need. We already know how to invite people to our churches, the better question is how are we serving them?

Two Great Reads:
Unstoppable Force -
A Heretic's Guide to Eternity - Spencer Burke