The Hyper-Engaged Christian Epidemic
by Rev. Mark E. Tidsworth, Founder and Team Leader
Remember those early days of the pandemic? For the first time in our lives, we stepped off the hyper-engagement fly wheel, slowing down and being more in the moment. At first, many experienced withdrawal symptoms, jittery and unsure of our next move as the urgency declined. The word “sabbath” became far more real to us, inviting us to move into a slower, deeper way of being and living. Remember vowing never to return to that overly committed lifestyle ever again?
As we go about church consulting these days, listening to Christian people in churches, those good intentions toward slower-paced lives are mostly memories. There are a few outliers, maintaining healthy relationships with their schedules and calendars. Yet, most people in churches we encounter are again anxiously pursuing schedules over-burdened with scurrying here and there. The prevailing American cultural myth that says busyness is a primary marker of success is alive and well among Christians in churches. Can we distinguish a difference between those in the Christian movement and those who are not in this respect? Does the Way of Jesus have anything to say about this? Should we be any different than the culture around us, or should we be just as busy in order to fit in with our culture?
Perhaps these are questions for church communities to collectively explore; at least those courageous enough. Here are a few more observations from the field we may want to bring to that discussion.
Sabbath is a key concept and practice in the Christian tradition
Busyness includes a certain addictive quality, providing a slight dopamine rush from which it’s hard to detach
We human beings like to fit in; like to appear successful with full lives
Our church systems are largely constructed for patterns of living more prevalent before 1990, when most had more discretionary time
Our church polity is largely designed for functioning in the aforementioned context, requiring many volunteer hours for maintaining our structural systems
Some Christians are still not sure they appreciate the counter-cultural call of our faith, resistant to being perceived as strange or unusual
Some Christians experience internal conflict between their desire for their children to “succeed” in this hyper-engaged culture and their desire to honor Sabbath and live healthy, balanced lifestyles
Churches are experiencing the predictable pinch in this context, having to consider what it really means to be church in this hyper-engaged context
Healthy churches are avoiding the impulse toward shaming, blaming, and guilting their people into serving, while sometimes they don’t know what else to do
So churches, how does the Way of Jesus provide guidance for us? When we prioritize our faith over cultural trends (and nearly mandates), what kind of support do we need from each other to stay true to our faith? What’s so good about the Christian story that we would make these kinds of shifts in our personal lives?
I realize I’m raising more questions than providing answers in this article. This time, I’m simply relaying what we are observing in the majority of churches we encounter in the field. AND, even though I have lots of opinions and recommendations on this topic, perhaps the greatest move a church can make is to make space for this very conversation. Imagine the Christians in your church gathering around tables, engaging this topic with the bulleted points above as conversation starters. How deep and real might the conversation go? I don’t know, but I want to be part of that kind of church… the kind who is courageous enough to go there, inviting us to explore the intersection of life as we know it with the Way of Jesus while in community with each other. May our churches become ever more faithful to the call to transform us (we ordinary human beings) into those who embody the life-giving Way of Jesus.