I was commenting on the post below and I was reminded of this Simpsons exchange:

Lisa: “Nothing you say can upset us. We’re the MTV generation, we feel neither highs nor lows”
Homer: “Really? What’s it like?”
Lisa: “ehh…”

I wonder whether our critique of the gen x mindset is fair. It seems similar to the way that some people dismiss new models of church as being consumeristic because they seek to provide an experience that people like or choose. In that case, the problem is a flawed understanding of consumerism (ie the simplified notion that giving people something that they like is the same thing as consumerism). Might the same be true of the notion that young adult relationships and experiences are becoming commodified?

I think something that can clearly be said is that young adults, genXers or whatever are impatient with what I might call “same place” community (which we might also understand as institutional community). Some people define community as simply physically being in the same place - with the idea of everyone worshipping at the one time creates community. For people a couple of generations older than me, this might be the dominant understanding of what community is about. Young adults don’t get into that.

I am trying to figure out how to describe the type of relationships and community that have replaced institutional community - but I think that the online network may be an indication of the types of things that I am getting at. Through this blog, we have a network of people and connections which enrich and inform us. Is this false or commoditised community? Maybe it is.

I must disclaim that I didn’t hear Mark’s presentation the other day, so I don’t want to represent or mis-represent what he had to say. I am just playing with some thoughts here, so feel free to leave your comments whether you agree or not.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 21st, 2005 at 6:33 pm by dan and is filed under Forge, challenges for the church. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.