Preaching the Kingdom to the Institution’s Marginalized

There is a storm brewing on the college campuses in America. With the emergence of the merit-based economy of YouTube, Wikipedia, and the blogosphere, anyone with a worthwhile insight, novel thought or creative idea can be an influencer. For the first time in history, each one of us has a real shot at ”going viral” and become a household name overnight.

This decentralization of power and influence only exacerbates my generation’s distaste for the Institution; that thing that says, “This is how it is, this is how it always has been, so wait your turn like the rest of us did.” That’s not satisfying for me or my friends. If it doesn’t have to be that way, if there is a better way, then we want to make that happen, and we want it now. Screw tradition and the status quo (or so the thinking goes).

I recently came across a video that encapsulsates this emerging sentiment among college students toward the Institution of the University and the ways in which it’s bureaucratically resisted the needs of its students. The college degree is still an important document in our culture, but the methods of the institution are quickly becoming irrelevant to its constituents. And they’re growing more restless every year. Take a look.

This video gets me excited because it helps me realize that, much like Jesus, I minister to a people that is disillusioned with their ruling establishment. Like the Pharisaic Judaism of the first century, the modern elite American university has chosen to stagnate with regards to its instructional methods because it serves them well to do so, and has thus remained largely unresponsive to the needs of those it was created to serve. 

To the Church’s advantage, the arrogant disinterest of the University only serves to heighten these students’ thirst for the Kingdom of God: a place where they are seen, heard, and met precisely where they are at by the God who formed their hearts, knows each of its desires, and longs to meet them perfectly with His presence and love. I am fortunate to serve such a thirsty people.

I think there are two major implications for us as the Church on campus:

1) We must be personally sensitive to their discontent. I would even venture to say we ought to share their discontent in all its passion. We need to understand that in our everyday interacions with students, we are dealing with individuals who are being told that they exist to serve the institution, and that they must do so in order to become a significant member of society. That’s not OK. We must respond by entering into authentic relationships with hurting people where we patiently hear their needs, concerns and desires, and respond bodly with compassion and wisdom, reminding them that they far outvalue the Institution. In doing so, we free them to start believing that they were not created to pay their dues just so they can get by in this world, but rather to intimately know and be known by one who offers them a life fuller than they could ever imagine (Matthew 7:11, John 10:10, Ephesians 3:20). And certainly a life fuller than the one they’ve been told to settle for.

2) We must be institutionally sensitive to their discontent. The Church has the opportunity to be the counter-institution. We can shine a light among the institutional darkness cast by the University. In addition to being compassionate friends, we can run a humble organization; a humble Bride. We can carefully weigh and reflect every concern, hear every discontentment, and respond with a servant’s heart. If my generation saw the Church doing this, better yet, if they experienced the Church doing this, not only would they be utterly astonished, but I believe they would be changed.

Eventually, the University is going to come face-to-face with the reality that the reputation doesn’t make the students. The students make the reputation. And if they want to continue to attract high-caliber students, the bureaucracy is going to have to go. So if there’s one thing that can instantly kill a church’s influence among the next generation in America, it’s the deafness, stagnation, and bureaucracy of Institution.

May we be a Church that is way ahead of the game. May we beat every organization to the punch in providing a safe and empathetic environment for the disillusioned ones. May we follow in the footsteps of the godly leaders before us by welcoming the discontenteded and marginalized (1 Samuel 22:1-2, Matthew 11:28-30).

So, Church, if you want to have a serious impact on this world in the decades to come, you would be wise to take the painful steps to implement systems in which any individual in you rcongregation will be heard,  sympathized with, and responded to in a timely manner. This almost surely requires more resources than the immediate results would warrant, but I literally cannot imagine a scenario in which it wouldn’t be worth it in the long-term. The sustainability of your ministry will very soon depend on it if it doesn’t already.

If we can’t accomplish the basic task of making people feel heard and accounted for, we immediately discredit ourselves as an accurate representation of Jesus Christ. Thus, I truly believe that in the years to come, deinstitutionalization will be one of the Church’s greatest apologetics. I think that’s going to require some painful adaptation along the lines of Matthew 9:16-17, but the more flexible, compassionate and responsive we are, the more influence we gain. May the Kingdom come.

(Endnote: If you want to hear more on this topic, Gary Hamel is one of the leading thinkers in breaking down bureaucratic structures in the Church. He gives an amazing talk on it here. It’s a bit lengthy, but it is well worth the investment.)

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