These are the slides I used for an hour-long Christian Education program at Brentwood Presbyterian Church in Brentwood, CA. We talked about culture shifts in general and technology, structure and evangelism in particular.

1. Being and Becoming
the 21st Century Church
Brentwood Presbyterian | Bruce Reyes-Chow
slideshare.net/breyeschow

2. Symbol of
Unknown
Origin
http://bit.ly/NjFLEi
#PCUSA | @BREYESCHOW

3. Why Bother?
Genesis 17-18 . . .
Will a son be born to a man 100 years
old and a woman the age of 90?"
Abraham gave the best of what he
had . . . Sarah laughed . . .
God is NOT done with us and is
continually asking us to birth new,
irrational and unexpected things.
What are we being asked to birth, to
give and to know?
#PCUSA | @BREYESCHOW

4. Who are you?
morning people or night owls
ages: under 90, 70, 60, 50, 40, 30, 20
best decade: 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, 00’s
childhood faith tradition: presbyterian, methodist, baptist,
COGIC, catholic, non-denominational, none, other . . .
main role: teaching elder, ruling elder, deacon, youth worker,
choir, mission, administration, education, worship, building
distance to BPC: 10 min, 30 min, hour, 2+ hours
church longevity?: till the end, >10 years, >5 years
technology: email, texting, facebook, twitter, blogging, google
docs, skype, dropbox, pinterest, instagram, spotify,
foursquare, doodle, yelp
#PCUSA | @BREYESCHOW

5. about.bruce
#PCUSA | @BREYESCHOW

6. 21C Culture Shifts
Authority and “t”ruth:
from a single source of authority to
an open source of discernment.
eg . . . how we explore and discern
Scripture, politics, culture, worship,
decision making, etc. changes.
SO WHAT? The church can flatten
authority structures and open up
decision making processes that
takes seriously our belief that we
best discern the Mind of Christ and
the Will of God . . . together. Photo by carbonnyc
#PCUSA | @BREYESCHOW

7. 21C Culture Shifts
Mobility and Commitment
from a life-long commitment to
“place” to an expectation of
transience and change.
eg . . . we change how we perceive
a person’s commitment in terms of
longevity.
SO WHAT? The church can adapt
to the rhythms of life, the
changing value of longevity, how
time is committed and how tasks
accomplished. Photo by carbonnyc
#PCUSA | @BREYESCHOW

8. 21C Culture Shifts
Spirituality and Public Engagement
from a silent understanding of
separating church and state to an
increased move to a public
expression of faith and politics.
eg . . . we acknowledge political
realities while encouraging
personal discernment.
SO WHAT? The church can
equip people to live their faith
across all aspects of their lives:
public and private.
Photo by wy_jackrabbit
#PCUSA | @BREYESCHOW

9. 21C Culture Shifts
Structure and Adaptability:
from a mindset of methodology and
“steps” to a of spirit of approach and
adaptability.
eg . . . Changes how we structure
our communal lives: congregation
and councils.
SO WHAT? The church can
embrace structures that are
flexible, responsive and life-giving.
Photo by 31878512@N06
#PCUSA | @BREYESCHOW

10. Example // Structures
Terms of service: x years, but w/permission to leave;
How F2F time is used: life-giving work, spiritual study and
big-picture thinking;
How responsibilities are given: projects, areas, and latitude
to shift foci;
How meetings are held: purposeful and creative setting;
How “business” is done by using social media platforms
and other time-saving technologies;
Assumptions of the group: trusting, honest and permission
giving;
#PCUSA | @BREYESCHOW

11. 21C Culture Shifts
Technology and Community:
from geographic clustering and
isolation to broad global community.
eg . . . our understanding and
experience of community, privacy
and social interaction is broadened.
SO WHAT? The church can
embrace and integrate technology
so communities and individuals
may best engage with the breadth
of human experience and
expression. Photo by splityarn
#PCUSA | @BREYESCHOW

12. Example // Technology
Evangelism/Yelp: Be where people find for other
important living resources.
Pastoral Care/Facebook: Use lists to keep up with the
daily lives of members.
Worship/Pinterest: Collect ideas for worship, chancel
arts and other ideas.
Admin/Doodle: Group choices that are clear, trackable
and communal.
Communication/Group.me: Group texting and
conference calling.
Community/Instagram: Connecting for visual people.
#PCUSA | @BREYESCHOW

13. 21C Culture Shifts
Influence and Social Capital:
from a monolithic presence and
mindset to a niche reality and
opportunity for growth.
eg . . . denominational evangelism
strategies will change.
SO WHAT? The church can
manifest itself across “niche”
faith communities - a multitude
of expressions and experiences:
theology, styles, settings, etc.
Photo by glamhag
#PCUSA | @BREYESCHOW

14. Example // Niche Church
We must shift from a grand
and monolithic self-
understanding to one that
embraces a niche culture
then...
...develop, discover and
embrace multiple
manifestations of what it
means to be the church.
#PCUSA | @BREYESCHOW

15. 21C Culture Shifts
Authority and Truth | From single-source, top-down
authority to equalized and flattened discernment.
Mobility and Commitment | From exclusion determined
by longevity, to inclusion based on gifts.
Structure and Adaptability | From rigid method-based
organizations to flexible and adaptive structures.
Spirituality and Public Engagement | From an assumed
personal faith to a public expression of beliefs.
Technology and Community | From being
geographically bound to being relationally expansive.
Influence and Social Capital | From the monolithic
assumptions to niche expressions.
#PCUSA | @BREYESCHOW

16. Questions and Comments
Questions, Comments, Reflections
Connect with Bruce
twitter.com/breyeschow
facebook.com/breyeschowpage
patheos.com/blogs/breyeschow/
slideshare.com/breyeschow
THE DEFINITIVE-ISH GUIDE FOR USING SOCIAL
MEDIA IN THE CHURCH
Shook Foil Books, 2012
#PCUSA | @BREYESCHOW