Posted by
Keith on Saturday, December 02, 2006 10:08:14 AM
The Post Modern Emerging Church style of worship is attracting many believers from age 18 to 30. For them, contemporary worship is too "happy-clappy," too much of a show. Emerging Church worshipers don't care if a speaker stumbles and mumbles or if a song is thrown in last minute as long as it's REAL.
That word, REAL, is used over and over when one reads up on these services. That's fine. If fact it's wonderful. However, there is a big disconnect here. The REAL generation is the same bunch that has all but taken personal contact out of communication.
Gone are the days of picking up the phone to talk to someone. Many teens do their socializing from a computer screen as they instant message other teens from all over the world... at least they think they are other teens. Rather than have a REAL conversation, they prefer to type out, "r u gng 2 schl tdy," followed by, "idk."
A university in New Zealand is now allowing students to answer test questions in text talk because too many of them can't write in English anymore. I've heard anecdotes from friends who have gotten emails from people in that 20 to 30 age group who don't capitalize or use punctuation because, "It makes it more personal, like we're having a conversation." It makes it more REAL.
Teenagers have made text messaging with their cell phones a routine way to communicate. About 63% of Americans from ages 18 to 27 text message, according to a Pew Internet & American Life Project survey out in March. Those teens are bringing texting to their parents - or are moving into the workforce and texting with older colleagues. Now 31% of cell phone owners ages 28 to 39 use text, and 18% of those 40 to 49 do, Pew reports.
As of a year ago, about 5 billion text messages were being sent a month in the USA, up from 2.8 billion a year ago, according to the wireless trade association CTIA.
There are those that are down on communicating this way because they don't understand the technology. I believe it's is a fad. We've survived The New Math and Ebonics. It's OK to learn a new language, but let's not forget to learn the original English, although my generation is responsible for the word "like" replacing the word "the" as the most commonly used word in our language.
Maybe we need a new translation of the Bible in text talk..."In t bgng, Gd crtd t hvn n the rth"
My message to readers who are 18 to 30 is this. If you want it REAL, put down the cell phone, shut off the computer and talk to people. Life, REAL life, is found by experiencing life face to face.