Over the last few years, hugh shifts have been taking place throughout the world due to the new technologies that have emerged. Job losses, company buy outs, church consolidations, and 1000 ministers resigning per month in the USA all can be attributed to the hugh shift in the way our world has changed. My focus over the recent years has been to learn about these cultural shifts, explore where it may be going, retool myself, and make the paradigm shift to a new position in the back half of my life. But there is a few aspects of this shift that we all have to grasp.
First, we need to recognize at least here in America, that the last generation of church leaders did not embrace the cultural changes brought on by the Boomers. Every generation has a right to reshape their own institutions and world around what is important to them - the church included. The unfortunate thing has been that the "Builders" or what has been called "the greatest generation" - those born in the 1930's did not accept my generations redefinitions and reshaping of the church. They just wanted the church left alone. However, in recent years the contemporary church has finally emerged with boomer pastors finally having the opportunity to express their own cultural tastes within the life of the church - sadly without the blessing or permission of the builder generation who still think the church ought to be left alone. The problem is that 88% of GenX and 98% of the millennials have not darkened the church doors due to the culture within the church walls having no relevance to them because it is still a part of a bygone era- it seems that the builders have still sought to maintain control even though they are in their 80s. Recently, in the past few years I have sensed a tremendous call by God to begin the journey of becoming a part of "The Religious Society Of Friends" - (Quakers). I was greatly influenced to do this by a number of factors emerging from my own "Family History" and discussions with my doctoral mentor Dr. Len Sweet. Len is a noted christian semioticians who has a gifted insight into the state of the church in America. He said, “George Fox and Quakerism will be rediscovered in the 21st century and may be the best answer in presenting Christ to the postmodern mind.”
As a result, I began to explore Quakerism and found in my discussions with them that most of their leadership is 80 years old and above. One of these leaders said to me, "Oh, having you join us might help us get these younger people to become a part of our denomination." Not trying to be disrespectful, I looked at the board I met with and recognized that their youngest member was 67, three members were over 80, and two members were in their 90s. I responded to them and said "Well, I'm not sure I can serve you well in accomplishing that because I'm now to old to be on this board. You need to be passing the torch onto GenX and below now!" In another yearly meeting group, one 80 year old guy said to me, "You're not going to just send us out to pasture..." Wow, my generation has been no where to be found on most of these boards. When my generation does emerge within these contexts I have found that the 80 year olds are either working behind the scenes to undermine the boomers or seeks to regain control of the church in order to maintain the structures, values, and church cultures they crafted to serve their own generation. This stuff just doesn't work and I guess we need to be asking them permission to now let the emerging younger generation - "The millennials" to be given the opportunity to reshape the church so that the church has a future. But, it has been discouraging. 
The same problem now lurks in the boomer "contemporary church" model also. The church must find new ways to break out of "modernism" paradigms. CS Lewis wrote in his essays and fiction consistently his belief that the Modernist agenda is founded on a bankrupt philosophy for which its ultimate end is little more than a struggle for power. I believe that much of the fight within the "modern classical, contemporary, post-modern" church paradigms has nothing to do with the Gospel but is a fight between old modernism hierarchical models of church faith and practices and on the deconstruction of the hierarchical centralized church polities that were based on the "modernism" that CS Lewis wrote about. The major problem with "Builders" and "boomers" alike is that they are married to "modernism" and hierarchical structures. They love climbing corporate ladders and think they earned their position and now is their time. Just look at American Politics, Why is it that "Bill and Hillary Clinton" or "Jeb Bush" won't just go away? I believe that boomers culture was rejected by the builder generation who suppressed them so long that they feel they need this time to get out of their system what should have happened 20 years ago. Mitch McConnell is 72 (born 1942). Harry Reid is 75 (born 1939). Nancy Pelosi is 74 (born 1940). Jeb Bush is 61 (born 1953). Bill Clinton is 68 (born 1946), Hillary is 67 years old. Barack Obama is 53 (Born 1961). They waited their turn, climbed the ranks, paid their dues and believe its their time... everyone else needs to sit down and shut up. Hmmm, John Kennedy was 40 years old when he took the oath of office! 
When these shifts of power are challenged by a post-modern, non-hierarchical, egalitarian, leaderless, consent approach generation - leaders who have been raised in a culture of modernism begin to fight the emerging post-modern decentralized groups as though they are defending the faith of the bible. They will even find Bible verses to defend "modernism." The only way for the church to break out of these paradigms of hierarchy is for the boomer leaders of today (who are now entering into their 50s through 70s) to give the church over to the millennials and let them redefine and reshape the church to serve and meet the needs of this new post-modern era. Unless we do this there will be no future for a church stuck in methods that served the past. This includes the HOME DEPOT churches where centralized authority and hierarchy is immortalized on multiple campuses and on big screens. Talk about power and control? At least the church architecture of the classical church has stained glassed windows honoring Jesus and his story. Today's stained glass VIDEO SCREENS make the Pastor their focus as though he is the Vicar of Christ on earth! When God gave the five gifted ministries of Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers (Eph.4:11) he did not give them as a paid celebrity gift to be an oracle of God for us. He gave them to teach all of us how to hear and obey the voice of the Lord for ourselves. Unfortunately, our present video windows focus on who can give the most clever lines to be quoted on "twitter" or posted on FaceBook. One guy I know who is nearing 75 recently "twittered" "Come get Ricked" (his first name) rather than saying "Come get rocked!" Yup, that's why we should all go to church - to get Ricked! - Not to worship Jesus - not to encounter the Holy Spirit... we go to get inspired by the celebrity anointed one on the big screen. John Wimber was right when he said, "I'm concerned the Church has become more of a theatre experience, rather than a meeting place for people to encounter & interact with God. People don't need more entertainment; they need to encounter the King."
We are not called to mentor this emerging generation to our own "church structures" or "boomer paradigms." Age wise we see "boomers" in positions of power today with very little attention being given to "Millennials" about what they see the future looking like. GenX is forty years old and above now. The Millennials are beginning their 30s. When are they going to take the leadership of the church? Did you know that George Fox was 26 years old when "Quakerism" shook up the western world and created a nation called "America" during his time. General George Washington was 26 when he led the American Revolution. But we can't give the church to the millennials because they might mess it up and make all of us uncomfortable with the redefinition of "church." The change is here. If we can send our young men and women to the middle east to fight "ISIS" and other threats to the power brokers of that part of the world... why not give those same young men and women the chance to do the same with the current culture of the church? I can guarantee this... the next American Idol will not be 70 years old! It's time to give it up and find an isle called patmos.
