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The Shift from an emphasis on religious values to an emphasis on secularism. Twenty years ago most people were religious, and virtually everyone had some kind of church background. Today we cannot assume that everyone we meet has a religious background. For instance, seventy-one percent of the people born after 1965 have had no religious training.

Their parents were the “children of the sixties”  where the predominant philosophy of life was “if it feels good, do it.” Many of these adults have no childhood memory of church attendance because their parents never took them.

Many have never heard The Lord’s Prayer because it was taken out of the schools. They don’t own a Bible and wouldn’t know what to do with it if they did. They don’t understand “Christianese”  or any of the terminology used in the church.  This kind of person thinks church is boring and irrelevant and they can’t imagine why anyone would want to waste time by going to church.

By Pastor Kirt Eure – A Shift From Religious Values To Secularism – Part 2

Check Out Other Articles

Paradigm Shifts What Are They? Part 1

A Paradigm Shift From Family To Media – Part 3

In times past families would sit around the fireplace and hear stories from grandmother and grandfather, or huddle around the radio arm in arm, listening and laughing together. Today’s generation is the first in  history to be raised by the media.  The average home in America has three TV’s and the average person watches more then fifty hours of Television per week. This has affected society in four major ways:

1.  A raised expectation of quality - Virtually everyone today has been exposed to the best quality music, preaching , teaching and entertainment available.  Churches must raise the value of excellence, or lose many potential members.

2.  Shorted attention span - Television programmers insert advertisements about every eight minutes, which has shortened the attention span of most Americans. A 30-40 minute sermon must be sprinkled with illustrations, humor , or stories to  hold attention.

3.  Increased competition for time – Since the average person spends more time watching television then they do at work, many Americans find themselves with less time now tan their forefather did.  If Sunday worship is not significantly meaningful , Americans simply opt to do something else with their time.

4.  Because Television is truly vicarious living , an increasing number of Americans are feeling the effects of isolation. In the future, churches that offer ways for people to develop rick, meaningful relationships will thrive.

Pastor Kirt Eure - A Paradigm Shift From Family To Media – Part 3

Check Out Other Articles On A paradigm Shift

Paradigm Shifts What Are They? Part 1

A Shift From Religious Values To Secularism -  Part 2

A Paradigm is a Philosophical view of the world, or the way in which we perceive, understand or interpret our world. Paradigm shifts cannot be ignored, even if we do not agree with the changes.

The way our society views the world may bot be doctrinally or Biblically sound, but it can’t be ignored.  In the next Several Articles  I will give a brief overview of paradigm shifts that have taken place in the secular world during the last 20 years and what they mean to the church .

Remember, as Christians we may not agree with these paradigm shifts, but they can’t be ignored.

Pastor Kirt Eure