There's A New Church Emerging
"If you fear change, place yours here." 
--Sign on jar on counter of Starbucks Coffee Shop in Portland, Oregon airport

Calvary Chapel opened the door to a whole new thing: worship that rocks! As a teenager I spent many Friday nights at the old Long Beach Auditorium listening to bands like Love Song and Country Faith and Saturday nights at the big tent in Costa Mesa listening these bands and others such as 2nd Chapter of Acts, Keith Green and Sweet Comfort. The music and message spoke to my heart and shaped it.

Thirty years later, God is doing another new thing. Generation X, the first generation of postmodern times, presents new challenges to reach people with the timeless message of Christ's love. While Baby Boomers challenged old assumptions, there was still a general belief in absolute truth. That was modern thinking, but postmodern thinking replaces absolute truth with relevant or personal truth. Baby boomers shook the foundations of the establishment with their protests. Xers demand a level of authenticity in conduct that exceeds even the Boomers demands. Baby boomers grew up in largely intact families but Xers grew up with relational chaos due to divorce and mobility. Baby Boomers were hopeful that they would change the world but Xers, stuck with the leftovers from the previous generation, are more cynical and have basically given up hope that large-scale change will come.

With the belief that Jesus Christ embodies the truth, authenticity, community and hope postmodern people crave, God led me to consider a new ministry for a new time. For the last seven years I have been involved with a ministry called Highway that addresses the host culture without compromising the Gospel message. Beginning with a Friday night alternative worship service hosted by a large, established church in Silicon Valley, Highway has now been spun out as an independent church meeting in Palo Alto High School across from Stanford University. A key first assumption we operated by was that the timeless message needed "new wineskins." The media savvy and media saturation of postmodern people necessitated a new approach. As a result, a HighWay worship service is a multi-sensory experience. Minds are stimulated through biblically dense preaching. The alternative rock style (but not the content) of worship music is informed by the culture we seek to penetrate. Authentic expressions of worship are encouraged through participation. Journey segments provide insights into how God's permeates lives.

The use of video has been the single most effective component in our worship services in unpacking the truth of the passage being studied or the theme for the morning. Video and other media build visual bridges to the truth. Early in our services we show a video or film clip followed by a brief explanation of its relevance to the theme. Often we'll use another clip or two before, during or after the message, to make the truth plain. We have been blessed with a relationship with an independent studio, Highway Communications that prepares original video vignettes in accordance with our teaching themes. Believers and seekers immediately identify with the message through creative displays of the truth.

There's a new church emerging that lives out the timeless message with relevance and impact. Just as Chuck Smith had an incredible impact on the church 30 years ago--an impact that endures--God is calling some of us to lay aside our tired, old ministry assumptions and embrace the new thing: a church in postmodern times designed to minister to postmodern people.