TV talking heads this morning are speculating whether or not Americans will have to accept this economy/unemployment/inertia as the "new normal." They quoted someone who was asking the question as it related to American productivity. Fewer workers can do more with technology...therefore, never again as many jobs. It was mighty early, so I don't remember the guy...but I'm not sure he coined the phrase. When I Googled it, it showed up everywhere in all kinds of contexts.
If 90% of "committed Christian" households (people who attend at least 2 times a month, give something to their churches, and say their faith is important to them) gave 10% of their income through their churches, American Christians would have $85.5 billion dollars a year to spend changing the world. (Passing the Plate)We wouldn't have to grieve the closing of food pantries. Families who lose jobs wouldn't have to lose homes. We could stop childhood deaths from malaria, bad water, and starvation. We could hire all kinds of workers to educate children, to tutor, to mentor, to guide--and stop the cycles of poverty and violence in our communities.
So, is the new normal grousing about 10% unemployment and how pathetic the government response is and how we wish someone would DO something! Or is the new normal the people of God stepping out in faith, taking a risk that in living and sharing the way God asks we can create a new normal that will change our world--God's people doing something. Now that would be something to talk about in the morning.
The argument from the bean-counters...even those who are committed Christians...is that people won't give in bad times. They hold on to their money to take care of themselves. And we should understand that, they say. It's only human. It may be only human, but it's not fully human. If Jesus shows us what it means to be fully human, then we need to give up our fear about saving ourselves. I can tell you this. In 53 years of life I have never heard someone committed to tithing complain that they didn't have enough money. I've heard many say they expected to not have enough. I've heard many say they don't understand why they have what they need. I've heard many speculations...perhaps I'm more careful with the rest...perhaps I don't spend without thinking. But what I have experienced and what I hear from others is that the expected deprivation is not the actual experience.
We may be in a new normal in America. If so, the new normal, just like the old normal, will be banging into our faith practice. In good times, we didn't do very well. When actual incomes were going up exponentially, actual giving dollars were declining. I wonder what the church history books will say about the American Christian church in the 21st century. Will it be that our faith couldn't hold up under the weight of economic strain...that the American church just faded out? Or will it be the remarkable faith journey ignited by a people who gave so generously that they changed the world?
What will be our "new normal?"
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