Toward Defining Complex Culture

In the last few decades, trends and tremendous shifts in our society and technology have been shifting our perception of what is urban. The media, (broadcast, cable, satellite, and internet), have replaced the Church as the most significant source of the formation of values in our culture. They exert a strong influence on the values, thinking, and lifestyles of Americans nationwide: urban, suburban, and rural. Worldwide immigration adds racial, cultural, language, and religious complexity. Ideological pluralism, gentrification, generational complexity, and much more have blurred the focus and changed the context of our traditional understanding of ministry.

It seems to me that a new term is needed to describe these new conditions for ministry. I like to refer to this new normal as “complex culture.” These components are combined in distinct ways in each community, making each church and its ministry unique.

What do you think?

What would you name this phenomenon?

The next post will be a short explanation of some of the significant changes which, taken together, I am calling complex culture.