"Going" Tomorrowland
[Editor's Note: The following appeared as the introduction for a manuscript in the 1999 Power lectures. The book was The Lord's Church: Past, Present, Future, and the chapter was "Innovations in Worship, Past, Present, and Future." Some ideas for it were suggested by Brad Price and the college students in Denton.]
Jack and his family park their vehicle on level 6 of the parking garage and walk to the bank of elevators. Momentarily, they enter one with some other folks, descend rapidly to street level, and exit into a throng of people heading into the lobby of the Cutting Edge Church of Christ. This morning they do not recognize any of the 15,000 people who have gathered together for worship, but they take their usual seats in Section B, Row 15.
They all put their earphones on and turn on their computer monitors, which are attached to the backs of the seats in front of them. "Stop playing Minesweeper," the mother chastises her seven-year-old son. It's almost time for Bible study. Every screen has a menu with appropriate options for each age group. Jack chooses to continue with "Growing the Church Through Mass Marketing Techniques." His wife always enjoys "Meditations from Walden Pond." Their ten-year-old daughter is studying the "Sensitive Sex Education" course, and their son is learning "Good Versus Evil, As Taught in Star Wars."
The teachers' classes were live from a studio in another building. There are several small soundproof rooms with a whiteboard, markers, a podium, an easel for charts, and a few technicians. Periodically, the teacher poses questions, and the students type in answers. The assistant monitors these and relays an appropriate message for the teacher which appears on the teleprompter. The message might say, "Some students are confused on the second point" or "You look nervous today; don't talk so fast."
After the class there is a fifteen-minute break for those who must use a restroom. During this time the band comes in. Churches of Christ were the last religious group to use instruments in the worship, but they at last decided that they just could not get the "gospel" to people unless they offered elaborate musical programs, as all the other large religious groups did. Now the arena really rocked with the raucous sounds of happy worshippers. The words to the songs appeared on everyone's computer screen.
The musical "praise" lasted fifteen minutes and was followed by the weekly 5-minute message from Max Staccato, broadcast via satellite to congregations all over America. He had been the unanimous choice for spokesman to address brethren on their computer screens nationwide by virtue of his unique ability to express deep thoughts in short, shallow sentences.
The next twenty minutes was devoted to the sermon for the morning. For those not interested in the speaker on the stage, the earphones and computer screens held a variety of options. Children could receive a rousing message from a youth minister, and the elderly could absorb a more pastoral presentation from a wise and sedate retired preacher. Everyone was allowed to specify whichever gender was preferred. But no matter what the choice, each message was completed in precisely twenty minutes for purposes of synchronicity; the ten-minute drama began promptly at the conclusion of the sermon.
The Lord's Supper followed immediately after; it only took five minutes, even with so many people gathered together, because several 'droids were assigned to each section. They were quick and efficient. The offering was then collected when each worshipper placed his credit card in a slot on the computer monitor and dialed up the amount of that week's offering before swiftly removing it.
The last five minutes was reserved for advertisements and a one-minute electronic closing meditation. "Be sure to stop at our Deli on your way out to pick up Sunday dinner for your family; as always, there are a variety of choices. If you will be on vacation soon, or involved in golfing, hunting, or fishing, you won't want to take time out of your busy schedule to find where the nearest electronic church meets; so be prepared to worship wherever you are by taking your battery-powered laptops with you. You can also stock up today on Communion Snackpacks, courtesy of Wineskins, Incorporated; they're available in both fermented and unfermented forms. Don't forget to read your devotional e-mails at the office or at school; these are free to all our members. Stop by for the latest in T-shirts and swimwear in our Witnessing Apparel Boutique. Browse through our bookstore where you can find the latest religious jewelry, WWJD bracelets, and various inspirational items. This evening, from 6:00 to 8:00, a guest band will be performing: it's the ecumenical and popular group, Nuns and Moses. This is a show you won't want to miss. See you then, and have a great week."
Jack and his family arose from their chairs and departed with the crowds. They felt so refreshed and marveled at how much had been packed into just one hour's time. As Jack reflected on the improvements in the worship, he chuckled at the way he had once endured 45-minute sermons, replete with texts that seemed so irrelevant to modern living. This new arrangement was much faster-paced and more interesting. Furthermore, no one any longer felt embarrassed to bring friends to worship since the emphasis had changed from stale issues to third millennium challenges. "How pleased God must be," thought Jack, as he punched the elevator button to the sixth floor.
[More than twenty years have elapsed since those words were written. Back then, the title was "2001: A Church Oddity." A small prize will be given to anyone who can figure out how the following year was selected for the title of this imaginary look into Tomorrowland.]
2056
Steve D8 lived in NAIL (North America, Illinois), R4 D7 (Region 4, District 7). He had never met Winston S18 from NAKY, but the younger man seemed intent on visiting him and had rented a single unit electronic cab to bring him. This one flew from 20 to 25 feet off the ground, as opposed to the two-person units that hovered between 10 and 15 feet above the road.
Steve D8 was an older Christian—one who was referred to as a bishop. He was well-known on three continents, having traveled frequently and engaged in a great deal of mission work. Brethren in North America, South America, and Africa knew of him and his reputation as a leading figure in the church. The man coming to visit him was much younger and had made an exciting discovery he wanted to ask him about.
As Winston S18 emerged from the vehicle, the two greeted each other. Steve D8 invited him to drop the usual designation and just call him Steve (although there were a number of other Steve Ds (some older and some younger) in the district. Being younger, Winston S18 quickly reciprocated.
"So, what brings you to NAIL R4 D7?" Steve asked.
"I know your time is valuable," replied Winston. "So, I'll get right to the point. I've found something I've never seen before," he said, retrieving a book from the luggage compartment. "It seems to be called a King James Bible, and it's in book form. Have you ever seen one?"
"In my youth," Steve answered, adding, "before everything was converted to electronic format."
"But who is this King James person?"
"Nothing for you to be concerned about," Steve reassured the youth. "In olden days there existed what was called versions of the Bible. There were dozens of them. The Ministry of Religion decided to do away with them and just use what, as you know, is called Electronic Worldwide (EWW). The use of a plethora of versions was so confusing. Now we can broadcast everywhere in the world and all have the same version."
'Well, yes, that's convenient," said the youth, "but how do we know it's accurate?"
"Well, of course it's accurate!" Steve snapped. "It was produced by the best scholars in the world. Why does all of this concern you?"
"Because verses in the King James are left out."
"How do you know that?" Steve said accusingly.
"I've compared parts of this King James with the EWW. And they're not the same. For example, verses 9-11 are missing from the short letter of 2 John."
"Well, yes, it was deemed better to omit those because of the phrase, the doctrine of Christ, as well as not having fellowship with those teaching error. As you know, today we always have fellowship with everyone—no matter what they teach."
"But isn't that dangerous? What if someone does not preach the truth?" Winston asked.
Steve answered, "Don't you remember being taught that truth is the way a person sees something—and that we all see things differently? The problem with saying that one interpretation is right and another one is wrong is that it just results in too much division. So now we have one global church, and any doctrine is acceptable. This way we are all in fellowship with each other."
Winston thought about these words for a while and then said, "I know that's what we've been taught all of our lives, and it sort of makes sense—but not entirely. I'd like to compare some more verses."
Steve spoke: "I admire your youth and your enthusiasm, but there really is no need to frustrate yourself in doing so. The Ministry of Religion has already decided what you need to know. You just need to trust us."
"But removing Scriptures from the Bible just doesn't seem right," Winston protested.
"Look!" Steve remonstrated sharply. "Who do you think has more wisdom—someone your age or a council of learned religious leaders? You have no idea what it used to be like—division between different religious groups—division within various religious groups. Something had to be done. People were always getting upset. Do you know what used to be done? Of all things, people had debates with each other! Surely, you can see the ill effects of everyone trying to prove his own position by what the Scriptures teach. Things were chaotic! Now we all have unity. We all fellowship each other, and everyone is happy."
"But is that genuine unity? People still have different beliefs," Winston interjected.
"Of course they do, but nobody cares. Truth and lies are all the same. It doesn't matter. But the printed Bible you have could cause a lot of problems. I'm afraid you need to leave that with me."
"What? I want to do more comparative reading."
Steve took the book from him. "Trust me, it will only give you a heartache. I'll destroy it so the world will be a better place." Winston returned to his vehicle, happy that he not mentioned the other copies he had found.