During a Columbia class lecture a few weeks back, I jotted down the following as the big challenges local churches face in the coming ten years: consumerism, sexuality, sacred/secular, tribalism, technology, beliefs (epistemology), nationalism (not the same as patriotism), and busyness. Of course, there are other ways to say what I’m saying but sometimes I trust what pours out, then I critique it at a later point.

By “challenges” I mean, realities in American life that can either help the church embody the story of Jesus or significantly hurt the church’s mission.