The Flattening Church A Review of The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century Thomas L. Friedman (©2005, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, ISBN: 0-374-29288-4)

 

One of the most talked-about books this year is Thomas L. Friedman’s The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century. While the book may be a good conversation-starter, it tends to polarize people into one of two camps. The first group finds Friedman’s insights revelatory, ground-breaking and broad in scope. The other camp finds him to be little more than a cheerleader for corporate excess with a mind-numbing obtuseness regarding the facts of history. Regardless of where one stands on the merits of the book, one thing is certain – he does give voice to complex topics that we need to address in an increasingly flat world.

 

The World Is Flat is an attempt at a high level overview of the pervasive trend in society today toward globalization. The title comes from the concept that ten major forces have converged during the early years of the twenty-first century to create a level playing field in the marketplace. Where the economy was once dominated by major corporations and the First World economies of America and Europe, we are seeing a transition to smaller corporations that are able to compete effectively with the Big Boys and from such places as Singapore, South Korea, India and China. Friedman’s breezy treatment of complex economic, social, religious and cultural factors opens him up to justified criticism but the forces and effects that he describes are very much a part of our world. Even more importantly, these are forces we need to confront as we go about our daily lives. For that reason alone – the clarification and articulation of world-changing forces – this book is required reading.

 

Churches typically tend to remain behind the curve on developments in culture and society with fundamentalist lagging even further behind. Rarely do we find ourselves at the forefront of discussions about important trends and factors that influence society. Usually fundamentalist and evangelical critiques are knee-jerk reactions against anything that represents change. Friedman’s book offers a way for many fundamentalists and evangelicals to at last inform themselves on the hot-button issues that people are talking about today. Even more valuable, is that it provides us a way to talk about the coming cultural shift and what we can do to prepare for it.

 

This is not to say that evangelicals are going to rush to the stores to pick this up. There are a couple of simple reasons why this book may be largely ignored by pastors, teachers and church leaders. The first reason is that it isn’t a church growth book with a simple plan for boosting the size of your congregation. Even more telling, the book isn’t even Christian and has no easy-to-connect dots that translate text into practice for today’s churches. This doesn’t detract from the book’s value but underscores the need for pastors and other church leaders to inform themselves about the forces shaping the world in which they are ministering.

 

That may explain why some won’t read the book, but what are the reasons a pastor, church leader or member should read it? Aside from the most obvious reason that we should be well-informed about what is going on in the world around us, we need to anticipate how the forces shaping our world will impact the way we do ministry in the remainder of the twenty-first century. For example, one of the most obvious benefits of living in a flat world is the ubiquity of the Internet and its impact on how foreign missions are being done. Many churches and mission organizations are using web sites and portals to speed communication between missionaries and their supporters. This brings missionary activity in even the most remote parts of the world into the homes of any Christian interested in reading about or seeing digital pictures of what is going on in the field. Even more powerful, is the fact that many third world countries have better cell phone coverage than the United States enabling missionaries to phone home any time with prayer requests, special needs or immediate updates. With a quick click of the camera phone, a missionary can now instantly transmit pictures of the newest building or group photo of the last baptism. Possibilities continue to expand with the advent of online colleges and seminaries making it possible for people anywhere in the world to further their education. Just as importantly, translating the Bible into native languages no longer requires being on the scene since file sharing, MP3 and digital media transmission makes it possible for someone sitting in Saint Paul, Minnesota to listen to remote villagers in Papua, New Guinea.

 

However, this is the merest surface scratch of possibilities available to churches today in an ever-flattening world. As business ties to China, India, Japan, Mexico and other countries continue to strengthen economic cooperation, societies are becoming decreasingly resistant to outside cultural influences. This is removing barriers to the spread of Christianity, furthering the cause of evangelization. We are fast reaching the place where public school students in the former communist bloc countries will have easier access to the Bible than those in the United States.

 

The world is a fast-changing place and churches heavily invested in doing things the way they’ve always done them - or even as recently as ten years ago – run the risk of being left behind in the global world. They will find themselves trying to minister to people who don’t exist any more. When natives in Kenya have better cell phone service than church leaders in Omaha, it’s time to rethink our position in the world. Friedman’s book gives us a place to start this rethinking process.

 

by Rick Presley