Warm weather brings about change in every Midwestern person. Some break out of cabin fever only to visit movie theaters for the big blockbuster films beginning to release. Others don their sports gear and hit the ball fields and 5K races. Attendance starts to drop at churches across America and vacationers head to sights of interest.

There is no surprise in these activities, as it happens like clock work. What I don’t understand is why many churches are caught off guard by it. If the church is relevant for today, why does it not change its behavior and program locations during the summer along with everyone else?

In all my travels, I have yet to see a vacationer’s church experience promoted. Oh, I’m not talking about having churches invite vacationers to their normal services during the summer, the very thing people are getting away from, but rather something new and exciting that makes Christ relevant to our summers.

Chicago is a huge place for vacationers every summer and always open to new ideas and events. One event I’d love to see is a boat trip on the Chicago river that points out the sights where God moments happened to normal people – stories of faith at every bend.

Or, what about at the ballpark? Sponsoring a sports clinic with a Christian athlete as the main speaker for those attending, not to mention the workshops for coaches on how to inspire and encourage kids based on biblical principles. Even secular coaches want to know how to coach better.

Summer theater is another big opportunity for travelers. Who wouldn’t want to see a wholesome family show in the park sponsored by a community church with kindness exuding from the volunteer ushers? Just finding a clean show is a miracle in of itself, let alone the experience being rich with love and grace.

I never understood why some folks feel that evangelism has to be about hell, fire and brimstone. I’ll never forget hearing one speaker on my college campus condemning everyone who walked by. He got right up in my face and shouted that I was a sinner headed to hell. What he didn’t know is that I headed up the only known Bible study on the secular campus where I attended.

After I wiped the spit from my face, I invited him to join our study that night. The shock on his face was amazing. That night he came by my dorm room and joined our study. The students took time to pray blessings over him. The next day he was on the main campus walk again, but instead of preaching condemnation, he spoke of grace, love and joy. He drew a huge crowd like he had never seen before.

Perspective is a marvelous gift we have, but few seem to look at life from different angles to see what they’re missing. If your church is in a rut and doing the same things day in and day out, I suggest you volunteer to be a part of the new summer vacation out reach program your church hasn’t yet thought about.

Find a way to speak into the lives of those who don’t attend church. Be intentional about doing something your church never did before. After all, most of your congregation has chosen to do something this summer that they have never done before, so consider facilitating your church doing the same. You’ll be amazed at how many people are just waiting for something fresh, different and life giving.

The days of critical thinking have given way to decisions based on emotional intelligence. Participation trumps the days of being informed or instructed. Gone are the days of allowing presentations to bombard us without feedback or interaction. Even the entertainment industry saw such a rise in interactive video games with it’s sales exceeding that of CDs and DVDs combined.

The average graduate entering the workforce has accumulated 20,000 hours on the Internet and 10,000 hours playing video games. In perspective, it takes 10,000 hours of practicing a skill to master it — Joining the top 2% of people in their field.

Emotional intelligence is the basic currency needed to function within the intuitive realm of the Internet, video gaming communities, and social networks. It was the same currency required for religious activities prior to the invention of the Gutenberg press around 1436.

Today, most of the next generation will not attend church unless they can participate or serve. They are looking for an experiential spirituality, not one of logic or discipline. Yet, most churches are just now implementing the philosophies of the mega churches that relied on presentation to quickly grow during the 80s and 90s. Several of these churches are learning that they can’t capture people in their 20s or early 30s.

The corporate world is also learning that the presentation based training programs that worked with older employees are ineffective with the new breed of businessmen and women entering the workforce. The young workers can barely handle the needed people skills, but have mastered the creation of Power Points and spreadsheets.

Even political parties are stumped with how to capture the next generation, as most organizations are still promoting with presentations instead of finding hands on ways for the younger generation to get involved in works of party based services. People no longer want to believe someone who is speaking at them, but rather want to come along side of them in accomplishing something that sees immediate action done.

What would happen if a political party would collect significant donations and invite their younger constituents to enter an abandoned warehouse and convert it with their own hands into a homeless shelter? The parties could still use the core of their organization to make it a viable project.

The Republicans might have big business donate the materials with some level of employee involvement and the Democrats might raise awareness and a few dollars through their online community.

The emotional intelligence necessary for the next generation to make decisions of what church to attend or political party to support, comes down to levels of participation and experiences gained. While presentations will always be a part of business, government and the church, the only organizations that will excel among this new generation of service oriented people are those who engage in hands on activities that directly translate their mission into action.

A common question asked by pastors is, “Should I blog?” My answer is emphatically, “Yes!”

Interestingly enough that is not the answer pastors want to hear. Those from big churches share a rebuttal about not having enough time due to all the programs they have to manage, while pastors of smaller churches talk about how their people manage to absorb their every waking hour with crisis after crisis.

However, some realize that blogging gives them an opportunity to help individuals hold onto their Sunday message a little longer with follow up comments. One pastor uses his blog to clarify misunderstood points that the grapevine buzzes about. Another pastor uses blogs to follow up his preaching with real life applications and additional examples of how the Bible plays out in everyday life.

Yet most pastors worry about their poor writing skills. After all, most were people persons who didn’t have much time for developing writing skills. But, as we all know, excellent writing isn’t as important as good content. People are looking for transparency and truth. They want to hear from authentic people, flaws and all.

Our society is tired of false imagery suggesting that anyone is perfect. We are tired of the 65-year-old starlet who has a plastic face. We want real people with real problems that some how make it through life. It’s no wonder that reality TV is ranked high in the ratings – Although some question the reality of reality TV.

This need for transparency shows up in business and government as well. We all know that budgets can be balanced, as we do with our own checking accounts, so it is understandable that corporate presidents and governors will eventually have to do the same. Can you imagine what life would like if all our leaders were transparent? Some would no longer be leaders and others would be escalated to the top.

The funny thing is that there are numerous Christians, or modern day Pharisees, who are so concerned about appearing spiritual that they refuse to cry or be cynical in front of others. They work hard at maintaining their spiritual mask so everyone holds respect for them. Well, that is until a crack shows up in their armor.

Don’t Christians know that there is more grace for those who stumble than for those who don’t?

Frankly, I’d prefer to be known as a person who has received much grace, than be perceived as a guy who is close to perfect that others avoid for fear of conviction by association. I want to be approachable, which is only possible through transparency, not facades.

Now, that’s not to say I feel everyone should start talking about their last lustful thought on the Internet, but I do believe being real is vitally important to our communities. Not the mention the great feeling we get inside when we live up to the historical phrase, “To thine own self be true.”

For a pastor to be true to himself, he must find a way to stay relevant in the life of those he encourages. And, since most of the members of his congregation are on the web, it only makes sense that he too would be present with words of encouragement.

Unfortunately, most pastors never learned the finer steps of blogging in divinity school and start out making numerous mistakes that require grace from his peeps. The real question that needs to be asked is, “Will his congregation extend him grace as he explores blogging, or will they descend like vultures expecting nothing less than perfection?” – Bombarding him with ruthless emails.

The follow up question is similar, with a focus on Facebook. Now here’s a social network that creates more transparency than what people realize. There have been many a person fired after a Facebook entry and it makes me wonder how many churches have let pastors go after a misjudged remark on someone’s wall.

We live in a scary age of technology and we’ll find it harder to hold onto false images of who we are in the days to come. Soon there will be little kept private, as all things are revealed in the end times. There will be no pretense left. You will be in front of the world, as the person you really are.

Will you be characterized as a perfect Christian or a sinner saved by grace? For me, it will be the latter.