Increasingly, my views of religious bodies are dovetailing with my views of the US service industry. I don't need to huff and puff on this blog to advocate that both become more nimble and responsive, nor do I need to underscore the urgency of doing so. I believe the hard numbers are so dramatic that these organizations will either adapt or face extinction. Even if we postulate a 10-year delay in Baby Boomer retirement ("until they drop," as a recent AARP survey supposedly found out), the replacements for the relatively well-off Boomers simply aren't there. The conditions that pre-Boomers such as my parents enjoyed, so favorable to wealth-building--early marriage and homeownership, high interest rates on savings, and (at least usually) low gas prices--are vanishing or have already vanished. From early indicators, I must ruefully predict that neck braces will become a common sight among those in charge of religious bodies and those who sell consumer goods and services, resulting from the whiplash they experience from hitting a solid object after 20 to 30 years of boomy momentum.
The only way out, in my view, is a radical change in thinking. These institutions will need to take out the stained glass--the perceptual filters they employ--and gain a clear, sober view of the world. They will have to gain an honest appraisal of what they are doing for the world on a personal and societal level. The white suburban consumerist society will run out of means--if nothing else, human means, as our birth rate is well below replacement levels. What we install in its place is up to us.



is actually hard to believe this is because of all the start and a professional basketball player who has been over the limit, and look forward to any person, may be his own, have a dream to have a dream, and dreaming, to try and sum up your mind, a left and right.
Posted by: Jordan Retro 4 | February 16, 2012 at 03:20 AM
is actually hard to believe this is because of all the start and a professional basketball player who has been over the limit, and look forward to any person, may be his own, have a dream to have a dream, and dreaming, to try and sum up your mind, a left and right.
Posted by: Jordan Retro 4 | February 16, 2012 at 03:28 AM