Left to Right: Rev. Renee Perkins, Rev. Jenifer Stuelpe Gibbs, Rev. Jill Moffett Howard
Three Indiana United Methodist clergy on their ordination day.
When I was a 23 year old theology student, I nominated the first woman to be elder in the life of our conservative church. The response: “We don’t feel called to challenge the church constitution at this time.”
A really brilliant student with which I had the joy of sharing a trip to Sierra Leone, West Africa shared this on Facebook this week: “After ordering five things and two drinks from Taco Bell for my roommate and I, the guy asks me if I want to donate a $1 to “end world hunger”… well, when you say it like that… of course I will donate a dollar. My trip to taco bell just saved the world. What have you done today?”
[Read more…]
Chipotle has taken a risky marketing strategy, but one that is likely to be popular among Millenials. Both the Church and marketers have failed to reach these young people in the past because the slick campaigns that worked with their parents just appeared to them to be inauthentic. The marketing challenge for Chipotle will be convincing their audience that they embody the cultural critique that they are communicating. I’m not a marketing guy, so you would do better reading the marketers’ commentary if we want to think about what Chipotle is doing here.
I’m more concerned with what these story tellers can show us about the values of the Millennials that they are targeting. I’m not going to provide much commentary on the content that is best available here, so you really should watch it before you read what I think the Church can learn.
Dr. Jeremiah Gibbs 