What happened in the sixties? It was a time of great com­plexity. It heralded a cata­strophic culture shock, in theory as well as in prac­tice. It was a period of romantic socialism, anti-Vietnam protests, the drug culture, the arrival of the hippy movement, dramatic changes in sexual behavior. Commitment to one's part­ner, family, and church became a thing of the past. The cry for rights without responsibilities was loud and clear. Families broke down. Divorce rates went up. Reading declined. People began to journey inward. Self-discovery became the new passion. Psychology turned into big business. Therapists be­came the new priesthood telling their clients how to feel and what they should think about themselves. Knowing yourself became more important than know­ing God. Mental health became the equivalent to salvation. A youth culture developed without the nec­essary nourishment of soul and mind. There was little interest in the past. Youth wanted to live for the moment. They were not interested in the great store of knowledge about their cultural tradition they were supposed to inherit. Television's Bill Moyers remarked that "Americans seem to know everything about the last 24 hours but very little of the 60 centuries or the last 60 years." Young people became addicted to music — rock'n roll. The taste for classical music evaporated. Students and professors wanted to radicalize uni­versities. The climate was anti-intellectual. Allan Bloom said that as far as he was concerned this new trend was "an unmitigated disaster."

This revolutionary period was a water­shed in the Western world. It brought the re-emergence of pagan­ism, the insurgence of New Age, occultism, liberation movements focusing on the plight of minorities, blacks, the poor, women, homosex­uals, the handicapped. It witnessed the erosion of cardinal Christian doc­trines and the disintegra­tion of moral standards. Its effects are still with us today. With the collapse of historic Christianity in the halls of higher learning, biblical references, which were once common knowl­edge, became incompre­hensible. Explicitly Christ­ian symbols began to van­ish from public schools. And during this period the church experienced a sub­stantial decline.

Generation X, the baby busters born after the 1960s who follow the post-World War II baby boomers are enchanted by Michael Jackson and Madonna. They don't share the confi­dence their parents had in their sexual, political and social exploits. They lack optimism about the future, go to Disney World for entertainment and watch MTV. They are the "digi­tal" generation, raised not only with TV but also with the internet and faxes. An astonishing number of youth have their view of life fashioned by soap operas and talk shows and few are familiar with great works of art. They distrust organizations and are excessively self-absorbed. They want their 15 minutes of fame on talk shows. They ask: "Does it make me feel good?" rather than, "Does it make sense?"

Television has made the world a stage. Even the news is entertainment-oriented. What's seen on TV is con­sidered real and true. "I saw it on TV" is considered synonymous with gospel truth. Consequently, TV's influence on public opin­ion is powerful. Its pro­grams feature violence, gossip, and a preoccupa­tion with sex. The impact of American television has introduced the cult of con­sumerism through its relentless commercialism. The pursuit of happiness now means the pursuit of things.

The mass media also cre­ated the cult of celebrity. Youth identify with the fame and glory of famous movie stars and sports "heroes", leaving little room for the weak, for the elderly. Someone com­mented that suffering, which was once regarded as the "school of life and virtue," is now seen as a stumbling block.

Radical feminists began to redefine their role in the fam­ily, society, and church. Women's Studies programs and feminist scholarship proliferated throughout North America during the 1970s and 1980s. Such pro-basic principles of this world rather than on Christ (Col. 2:8).

The revolutionary spirit of the 60s and beyond had a greater impact upon the church than the church had on the world. Mainline denominations had already surrendered the heart of the Gospel to the spirit of the age before the sixties. Today evangelical churches risk losing the integrity of their message because they attempt to compete with popular culture on "its own terms" in the name of evangelism. They are in danger of recasting the Gospel in such a way as to undermine its integrity and render it unrecogniz­able to its original apos­tolic message. The barriers between the Church and the world have been removed in favour of respectability and popular­ity. John Stott observed that the church has been more influenced by the world than the Word. Instead of challenging the status quo with values of the kingdom of God, it has acquiesced in it. The church has accommodated itself to the prevailing cul­ture, leaped on all the trendiest bandwagons, and hummed all the popular tunes of the day.

How have the sixties impacted the church? In broad terms this is what I have seen happening.

• The preoccupation with self has found its expres­sion in the exuberant health and wealth theology that shuns a lifestyle marked by sacrifice and even suffering for the sake of the Kingdom. The mod­ern focus on self and feel­ings distorts the gospel and the development of a gen­uine Christian lifestyle. The believers' new life in Christ can not be based on good feelings or experi­ences nor on the process of self-improvement or self-actualization but on the facts and promises of the Gospel.

• In an age where "the cus­tomer is king" the church attracts audiences by try­ing to meet "felt needs" of the religious consumer to achieve success. Marketing techniques are used to spread the gospel but these techniques have also shaped its content. Church marketing principles as advocated by George Barna and Schaller give the impression that the gospel is a product to be Deuteronomy, that people do "not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."

Biblical preaching has always been the key to revival and reformation. "Is it not clear," asked Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, "that the decadent periods and eras in the history of the Church have always been those periods when preach­ing declined?"

• A common practice today is church shopping. Churches with attractive programs draw crowds. One church marketeer has even written a guide for church shoppers. Denom­inational loyalty is also waning.

• The market philosophy also influences worship style. The assumption is that if churches choose the right kind of music, people will be attracted to the Gospel. And more churches succumb to the temptation of changing their services into "religious perfor­mances" where apprecia­tion is shown with applause. Marva Dawn comments that the ones applauded become the center of attention instead of God, to whom the gifts are offered; it also height­ens the attitude in other members that they are not as important in the Body as those with special musical gifts.

• Feminism has impacted the Church. Some advo­cate the need for a femi­nist interpretation of the Scriptures. Radical femi­nists have redefined God. Judith Rock and Norman Mealy stress in their book Performer as Priest & Prophet that "it is impor­tant to work at doing away with sexist language in hymns, whether it be sexist language about human beings or sexist language about the Deity." Liturgical dance is promoted as a means to bring the Gospel via the nonverbal and intuitive feminine side of com­munication.

In our age of rapid change we must resist the temptation to be swept up by new fads. When confronted with new concepts we must test them with Scripture. We must remain faithful to our fundamental doctrines. When we marry the spirit of this age, we will be wid­owed in the next. The ques­tion is not what does this generation have to say to the church but what has the church to say to this age? In the early church, Christians were noted for their different lifestyle. They were counter-cultur­al. Their godly lives and their courage to proclaim the Gospel even in the midst of fierce opposition became one of the power­ful attractions of the Christian faith. As John Stott put it: "We must do our utmost to ensure that it (the Word) speaks to our time ... Our calling is to be faithful and relevant, not merely trendy."