My friend Bob Dale is a walking trend-spotter. Maybe it’s because his son is a professional futurist. Or because he’s written a zillion books on leadership. Or he is reading about five very different books at a time most weeks. Heck, it’s probably all those reasons, and because he pulls for the Tar Heels, too!
When I’m paying attention, I can detect cultural trends by listening to the sorts of things Bob is interested in. Last spring, he wondered out loud if we were coming into an era where it would be a sin for Christians in the United States to speak only one language.
John Chandler
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Doggone, I haven’t been able to shake that comment, and had to buy my first Rosetta Stone. After all, I’ve got to figure out how my fluent-in-Spanish sons are picking on me.
Bob recently caught my attention by saying that the average person entering the work force today would average a total of 10 jobs and seven distinct careers over the course of their professional lives. I knew the days of getting a gold watch from the company you spent your entire career with were over, but I hadn’t realized how much the landscape had changed.
The Bureau of Labor and Statistics confirms Bob’s statement. According to www.bls.gov, the median tenure a person stays in one job is 4.1 years. Workers aged 55-64 stayed in jobs 9.9 years; workers 25-34 stayed 2.7 years. We are moving toward shorter tenures and more jobs within a career. Blame it on the economy, but I believe it is a larger cultural milieu of accelerated technology, quicker obsolescence, global competition, thinner margins of financial viability and higher senses of believing your job should be meaningful.
What does the trend of “10 jobs in a career” mean for the church? More specialists and fewer generalists. Frightened workers who have lost agility for quickly-changing environments. Smart leaders who retool constantly. People who think of their ministry and work in “chapters” of three to five years at a time.
What does it mean for me? Thanks to the grace and generosity of Virginia Baptists, I begin a study leave next week that will take me through the end of the year. I’m retooling for leading in a changing world. And I’m going to learn Spanish. ¡Nos vemos en enero!
John Chandler is leader of the Spence Network, www.spencenetwork.equip.htm. His column will return to the Herald’s pages after he completes his sabbatic in early 2013.