Lately, I've been having a dilemma. The times have changed, whether it's the BC & AD divide, the millennium divide, or the transition from the Middle Ages to the Modern Era. Corona, aka Covid19, has been a time bomb for many changes. Since then, many changes have occurred in our churches, and the question of online and offline worship has emerged, and the current atmosphere is dominated by the need to prepare for both. Some call it the hybrid church.

I am a pastor in my mid-50s. I've been noticing a sudden uptick in the use of the phrase "lattes. If I didn't recognize myself, I could probably get away with it, but the problem is that I find myself thinking about it both ways, and it's kind of a dilemma.

There is one book that caught my attention last year and this year. It is "Korean Church Trends 2023 & 2024," co-authored by Ji Yong-geun, CEO of the Pastoral Data Research Center. It is based on collected data, so it can be said that it is very sharp and has a different weight. There is a particularly memorable quote from him discussing the corona crisis in Post & With. "If we want to prevent the church exodus of 2030 and 3040, the church will have to change."

I read the book and understood it. It is right that we need to change now, just as we have changed at different times throughout history. However, the dilemma for me is, "By what criteria and to what extent should we change?" The Bible, the word of truth, tells us not to imitate this generation (Romans 12:2). However, this generation has urgent and important things to do, so they skip church services or use online services for convenience. In some cases, it has become natural for spouses and children to skip Sunday services because they don't want to go to church.

The Bible encourages us to grow up to the measure of the stature of Christ (Eph. 4:13), but the mood in this generation seems to be to grow at our own pace. When you try to reach out and actively lead, they back away as if their territory has been invaded. Truth is supposed to set us free, but we seem to control it with the freedom we are given. I worry that these thoughts and ideas are symptomatic of the "latte generation.

But if the essence of the gospel must change for the sake of the generation, is this right? I am deeply troubled. Truth should remain unchanged. But the clothes of culture can change. But as I look back on my past 25 years of ministry, I struggle with the question of how to change. As you remember the words, "Do not imitate this generation.