8 God and Popular Culture worship. Even if worship attendance seems to be a habit and does not carry any observable emotional baggage, there is a compelling reason why people come back again and again now that much of the weight of culture discourages such behavior. This is the second place Tillich’s thought is relevant to the analysis of what seekers seek. The seven types of worship roughly correspond to the six existential anxieties Tillich identifies as persistent, inevitable stressors in life.13 There is a direct correlation between the changing circumstances of one’s life and the kind of mission-targeted worship one seeks and there is a direct correlation between the lifestyle segment, the anxieties that motivate seekers, and the kind of worship they seek. The six existential anxieties are: emptiness, meaninglessness, fate, death, guilt, and condemnation (or shame). Tillich argues that these six anxieties lie at the roots of finitude and describe both the plight and strug- gle of human beings.14 Demographic research suggests that these anxieties can also be associated with distinct lifestyle segments. The existential anxiety of emptiness is especially associated with life- style segments that experience lives in transition, dramatically changing community or neighborhood contexts, and high mobility. They feel “lost” and are looking for direction. They gravitate to coaching worship services that are informal, topical, practical, dialogical, and that guide participants through the ambiguities of daily living. For example, Experian15 describes a lifestyle segment called “Diapers and Debit Cards” that encompasses young, working-class families and ­ single-parent households living in small established city residences. Recently I worked with such people through a church outside of Kansas City. These couples and single parents are starting out or starting over. They’re under 35, trying to raise kids on lower-middle-class incomes. They have mod- est educations and face tough challenges in changing circumstances, often single-handedly. They are constant church shoppers, looking for tips and tactics to sustain optimism and improve their lives. Their religious perspec- tive links God, Family, and Country in a single continuum. Their psycho- graphic profile inclines them to be traditional, dutiful followers who value family and faith—and are increasingly disappointed with both. The existential anxiety of meaninglessness is especially associated with lifestyle segments that have liberal arts or professional backgrounds and experience careers in transition and broken relationships. They feel lonely and confused and are looking for authentic relationships that embody and clarify truth. They gravitate to educational worship services that provide theological insight and ethical perspective are liturgical, formal, and his- torical with at least three points to take home and ponder.
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