As a general rule, what we see here is that western Washington is littered with examples of the result of man's attempt to live without God. A simple walk down the street gives one numerous examples of how man has attempted to fill the hole in his soul with poor substitutes. While many people here would proclaim to have "happy" lives, the fruit of their existance tells a different story.
To start in a general sense, here are some pieces of information about the state of Washington itself. On the political scale, western Washington (the state west of the Cascade mountains) is decidedly liberal, with parts east of the mountains or south of Puget Sound being pretty conservative. It is notable that the political line of distinction is also marked by urban and rural environments. Washington is the only state in the union where gay marriage, assisted suicide, and marijuana are all legal.
Marijuana is a continuing hot button topic here. Since the law passed last year which legalized it, there have been numerous shops that have opened up around the Seattle area which sell it for "medical" use. They are marked with a green cross that resembles the insignia for the red cross, and they are popular. More recently there is a food truck that has opened up which drives around the Seattle area selling variants of food with marijuana cooked into it. This coming Tuesday, retail marijuana shops will open across the state, all of which had to become officially licensed by the state prior to opening. It is estimated that 500lbs of marijuana will be sold statewide on this date.
We were surprised when we arrived here to see the amount of hard liquor which is sold in the average grocery store. In Houston one could usually get wine or beer, but here those things are accompanied by many brands of whiskey, vodka, and other harder drinks. These sections in the store also take up a lot of room. Clearly alcohol in all forms is a big seller in the stores.
The jail in downtown Everett is surrounded by bail bondsmen.
Electronic cigarette and "vapor" retailers are sprinkled throughout Everett.
Unions are extremely prevalent here. The Boeing machinist's union is particularly powerful and constantly is in the news. Teacher's unions are also big here and very powerful, and have influence over most decision making with education policy in the state.
Seattle loves sport. The Seahawks are king for obvious reasons. The 12th man flags are everywhere around town and to hang one of the flags is to be part of the team. In addition to the Seahawks, the second biggest draw here is the Seattle Sounders, the MLS soccer team that plays at the same stadium as the Seahawks. Soccer is huge and draws more people than the Seattle Mariners baseball team! There are numerous sports talk stations on the radio, outnumbering the stations in the Houston market. Baseball and football leagues are big here from May through September (when the weather is good) and games are regularly played through each weekend. Many families center their lives on sporting events that their kids participate in.
The people in the Seattle area are decidedly friendly. We have been welcomed by many people here. The big difference is that, while in Texas you will be welcomed as well, here there are limits to that. Showing too much interest in a person seems to make them hesitant and even suspicious. It takes a long time to form bonds with people here, and that usually comes over a large number of short encounters with them. Whereas in Texas it is a normal thing to strike up conversations in a hallway with someone you don't know, that sort of thing isn't always very successful here beyond the usual shallow pleasantries of "hello" and "have a good day."
Residents here have a real love for the state and the land. If you have followed this blog at all you have seen many pictures of the rugged natural beauty that is here. People here speak of the land with a deep reverence. Many people I talk to know weird facts about western Washington and could probably name 5 places that a newcomer has to see or go experience. There is huge interest in the fruit that is grown on the other side of the mountains and that is a frequent source of conversation at my workplace. People gaze at the mountains in awe when they are visible and make plans to go visit them with a hike. It is encouraged and expected that people will take off work or even school to enjoy a beautiful day on the water or on a mountain. During the summer months the sun comes up at about 4:30 in the morning and sets around 10:00PM, so there is plenty of time to enjoy the outdoors.
The pace of life here is significantly slower than what we experienced in Texas. Daily life is marked with people deliberately taking breaks to go take a walk outside, or going to a room by themselves to "reflect" or read a book. People take days off from work to enjoy the outdoors and pull their kids from school to do the same. In fact, we have been surprised as to how easy it is to get kids excused from an absence at school! Yoga in all forms is very popular here. Any new research study that touts the benefits of getting up from your desk every 20 minutes, taking walks, reflection, or meditation quickly gets circulated and talked about in any and every circle.
Religious beliefs here are as diverse as the people. We have met countless people who call themselves "spiritual." They always remind me of what the Apostle Paul encountered in Greece when he saw a statue that was dedicated to "an unknown god." Many people we have met love to talk spiritual matters and are genuinely interested in what anyone has to say about them, but they live in darkness. Buddism is also popular and there are various temples around town that allow for meditation and reflection. Catholicism is another popular claim to religion, but I have met few of these who have actually attended mass in recent times. On top of this, there are many, many people with no belief at all. They come from generations of having no church background and no belief in Jesus or in any other god.
Each and every one of the things mentioned is a factor contributing to the Pacific Northwest being one of the least churched regions of the country, with 90% or fewer people who attend a church.
Why go to church if it is pretty outside? The weather will soon turn bad and we won't be able to enjoy it.
Why go to church to experience happiness? My drugs and alcohol will do that for me.
Why go to church to seek fulfillment? My job does that, and my bank account provides me with anything I could want.
Why go to church to fellowship with others? I have friends at work, through little league, and on the hiking trail.
Why go to church on Sunday? That's when the Seahawks play...or there's that Mariner's game coming up that is big. I'll just connect with Jesus later.
I can't come to your Bible study. My son has baseball tonight, and tomorrow, and Saturday, and a tournament on Sunday.
As I have stated before, all of the factors above leave the church with some major challenges in this area. First and foremost, what do we provide that a person can't get elsewhere? Everything I named above, while a poor substitute for Jesus, is actively used as a substitute here. What does the church provide that I don't already have or can easily get?
For an excellent perspective on the challenges facing churches in this region, I would encourage you to read the blog by a church planter friend of ours in Tacoma, Bobby Higginbotham. In one particular post he describes his experience with some of the cultural norms here and how they have impacted his church. You might be surprised at some of the things he has to say. Read the post here.
Finally, I found the gem below recently and discovered that it does a nice job of describing the mindset we see that is growing in our country, and in western Washington. This is the mindset of those who have rejected God.
Creed by Steve Turner
We believe in Marxfreudanddarwin.
We believe everything is OK
as long as you don't hurt anyone,
to the best of your definition of hurt,
and to the best of your knowledge.
We believe in sex before during
and after marriage.
We believe in the therapy of sin.
We believe that adultery is fun.
We believe that sodomy's OK
We believe that taboos are taboo.
We believe that everything's getting better
despite evidence to the contrary.
The evidence must be investigated.
You can prove anything with evidence.
We believe there's something in horoscopes,
UFO's and bent spoons;
Jesus was a good man just like Buddha
Mohammed and ourselves.
He was a good moral teacher although we think
his good morals were bad.
We believe that all religions are basically the same,
at least the one that we read was.
They all believe in love and goodness.
They only differ on matters of
creation sin heaven hell God and salvation.
We believe that after death comes The Nothing
because when you ask the dead what happens
they say Nothing.
If death is not the end, if the dead have lied,
then it's compulsory heaven for all
excepting perhaps Hitler, Stalin and Genghis Khan.
We believe in Masters and Johnson.
What's selected is average.
What's average is normal.
What's normal is good.
We believe in total disarmament.
We believe there are direct links between
warfare and bloodshed.
Americans should beat their guns into tractors
and the Russians would be sure to follow.
We believe that man is essentially good.
It's only his behaviour that lets him down.
This is the fault of society.
Society is the fault of conditions.
Conditions are the fault of society.
We believe that each man must find the truth
that is right for him.
Reality will adapt accordingly.
The universe will readjust. History will alter.
We believe that there is no absolute truth
excepting the truth that there is no absolute truth.
We believe in the rejection of creeds,
and the flowering of individual thought.
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