6/7 Has Left the Building

As quickly as it came, it even more quickly left.

The phrase became a cryptic puzzle for all those older than a tweener: “6/7”. Middle school teachers were perplexed by what caused snickers when it was uttered inadvertently. While everyone beyond fifteen was trying to decipher its meaning, the fact that something actually meant nothing was part of the joke. Or as one young girl put it, “No offense to adults, but I think they always want to know what’s going on.”

In national news and social media outlets, dutiful anthropological adults tried to discover its roots, finding the possible origin in rapper Skrilla’s song: “Doot Doot (6 7).”

Which, apparently, didn’t help either.

It was the ultimate insider poke at adults: “You don’t get to get it.”

And interestingly, as soon as adults started referencing the phrase, it was over. Or as Groucho Marx quipped, “I don’t want to join any club that would accept me as a member.”

Near our house is a Six Flags amusement park called Kings Island. Lots of great coasters, including The Beast: the longest wooden roller coaster in the world. Spectacular—and guaranteed to displace your spleen.

But they also present Broadway-light shows. A while back I saw a “Rock & Roll Revue” featuring songs from the fifties and early sixties. For you millennials and Gen Zers, rock & roll was arguably birthed out of Delta blues, jazz bebop, and country, but was the punk rock of its time: rebellious and subversive. Excuse the analogy, but it was a frank middle finger to the status quo.

And so hearing these unruly insurrectionary lyrics being sung by six clean-cut bedazzled singers with budget-rate choreography was everything opposite of what rock & roll represented. It was sanitized, white-washed,  quaint, and ridiculous. It was as discombobulated from its cultural roots as oil and water.

So here’s my warning: as leaders in the Church, be careful trying to communicate hipness and relatability to the current generational zeitgeist.

You’re probably doing it badly. It was over before you got started. 6/7 had left the building.

So what works? An authentic expression of counter-cultural love.

Real Love is always subversive. Real Love breaks the rules and puts you on the “Don’t-Pass-Go, Don’t-Collect-$200”-route and sends you directly to the Cross. It will cost you something, but you’ll be authentically connected and relatable to those who need you most.

Easy? Of course not. But honest. And you’ll sleep better at night.

Be real, my friends. As real as Jesus.

Dave Workman | The Elemental Group

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