c. 2000 Religion News Service

(Tom Ehrich is a writer and computer consultant, managing large-scale database implementations. An Episcopal priest, he lives in Durham, N.C.)

(UNDATED) Think of religion operating in the marketplace.

Cars dart in and out. People dash here and there. Trucks wait for breaks in the flow and pass through. Agile pedestrians do fine. The slow of foot tend to feel frustrated.

The scene looks chaotic. A few fender-benders occur. Occasionally a line of burly bikers seems to dominate the intersection. But they move on, and traffic flows.

Along comes a large and lumbering police force. A year or two ago _ an eternity in intersection time _ some vehicle got banged up and made a fuss. The occasion is long gone, but the paperwork finally got to the Law.

The Law studies the intersection, doesn’t understand a thing of what it sees, but in the manner of relentless bureaucrats draws an unshakable conclusion, namely, this looks out of control, this can’t be allowed to continue.

Let’s go after the bikers, says the Law. They’re the intimidators.

The bikers, of course, are far down the road. They’ve gone legit, bought houses, won some and lost some. In fact, no one has seen them dominate the intersection for ages. But that doesn’t stop the Law. They drag the former bikers out of their suburban mansions, force them to explain their rude rough-rider days, and shout in their faces with tight-lipped piety.

The marketplace has no interest in the Justice Department’s relentless pursuit of Microsoft Corp., except to wonder whether the Law’s clumsy and late arrival will kill the golden goose. In technology, victory goes to the nimble, quick and innovative. Whatever Microsoft did in its biker-gang days is history. The market changes too fast to worry about remedies for yesterday’s problems.

In fact, as Web-based computing makes Microsoft’s desktop solutions look dated, and competitors like Oracle, Sun, Linux, Intuit and Palm seem to have little trouble holding their own, Microsoft bears a striking resemblance to IBM, the ponderous iron-builder that Microsoft routed years ago in its biker-gang days.

The issue in today’s marketplace is speed, not precedent. The future belongs to those who see emerging needs and have an innovative, can-do attitude about responding to them.

Organized religion dominated the intersection with propriety, not bikes and leathers, and historic denominations’ moment of control lasted longer than Microsoft’s. But as in technology, history has kept on moving. Stale arguments about old controversies shed no more light than old WordPerfect manuals. Faded franchises claim privileged status and demand the game be played their slower-moving way.

Congregations cling doggedly to locations and styles of ministry the marketplace abandoned long ago. They keep trying to build community through weeknight meetings, for example, as opposed to e-mail networks and workplace gatherings. Preachers keep defining Greek verbs while people cry desperately for insights to real-life needs.

People’s lives keep changing. So do their needs. The point isn’t that speed is better, but that speed is reality. If organized religion wants to serve people _ rather than itself _ then it must look around, as Jesus did, and see the marketplace.

See men and women who are working too hard but don’t know how to survive otherwise. See the poor getting poorer. See the technically illiterate being left behind. See an educational system whose pay scales and teaching methods are as outmoded as the old Apple computer someone bought five years ago. See the melting pot become a double-boiler, in which the many steam and the few become savory.

See greed consume the nimble and quick, turning the joy of creativity into a lust for instant wealth. See the instantly wealthy grapple with sadness and loneliness. See children begging for parental attention. See the mobile feel unconnected. See the connected not know how to embrace the new. See a house-of-cards world based on stock options and mutual funds teeter on the edge, throwing everything _ not just Benz-buying plans, but everything _ into question.

Religion has a choice: be a player in the marketplace, offering real people the good news of a real God, or be like the Justice Department, old men fighting old battles, perpetuating the stale illusion that punishing yesterday’s biker-for-a-day and preserving yesterday’s verities will accomplish a thing today.

DEA END EHRICH