Stuff you should know and why - Pt. 2

Why "Millennials" are leaving the church - By Rachel Held Evans

First of all, you should know who Rachel Held Evans is. Period.  

Beyond being well written and comical, you should know this article at least for the following reason sated by Evans: 

Time and again, the assumption among Christian leaders, and evangelical leaders in particular, is that the key to drawing twenty-somethings back to church is simply to make a few style updates – edgier music, more casual services, a coffee shop in the fellowship hall, a pastor who wears skinny jeans, an updated Web site that includes online giving.

But here’s the thing: Having been advertised to our whole lives, we millennials have highly sensitive BS meters, and we’re not easily impressed with consumerism or performances.

In fact, I would argue that church-as-performance is just one more thing driving us away from the church, and evangelicalism in particular.

Enjoy!

Current failures projected as future fears

For as old as the earth is, there is a conversation that is universal. Every generation fears that the next generation is going to be messed up. ​

Older generations decry the seemingly decline of values, respect, and morals. Technology, music, fashion ​and pop culture are, among other things, blamed as contributing to the "rapid decline of society".

I get it. Every generation in some ways moves away from previous generations and perhaps it is just human nature to be concerned about this sort of thing. 

The thing is that when we fear for future generations, I think we are really just projecting our own failures. It is easier to blame the next generation for their faults, and thus fear their moral decline, than to take ownership of our own failures. ​

Could it be that our failures contribute to the "decline" that we so greatly fear? ​

I do not fear that American culture is headed down a slippery slope ​to the lower bowels of hell. I fear that my generation will fail to live up to our own dreams and hopes in such a way that we will turn to fear.  

Re-post: "What If the Kids Don't Want Our Church?"

Derek Penwell wrote a fine piece for the Huffington Post which I encourage you to take a moment to read.*

​If you are not interested in reading the whole thing: Here is an abridged version of quotes:

During this moment of reflection, my friend had an epiphany: What if his kids don't want all the stuff he's worked so hard to acquire?​

But what happens when a generation comes along that doesn't care about the game you've spent so much time buying equipment for, has little invested in the durable nature of the stuff you value? What happens when your kids say, "Don't give me all that stuff. I'll just have a yard sale, and call Goodwill to haul away what's left over"?​​

In fact, in many ways, these generations increasingly think the church has been running toward the wrong finish line for years --concerned as it seems to have been not with figuring out how more faithfully to live like the Jesus of the Gospels, but in acquiring bigger and better stuff to hand down to a generation that doesn't particularly want to inherit it.

I love the church but I agree. I am leaning toward the day when we can have a garage sale. But that day is a bit down the road. 

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*Thank you to Rev. Ramon Smith who shared this article with me. ​

Living with sin of the past

In the Bible there are a number of times when God tells the people that they will live with the sin of their ancestors up to several generations. 

It was once described to me in ecological terms. We are still living with the consequences of burning fossil fuels at massive rates. We are living with the sins of the past.

Being a church leader it is clear that the current crop of church leaders are living with the sin of the past church leaders. 

Today's leaders have to navigate the past hate toward the LBGT community. We have to build trust that was lost from scandals in the church. We have to build integrity that was lost when previous generations acted with less than noble actions. 

Of course I have  concern that the sin of the past is too much to overcome in one generation.

However, my greater concern is that the next generation will have to overcome my sin.