I feel that there is an unhealthy obsession in the church to attract people my age. Growing up I left the church my family attended because the truth about Jesus and about the Gospel wasn’t central. After I left that church, I visited many churches. Some were better than others, but I could never commit because something was bothering me, I just couldn’t identify it myself for some time. Then one day, my Christian roommate told me why she didn’t like going to church with me: because it was too showy. That insight began the understanding I have today. Churches are trying too hard to attract people my age, the millennial generation, with light shows, edgy music, and gourmet coffee. Even if many of the churches I attended for a time preached the gospel, it still wasn’t central. From the distracting “culturally relevant themes” to the lights that didn’t help my focus during worship, the message was made clear on Sunday before the sermon was preached. The focus was to make things attractive, not Gospel-centered.
A few recent articles and research findings have been going viral about my generation and the church (another sign we are a bit obsessed). I would like to point out a few findings that seemed to shock people, but really are just pointing back to the ultimate source of instruction, the Bible, where the correct way a church is to function can be found.
Probably the most popular one is entitled, “Why millennials are leaving the church”. There’s a lot of false information in the article (beginning with the title), but first I will point out one thing that I think shouldn’t have taken Christians by surprise, but is absolutely true. As Rachel Held Evans wrote, “Like every generation before ours and every generation after, deep down, we long for Jesus.” This statement I would definitely have to agree with, but what she writes later leads me to believe the Held Evans isn’t talking about the Jesus I know.
What’s troubling about Held Evans article is that she seems to want the church to conform to her idea of Jesus. She wrote, “What millennials want from the church is not a change in style but a change in substance.” Held Evans needs to define substance here because what I’m assuming is that she defines substance as what is taught. What is taught in any church should be the truth we find in the Word of God.
In addition to the Word of God being manifested in the Bible, here is what we learn from the Bible about what the Word is, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God” (John 1:1-2). From the context of this passage we know that “He” is Jesus and also the “Word”. God manifests himself in the Word and in Jesus. That is really foundational to who we are as Christians. We can’t change the truth because it is the Word (John 17:17), the Word is Jesus, and Jesus is God. So if we need to change substance, then Held Evans is suggesting changing Jesus. The problem of this suggestion is that truth never changes, the Word never changes, Jesus never changes, God never changes. (2 Peter 1:20-21, Isaiah 40:8)
Pastor Jake Peterson at River City Church in Fargo responded to Held Evans and he seems to have much of same reaction. He wrote, “In reality, it seems Held Evans would just like the church to stop focusing on some issues: sin & sexuality, creation/science, politics of a particular stripe; and instead focus on other issues; inclusion when it comes to sexuality, open-mindedness when it comes to science, and politics of a different stripe… Held Evans is asking for ‘more Jesus’ but what she really wants is a different Jesus”. What Pastor Jake Peterson point out here is that Held Evans seems to be picking out parts of the Word that she likes and leaving out other parts she doesn’t. This is contradictory to how we as Christians should view the Word of God as having authority over us. It shouldn’t be the opposite: us having authority over the Word of God.
Yes, the Word is controversial in some areas, but I do believe that the younger generation wants Jesus, the Word, and God so badly and here’s why: We aren’t leaving the church. Contrary to what Held Evans title suggests, that Millennials are leaving the Church, we are coming to faith and going to church. An article recently came out addressing the misconception entitled, “Who is Really Leaving the Faith and Why?” It states, “Many of the most significant and encouraging findings are largely being ignored, while the less accurate and discouraging ones are being emphasized.” Why are these studies inaccurate? Pew research found that Millennials switching church may in fact be counted in the group of those leaving the church. Another finding is that there is a difference between conservative bible-teaching churches and mainline protestant churches. “The General Social Survey… recently noted a 2.2% decline in mainline churches and a slight 0.6% increase among conservative churches.” What about those leaving the faith? Well here’s what they found, “Pew asked those leaving if they ever had a strong faith as a child. Only 11% said they did. The other 89% said they never had a strong faith in the first place. Not surprisingly, homes modeling lukewarm faith do not create enduring faith in children. Homes modeling vibrant faith do.”
Both of the recent research findings and the Held Evans blog post leave me to conclude two things. If the church wants Millennials then they need to teach truth, the truth that never changes. That truth is the Word of God. We need to not just teach parts of it, but all of it. The Word is controversial and Jesus is controversial, but the truth is what really changes people. My other conclusion is that maybe the main problem isn’t with the church, but with our homes.
Where church really happens is outside the doors. The Christian life isn’t something you can just act out on Sunday morning, but the Christian life is the transformation that happens because the truth of the Gospel was preached. Transformation isn’t acting like a perfect family on Sunday and belittling your spouse or children every other day of the week. Transformation isn’t singing a song on Sunday for comfort and getting that temporary comfort from your idols (sex, food, alcohol, work, knowledge, yourself) every other day of the week. Church families like these are why many of us left church. Some of us only saw fake Christians with no transformation. There was no reason for some of us to invest our lives into something with no positive outcome.
Transformation is real when you’ve been hurt and you have the power to forgive because you’re forgiven. Transformation is real when you’ve had a bad day and instead of eating or drinking away the pain you reach for the Bible. Transformation is real when no stronghold in this world has power because the truth of the Word of God has set you free!
Here’s the kicker. Millennials are no different in what we need than any of you older, more experienced people out there. We all need the transforming power of forgiveness found in Jesus Christ. We’re tired of churches being more concerned about numbers than focusing on what’s really the purpose of the church. Remember what Jesus told us in the great commission, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commended you (Only bolded to emphasize something often looked over, not to diminish the importance of the rest.) And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” So stop being obsessed with Millennials and devote your churches to the transforming power of teaching truth, the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
A few recent articles and research findings have been going viral about my generation and the church (another sign we are a bit obsessed). I would like to point out a few findings that seemed to shock people, but really are just pointing back to the ultimate source of instruction, the Bible, where the correct way a church is to function can be found.
Probably the most popular one is entitled, “Why millennials are leaving the church”. There’s a lot of false information in the article (beginning with the title), but first I will point out one thing that I think shouldn’t have taken Christians by surprise, but is absolutely true. As Rachel Held Evans wrote, “Like every generation before ours and every generation after, deep down, we long for Jesus.” This statement I would definitely have to agree with, but what she writes later leads me to believe the Held Evans isn’t talking about the Jesus I know.
What’s troubling about Held Evans article is that she seems to want the church to conform to her idea of Jesus. She wrote, “What millennials want from the church is not a change in style but a change in substance.” Held Evans needs to define substance here because what I’m assuming is that she defines substance as what is taught. What is taught in any church should be the truth we find in the Word of God.
In addition to the Word of God being manifested in the Bible, here is what we learn from the Bible about what the Word is, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God” (John 1:1-2). From the context of this passage we know that “He” is Jesus and also the “Word”. God manifests himself in the Word and in Jesus. That is really foundational to who we are as Christians. We can’t change the truth because it is the Word (John 17:17), the Word is Jesus, and Jesus is God. So if we need to change substance, then Held Evans is suggesting changing Jesus. The problem of this suggestion is that truth never changes, the Word never changes, Jesus never changes, God never changes. (2 Peter 1:20-21, Isaiah 40:8)
Pastor Jake Peterson at River City Church in Fargo responded to Held Evans and he seems to have much of same reaction. He wrote, “In reality, it seems Held Evans would just like the church to stop focusing on some issues: sin & sexuality, creation/science, politics of a particular stripe; and instead focus on other issues; inclusion when it comes to sexuality, open-mindedness when it comes to science, and politics of a different stripe… Held Evans is asking for ‘more Jesus’ but what she really wants is a different Jesus”. What Pastor Jake Peterson point out here is that Held Evans seems to be picking out parts of the Word that she likes and leaving out other parts she doesn’t. This is contradictory to how we as Christians should view the Word of God as having authority over us. It shouldn’t be the opposite: us having authority over the Word of God.
Yes, the Word is controversial in some areas, but I do believe that the younger generation wants Jesus, the Word, and God so badly and here’s why: We aren’t leaving the church. Contrary to what Held Evans title suggests, that Millennials are leaving the Church, we are coming to faith and going to church. An article recently came out addressing the misconception entitled, “Who is Really Leaving the Faith and Why?” It states, “Many of the most significant and encouraging findings are largely being ignored, while the less accurate and discouraging ones are being emphasized.” Why are these studies inaccurate? Pew research found that Millennials switching church may in fact be counted in the group of those leaving the church. Another finding is that there is a difference between conservative bible-teaching churches and mainline protestant churches. “The General Social Survey… recently noted a 2.2% decline in mainline churches and a slight 0.6% increase among conservative churches.” What about those leaving the faith? Well here’s what they found, “Pew asked those leaving if they ever had a strong faith as a child. Only 11% said they did. The other 89% said they never had a strong faith in the first place. Not surprisingly, homes modeling lukewarm faith do not create enduring faith in children. Homes modeling vibrant faith do.”
Both of the recent research findings and the Held Evans blog post leave me to conclude two things. If the church wants Millennials then they need to teach truth, the truth that never changes. That truth is the Word of God. We need to not just teach parts of it, but all of it. The Word is controversial and Jesus is controversial, but the truth is what really changes people. My other conclusion is that maybe the main problem isn’t with the church, but with our homes.
Where church really happens is outside the doors. The Christian life isn’t something you can just act out on Sunday morning, but the Christian life is the transformation that happens because the truth of the Gospel was preached. Transformation isn’t acting like a perfect family on Sunday and belittling your spouse or children every other day of the week. Transformation isn’t singing a song on Sunday for comfort and getting that temporary comfort from your idols (sex, food, alcohol, work, knowledge, yourself) every other day of the week. Church families like these are why many of us left church. Some of us only saw fake Christians with no transformation. There was no reason for some of us to invest our lives into something with no positive outcome.
Transformation is real when you’ve been hurt and you have the power to forgive because you’re forgiven. Transformation is real when you’ve had a bad day and instead of eating or drinking away the pain you reach for the Bible. Transformation is real when no stronghold in this world has power because the truth of the Word of God has set you free!
Here’s the kicker. Millennials are no different in what we need than any of you older, more experienced people out there. We all need the transforming power of forgiveness found in Jesus Christ. We’re tired of churches being more concerned about numbers than focusing on what’s really the purpose of the church. Remember what Jesus told us in the great commission, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commended you (Only bolded to emphasize something often looked over, not to diminish the importance of the rest.) And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” So stop being obsessed with Millennials and devote your churches to the transforming power of teaching truth, the Gospel of Jesus Christ!