No longer
We are no longer just a post-modern culture. We have entered the era of post Christendom. The United States has drifted so much so that adults in their 20's do not even know about Noah and the Flood or Samson and Deliliah not to mention Jesus! Knowing about the things of God are common place for those in the church but they are non-existent for the unreached. We are losing the battle. America is heading on a direct collision course with what happened to Europe. In Europe there is a huge void and the absence of Christ in community. Large cathedrals -no people and very few believers in every community if any. If we continue on this path our large empty stadiums and magnificent campuses will forever haunt us.
What do you recommend that we do about it? Start more churches? Build larger buildings? Plan better services? What do you recommend that we do to stop the train wreck for our kids or their kids and....?
posted by Bob Carder @ 8:49 PM
6 comments
6 Comments:
I don't know. What I've found is interesting. I had kids in my youth group (who had been churched for 18 years) that wouldn't be able to tell you the story of Samson. That's a breakdown in the "system" somewhere.
Many of those unchurched 20s WERE churched at some point (most of them in children and teen programs)...it just proved to be meaningless. The church didn't help a changing culture understand "God the Father" when 70% of these individuals grew up in single parent homes. This generation brings on completely different burdens and heartache, that which the 20th century commercial church couldn't possibly remedy.
In terms of "post-Christendom"...OK, 20 somethings don't get "Christianity." But they have a keen awareness of the person of Jesus Christ, dare I say more so than their predecessors. Now the stories need to be told; this generation needs to understand Christ in the scope of history...but it cannot be done through a method that undermines their ability to think and discover Him themselves (the talking head).
AWM - You are right in the context from which you speak, but there are places in America that are worse than I speak of. Some children have never been to youth or children's programming and they struggle with who Jesus is as sas as that is.
If we can show them Jesus the stories don't really matter, Jesus is what matters.
I do agree that there is an emerging hunger among the 20's to find Jesus in deeper and personal experience and meaning. We must find ways to effectively scratch their itch.
Hey Bob!
I got your message this past weekend. I was out of town on a pretty packed weekend. Sorry we couldn't connect. Let me hear from you again sometime.
A friend of mine ha actually been blogging about this quite a bit lately. He reffers to it as "Open Theism' (I'm sure that's not his own terminology, but me, a lowly English major can't tell the difference when it comes to seminary students), and discusses how the ideology of existensialism has so drastically and detrimentally affected what is taught in churches today.
I think, whether you attend a traditional church, or "organic", or disciple-driven, or whatever church you are involved with, there has to be the teaching of solid theological doctrines. None of this topical, "has to be relevant" sort of thing. All of scripture is relevant. It makes me sad to see that my generation knows nothing of the works of God that are displayed in scripture.
But, I think we can change that, no? The least we can do is try.
Bob,
I didn't mean that my friend was endorsing Open Theism, but rather just mentioning it and discussing it a lot.
http://www.xanga.com/JerrodTune
He explains things far better than I can (it's a great blog just to read, as well). Thanks for the clarification of the terminology!
Bill, I'm on your trail. Let's just let God lead us when and where for His glory.
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