To be changed

In case you haven’t noticed, the world is different than it was in the past.

Most people over the age of 35 grew up in what sociologists call “modernity.” In modernity, everything was more or less black and white. We turned to math and science to solve many of our problems. Technological progress provided answers to our questions. Given enough time and money, medical research would cure all our illnesses.

At the same time an emphasis was placed on “individual rights,” our society was growing more diverse. Even in the farm-lands, people of different races, genders, religions, and sexual-preferences started working and living much closer together. The world was changing so fast that perhaps many didn’t even notice.

These changes also impacted the Church. In the 1970’s, leaders adopted a business-driven, pragmatic model of understanding the life and ministry of the Church. Marketing models were accepted as evangelism. The Bible was reduced to a book of theological propositions and moral platitudes with “seven-easy-steps to make your life better.” The past 20 centuries of tradition—liturgies, theology, and practice—was rejected. Many churches became a “spiritual” combination of Wal-Mart and the local Country Club.

I and other people under the age of 35, known as Generation X, grew up in the midst of all of this change. However, we have a difficult time relating to modernity. So sociologists call us “post-modernists.”

Today, we live in a post-modern world. The world is not just becoming pluralistic, global, and informed, it already is. Art has taken the place of science. Critical thinking and tolerance are stressed in education. There is an emphasis on accepting all things as valuable; there are no “absolutes.” A balance between individualism and community is important.

Spirituality also changes with post-modernism. Today, young people are more likely to say that they experience God anywhere but a church. Christian churches are on the decline while Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist groups are growing. One research study found that:

- Out of all age groups, those ages 18-32 are the least likely to describe themselves as religious, as Christian, or as committed Christians.

- Young adults today in the US seem the most open to exploring faiths other the Christianity.

- Compared with teens throughout the past twenty years, today’s teenagers have the lowest likelihood of attending church when they are living independent of their parents.

The study’s conclusion: “[The data shows] there is a possibility that churches are losing ground in terms of influence and may need to consider new approaches.” The church just isn’t connecting with youth and young adults. In spite of all the programs, the church is irrelevant to a young person’s spirituality. Just like young adults and youth are not into vinyl records or cassette tapes, we aren’t into an out-dated version of Christianity. In the end, something new will have to be tried, unless the church is content to write off an entire generation.

Look around Sunday and see how many people there are under the age of 35. Some churches may just write off my generation. Some, whether they know it or not, already have.
It is time that the Church begins to see that there is a problem. One solution to the problem begins with 3 simple steps: simply notice how the culture and ministry have changed, get over our selfish desires to “do church” the way we have always done it, and then begin to adjust our “modern” approaches of ministry to our “post-modern” world.

The Truth never changes, but if we are going to reach my generation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we had better strongly consider the way we present it.