Darryl Dash is absolutely right. The church is broken: ...attempts by churches to appeal to young adults by diluting the message or softening demands seem to backfire. Young adults are not repulsed by demands; instead, they clamor for community but are repulsed by its counterfeits. I know exactly 2 people my age who go to church on any kind of regular basis. Most of the rest would never set foot in a church -- and it's not because the church places too many demands on them. The church, in fact, either makes no demands at all on people, or makes only demands related to supporting the church. These aren't the kinds of demands that make an organization worth joining. As much as modern Christian leaders like to talk about making the church more "relevant" to the culture, they're usually just talking about modern music or casual dress or new technology. But no music, dress code, or technology will make the church relevant. The church is relevant if and only if it changes lives. And, frankly, the church is not changing very many lives. Church members come to church, are entertained by well-produced music and smooth speeches, and then go home and live their lives in pretty much the same way they did before*. If the church is going to survive through my generation, that is what needs to change. (HT: Richard Hall) * Yes, I am generalizing here. Some people really do radically change their lives in response to and in service of Christ. What I'm really saying is that these people are extremely rare among both Christian people and Christian leaders. |
Comments:Comments: Rob,
You are absolutely right. There are a lot more complaints floating around than solutions. Darryl's article gets farther than most though, in listing the characteristics of working faith communities -- "sacrificial, incarnational, intimate, evangelical, and demand[ing]." As for my solutions -- As laymen, we can certainly focus on living truly christian lives; as churches, we need to hold each other accountable for this. Sacrificial, incarnational, intimate, evangelical, demanding churches aren't really a choice at this point, so we have to settle for being sacrificial, incarnational, intimate, evangelical people who meet the demands of God, even in broken churches. If enough of us are willing to do it, that is how I think the church will be fixed. Comment from Connor Carney [Member]  · http://www.rocksandpaper.com/ 11/24/06, 23:30 Connor,
You're right. Darryl does a good job in this article. Eventually someone is going to have to do something. Paradigm shifts tend to come in Tsunami's. First you notice a few ripples, then some waves, then we're all screwed as the massive wave tears apart the landscape. I'd be a lot more comfortable with a plan to survive the Tsunami. I originally thought that plan would include those in organized church structures, but I don't think that's possible now. Pastors can't seem to discuss these things without losing their jobs. Laypeople like the idea's until they realize the amount of sacrifice it takes. (Going to church on Sunday morning is pretty easy). I'd still love for people to get together and say, 'this is the plan.' The Tsunami is coming but this is what I'm going to do about it. Rob Comment from Rob Auld [Visitor] 11/25/06, 14:50 An authentic community of young Christians that combines faith with action in everyday life (something the Church definitely could improve on):
www.citybuilder.org www.jesusatiupui.com Comment from Julie Johnson [Visitor] 02/03/08, 16:46 Leave a comment: |
So we've all identified that it is broken. What I'm not hearing is many solutions. I'm not going back to Bramalea Baptist anytime soon, but I don't know what the alternative is. Any suggestions?
Rob
Comment from Rob Auld [Visitor]
11/24/06, 11:29