Want to know something that really makes my blood boil?
Old people who are so opposed to change that they would rather have church suited to them and compromise the salvation of the community around them.
Our church is currently having discussions about having a second service. We had a meeting on tues. night to discuss different possibilities. I was put in charge a few months ago to head up a small group to come up with different ideas. So you can understand how I feel when I see (majority)of older people turn up for this meeting and constantly talk about what THEY WANT for the service. It was like everyone was putting in their orders for what they would like to have in the new service.
There were a couple of comments that really got to me:
"I've had to older friends come to our church and say how great it is that we are so multi-generational" My response to that, "Oh, do you want me to stand up and give you a round of applause for that? Are you really that excited that we had christians join our church? I thought our aim was non-christians? You should be so proud of yourself that we are nicking christians from other churches!"
The second comment:
"What is so wrong with having a church service for ourselves?"
I just about shot out of my chair when I heard this. "Is that what Christ said to us when he ascended into heaven? Go and have fun in your little churches - dont worry about the nations!" NO!
Sorry if I am sounding really harsh, but I have had it up to here (for those of you who cant see, my hand is high above my head) with the older generation being so opposed to seeing the gospel spread in our communities. All I see these days is lip service. We are so quick to applaude ourselves that we have the 4 largest highschools around our church like its some big achievement! And yet we are doing NOTHING!
I see my husband working so hard, only to butt up against some strong stubborn people.
My biggest prayer is that I will never become complacent to a point that I no longer care.
You can tell me - its just young passion, you'll grow out of it. No, I never ever want to lose my conviction. It is Christ I am serving, and I never want to lose this passion.
15.9.06
not so wise
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5 comments:
wow
have you been reading my diary??
You and your husband are doing the right thing,
persevere and pray.
Pray for three things
1. They change (best option)
2. They go somewhere else (They dont go to Hell, they just go to the church down the road, its sad but sometimes necesessary)
3. They go to be with Jesus
(Its sad, but I have seen it happen, particularly if I really cry out for something and fast about it)
i actually mentioned that last point to my husband last night. probably not as nicely as you put it. its hard because he has grown up in this church - since he was a bub. it is starting to put a strain in our marriage because i dont like his church and i am not there because i chose it. i am more there out of obligation - TRYING to support him.
thanks for your advice, im starting to realise all i really can do is pray.
You are not Harsh Bec...you are asking the right questions. It is a sad thing that the church often wants something that feels nice to them but will not entertain the thought of change in the face of plumetting numbers world wide.
The premise they have is that the church service is there to serve us....but its not. In fact the church service is not even church in the New Testament sense, but we have returned to an Old Testament approach with all the holy stuff up the front.....yet the 'curtain was torn' and God was no longer accessed at the alter.
A service can be a great thing if we re-discover what 'real' church is (in the NT sense), set about living that, and letting that then flavour what our structured approach to a meeting might be.
just my thoughts anyway!
they are good thoughts. i guess ive got the old big church going to small church syndrome. it also makes it hard that my dad and mum are so convicted in the way they go about things. they have drawn a line and their church is directed in many different missional aspects. theyre not perfect, thats not what im saying, but its hard going from a church where they are community/missional focused to a church that has never had a missional ministry in over 20 years! i guess i get confused and torn apart when my husband feels called to youth and that church, but i dont.
does God do that? this is my main heartache
I understand...we are going through an extended period of change in worldviews which is causing pain where change is not understood. For society its been relatively easy but for the church its been a lot harder. I know they are big words but its the transition from a modernist worldview to a postmodernist worldview. Probably better known as the rift between the Baby boomers (45-65 yr olds) and their children Generation X. Everything changed with Gen X. From Gen X and under the generational 'vibe' is different and how we feel, experience and communicate life is different. Gen X and todays youth (Millenials) are old enough to demand changes in the church and so the rift deepns. The Baby Boomers tend not to understand it, rather they take the stance that they are right in most things prefering to dictate their terms in a world that has changed all around them.
Google some of the terms I have used....it helped me in my journey and helped me understand and have tolerance for older people in the church who I just culdn't otherwise understand.
all the best
emergingBlurb
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