Once in awhile, I come across something that really upsets me.
Last night, it was the guy from the opposing team telling me, among other things*, to swing while I was at bat during my softball game. I did, and the ball flew right back up the middle for a base hit. While running to first, I turned and let the guy know what I thought of him. He was twice my size. He wasn't happy. It probably wasn't a good idea. But like I said, once in awhile I come across something that really upsets me.
This morning, it happened again.
I received an e-mail from an organization promoting its Christian Worldview Conference. While initially I thought it to be a great idea, and there are some interesting topics on the agenda, I was dissapointed by one of the main topic explanations. Actually, diasspointed may not be the right word. Aghast or angry might fit better. Let me reiterate that it is not the topic itself that upset me, but the explanation.
The subject for the second keynote presentation is titled, Mass Exodus: Why Young People are Leaving the Church and Who is to Blame. The topic is extremely relavent. I have spent many hours contemplating why so many of my peers have decided to blow off the beauty that is following Jesus. I have my own theories. Mainly that they haven't been taught how to discover that beauty on their own. Instead, they have been taught that life and death lie in the amount of tally marks they record for going to youth group and church (ironically, the one thing most Evangelicals accuse non-Evangelicals of promoting). But that's not Christianity. They need to learn that we follow Jesus because it is the best possible life (a life of gratitude for a savior, love for others (even the annoying baseball guy), a life where we see the good, and, among many other things, a life that gives us the opportunity to serve by bringing others to the knowledge of this life; of Jesus), not because it puts people in office or gives us lots of "things" that we have a right to. However, the author of the e-mail blurb and the conference speaker do not bother wrestling with tough answers as I have mentioned. Instead, they offer a simple, watered down explanation for why many young people are leaving the church: they accept Christ too young and are never true Christians. If only it were that easy.
I think it's something different. Something that requires us and the church to take some responsibility.
I will post the e-mail at the end, but for now you'll just have to trust me. The e-mail is a cop out. It's a sad explantion for a crisis situation. Instead of addressing the many issues that keep young people out of the church, this e-mail chooses to turn around and cowardly question the salvation of all those who have left the church. Can you see why I'm upset? Can you see why many are dissilussioned? Instead of talking with, questioning, and loving those who have left, this group simply rights them off as if Jesus never cared for them, dubbing their salvation as "false." Is it true that maybe some of those not returning to church after high school and college were never really serious about the lord? Yes. But it is not fair to mark those small number of occurences as the end all reason for the "mass exodus."
So why are the younger generations leaving the church in droves? I think there are many reasons, and not all of them can be cured by a cheap, over-the-counter explanation. I would like to offer something a little more substantial.
I disagree with the conference speaker. I feel that to accuse those who are leaving the church of being "false converts" is cheapening salvation. It is not that those who are leaving were never converted [Understand that I know there are exceptions, but generally I believe this is the case], I believe it is that they never learned what being converted fully means, something we all struggle with from time to time (think about it, if we really understood what it meant to follow Jesus, we wouldn't do half the stupid things we do). Follwing Christ is not about small figurines on felt boards or having lambchop-like sing a longs every Sunday. It's not about money, new buildings, or striking down all the evil people out there. It's about following after Christ, loving his teachings, and loving those who don't understand that. And I think the blame should be spread around evenly
Most of the young people leaving the church have parents, elders, or role models who have treated accepting Christ as an end instead of a beginning. I've talked with parents who breath a sigh of relieve once their children make a decision for Christ, as if their offspring have just been given some sort of Jesus chain metal that locks in their safety on the ride from here to Heaven. What those parents do not realize is that if they never teach their mini soldiers how to polish, clean, or maneavuer in that armor, it's as useless as it was sitting on the scrap pile. Accepting Christ isn't about geeing a one-way ticket to Heaven. When was the Great Commission replaced by some perverted idea that salvation is a type of safety object in a game of tag played against the devil? Christ is clear: salvation is tough and it includes going into all the world to preach the gospel. Why is gospel good news? I can tell you it's not JUST because we get to go to Heaven. It's because Jesus, through salvation, has given us the opportunity to live the best life now, serving him and bringing others into the realization that we do have the best life. It is that realization that parents need to be passing along to their children. When traditional churches, as the explanation calls them, start equiping parents to do so, we will see young people excited again about the things of God.
Read below and let me know what you think.
Second Keynote Presentation: Mass Exodus: Why Young People are Leaving the Church and Who is to Blame - (XXXX X. XXXX)
Why are 88% of young people from the Southern Baptist Churches denying their faith before they graduate from college? Why do denominational leaders across the board report that 69% to 96% are leaving the traditional church after they graduate from high school and not returning?
Could the answer be that these young people are leaving traditional churches and not returning because they are not Christians but false converts? What does this mass exodus say about what is being taught in today’s churches? What does the Bible have to say about false converts and true converts?
Several informal, public polls have revealed a large number of Christian adults revealed that they thought they were a Christian when in high school or college only to learn later that they were a false convert. What Biblical teaching did these adults encounter that revealed their false conversion and thus lead them to true repentance and salvation? What was going on within their churches and/or homes that fostered this false conversion? What can we learn from these former false converts that will help us stop this dangerous trend?
The book of First John was written “that you may know you have eternal life”. What are the 10 hallmarks of every Christian as revealed in the book of First John? How can youth pastors, senior pastors and parents and grandparents use this information in the church and in their homes so they might cultivate true followers of Christ?
Despite being raised in a Christian home, Bible teaching church and even a Christian school, Brannon was a false convert until he was an adult. How did Brannon’s praying of the “sinners prayer” at the age of five and being baptized at the age of seven set him up for a false conversion?
As a father of three young children, what are Brannon and his wife Melissa doing to prevent a false conversion in their children? What have Brannon and Melissa learned from God’s Word that has given them peace that they don’t need to rush their young children into saying the “sinner’s prayer”, walking the aisle and being baptized at an early age?
*The gentlemen playing catcher while I was batting felt it necessary to tell me when to swing, call the pitch before it left the pitcher's hand, make baby noises as I was getting ready to swing, and make other obnoxious sounds. It was annoying. I got a hit. I rubbed it in his face. It wasn't the best thing to do, I'll admit it.
4 comments:
Seidl,
First, I want to thank you for understanding the goodness of the "good news." We're on the same page, and we're learning how to love the story God is telling. Too many are reading the Cliff's Notes and moving on to "better things," realizing somewhere down the road that they are something less than human, understand something less than Life with a capital L, and are chasing, harvesting, and reaping the wind.
Second, to love the story God is telling is to love all its aspects, including the characters in it. The plot itself is not enough. I, like you, am so frequently angered by how little the church seems to understand and articulate about the fullness of Life that Christ offers us. In being angry at that, I get flustered and often forget to actively love people. And I forget to be so seriously humbled that I can say nothing; I can only rely on the Spirit with so much patience and carefulness--patience and carefulness that is unnatural but, somehow, even more natural because it transforms me. All that to say, I realize that I will never be a part of a Church that displays true perfection or constant love. But I hope I am an active part of a Church that is humbly asking for transformation and the strength to love others.
That message and way of living is what, I truly believe, will allow us to be God's faithful storytellers--His ambassadors on behalf of the Good News. You're right, man. We're missing it. And we don't have to. Thanks for believing in that and encouraging me to do the same.
That email is definitely a cop-out. I think a lot of times the church would rather blame symptom of the problem(the young people leaving the church) rather than diagnose the root of the problem within itself. In doing that, they turn others off from the true message of Christ.
I recommend you read "Dear Church: Letters from a Disillusioned Generation" by Sarah Cunningham. She does a good job at explaining the misperceptions of many church leaders that cause many young people to leave the church.
Seidl, I agree with your musings here. The term "false convert" applied to anyone leaving the church is at best inaccurate if not utterly defamatory to the essence of what salvation in Jesus Christ truly is.
But I will say that by your statement, "Most of the young people leaving the church have parents, elders, or role models who have treated accepting Christ as an end instead of a beginning," you are much closer to arriving at what seems to be the possible intent of the conference speaker. I think the speaker’s reference to the “sinner’s prayer” is essentially the same point you are making here. To be sure, there is a lot of controversy about the sincerity of most people who pray the sinner’s prayer – the people who pray it, only to return to their same lifestyle from the day before. I think many evangelists focus entirely too much the head count of people who pray the sinner’s prayer at their conferences rather than real life change. I think the issue is more one of how Christianity, particularly in America, has become commercialized. The evangelist uses the numbers of “saved” people at his meetings to tout what an influential speaker he is. Does the prayer save? Yes, if there is sincerity at the heart of it. But perhaps not, if, as you say, the prayer is thought of merely as an end rather than the beginning – in such a case, parents may give their children a false sense of salvation – it might exist, but then again it might not at all and would thus be false. Testimonies among Christians who were “saved” and then fell away from Christ is very common – and even more common are stories of Christians who did just that, but came back to Christ in the end and made a true commitment to follow him – and whether the first commitment was false or not is between that person and God. Sadly, I would say the example from the latter sentence is the flip-side of the story that the speaker leaves out. It is true, many young people who grew up in church have left, but in reality many eventually come back – that is to say that they might not have been “false converts” at all, but merely people who, for one reason or another, were not living out their faith for a period of time. I think CS Lewis discussed this in some of his books. Seidl, if I’ve got you all wrong, let me know. But you were right to be upset by this.
Chambers,
Thanks for your thoughts, bud. I really appreciate it.
Let me address what I think you are saying. I think you are saying that the speaker and I might be suggesting the same thing, just in different ways with different examples. There is no doubt that this could be the case. We both agree that people leave the church and that it is a growing problem. However, I think there are some key distinctions to be made between us.
I feel as if the speaker is trying to give a band-aid type of explanation, whereas I feel like what I am suggesting gets to the heart of some of the issues. Suggesting that all those who have fallen away were never really saved is a stretch. Now, do I believe that some people never really "confess with their mouth AND belive in their heart" (Bible), YES. However, I believe this is the exception instead of the rule, so to speak. I belive it is far more common that these people are leaving the church because they have become dissilusioned by the religiosity, the politics, and the downright non-Christ-like attitudes than it is because they never really prayed and meant the sinners prayer. I have a hard time believing that someone who has said "the prayer," gone to church for years, been involved in ministry, etc... (you know the story) and then leaves after college is not a Christian--why did they stick it out for so many years? I would be more apt to believe the speaker if we saw an influx of new converts doing what I have just outlined (staying for a month or two and then leaving) , but that's not the case. We're talking about kids who have grown up in the church for years.
What do I think IS the cas then. I think it can be three things. Either the faith isn't their own, they are dissilusioned, or they are just taking a detour of discovery on their way to the truth.
To speak to the first reason, I think some of these kids have never really made the faith they were brought up to believe their own (and the responsibility falls upon parents to make sure that their child believes it becasue the actually beleive it, not just because it is familiar). It's always been there and a part of their life routines more so than a conviction in their souls. It is here where I tend to agree with the speaker when he talks about the proper age for a child to make a decision for Christ and be baptized. I tend to err on the side of a child being older so that we do not run into this problem.
So whre does this bring us? Are those who make the decision at a young age never really saved? Some would argue yes, they were never saved. However, I think that there is a difference between accepting Christ and living for him. Why/how? Because baby Christians can't live for Christ like "grown up" christians (babies have yet to come to certain understandings and intriquesies of the faith).
Think about it. You as a long time Christian are further along in your walk (think pilgirm's progress here) than a new convert. Therefore, it's easier for you to avoid certain pitfalls and distractions. It's "easier" (easier being used very loosely and relatively here) for you to continue your walk than for a new Christian. I would, therefore, think of younger converts as baby christians (this is generally; I am not making the claim that no young christian can have more knowledge than some adults). Their minds can't comprehend some of the things of the faith the same way an adult can. Therefore, if they "leave the church," we must not be all up in arms right away (speaking to the third of three reasons I suggested earlier). Like you said, a lot times they come back. It's not they have lost their faith or are false converts, they are just on the path to discovery. Now, yes, sometimes people reject Christ and they may never live for them. That is a possibility (at this opens up the debate on whether or not they can lose their salvation). But I think it happens far less than what the speaker would have us beleive.
We are all going to go through spats of disbelief and periods where we are not living like sanctified beings (see Thomas and Peter).
Chambers, I think you said it very well when you suggested: "It is true, many young people who grew up in church have left, but in reality many eventually come back – that is to say that they might not have been “false converts” at all, but merely people who, for one reason or another, were not living out their faith for a period of time." I think this is what we are soing happening. However, unlike you, the speaker interprets it wrongly. This is one of the first things I thought about when I read the e-mail and what I eluded to earlier.
I hope this sheds some light on some things, Chambers. And let me remind you, I am by no means an expert on this. I'm sure I am wrong in some areas. I am just a ol' Joe thinking about this things and wanting quality people like you to think about them with me. I want to keep learning and discovering, and part of that is diologuing like we are. Keep sharing and I will look forward to what you have to say.
I am blessed by your words.
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