What to do about millennials leaving the Church

I’m sure by now you’ve seen Rachel Evans’ why millennials are leaving the church blog that’s been going around.  You've probably by now seen several responses as well as been involved in some sort of discussion around it.  I was pleasantly surprised how much attention it got.

Like Rachel, I would identify myself as being on the outer edge of this generation.  I had the opportunity to engage in an online conversation with some of my similarly aged friends.  I've reflected on that conversation and responses I have read and have put together four issues we as the American church need to address better in our local congregations.  Sure, they're as a response to this blog, but they are not new or novel approaches.

Politics

Rachel says young evangelicals see their church as too political.  If you haven’t read my blogs before, you should know I agree.  This is a big problem to me.  I have written blogs and will undoubtedly write more on this topic.  I won’t rehash these same ideas other than to say that Church needs to look more like two friends joining together for a meal than like two political parties bickering over who gets to make decisions.

Our Youth’s Theological Framework

“Train a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:5 ESV)

This passage is certainly not a promise that every child taught the Jesus way will stick with it, but as the Proverbs are, it’s a wise statement that generally holds true.  I can’t speak as a parent, but as an adult in the Church, it is our responsibility to guide our youth in developing their framework for seeing the world around them.

We need better answers for our kids who maybe have a good friend who is gay or struggle with the disconnect they hear in biology class and Sunday school.  It’s our role to provide them with a sound theological framework to interpret the issues they encounter.  We must offer a sound Christian lens through which they can make sense of the world around them.

Perhaps this means we rethink our youth ministries.  Is your church’s youth ministry guiding young people through a journey of developing this lens or does it boil down to a playdate?

 

For a couple years, I worked with a high school youth group.  While I was discussing what I was teaching the students, I had a youth pastor tell me that the purpose of a youth ministry is to show kids that church is a fun and safe place.  The hope is that when they grow older they’ll long for a fun and safe place, remember their experience in youth group, and come back to the church.  I was appalled at this understanding of youth ministry (and its shock has obviously stuck with me to this day).  I couldn't believe that her plan was to expect the youth leave the Church only to hope they’d come back later in life.  However, I wonder how many pastors and youth workers believe this (even if they wouldn't admit it as clearly as this youth pastor did).

I was fortunate to have my parents and several other adults who had a great influence on me in my high school and college years.  They helped me develop a substantial theological framework that helped me make sense of life and guide me in the Jesus way.  I certainly continue to refine my worldview and theology, but the foundation is there because these adults invested in me.  Are we as a local church intentionally investing in our youth in ways that will yield good worldviews?

Being the Church
Evangelical Christianity has put too much emphasis on decision for Christ at the expense of being the body of Christ.  Don’t misunderstand me…I do agree that we have to make an intentional commitment to follow Christ in our lives.  However, the way we teach this simple gospel often leads to the idea that Christianity ultimately is all about getting to Heaven when we  die.  This is another pet peeve of mine and undoubtedly a blog will be forthcoming at some point on this.

As a Church, we need to teach our youth that they’re part of something larger.  Christ is building His Church and we are invited to be a part of this magnificent (yet sometimes messy) work.  Paul spends so much time in his epistles telling Christians to be unified with one-another.  Our ticket to Heaven theology leaves this (and so much else) out.

Jason Allen, makes a great point in his response by showing that “many churches function like a confederation of para-church ministries meeting under the same roof.”  We absolutely need to bring the youth out of the youth room and into the wider church body where they can rub shoulders with and learn from ordinary church members.

Rachel discusses how millenials are drawn toward churches with a high view of Tradition, namely Catholic, Orthodox, and Episcopalian.  I can’t say that I’ve studied statistics about this, but I can anecdotally see this.  One of my good friends in college grew up in an Evangelical church and is now raising his family in the Roman Catholic Church.  I have found the Common Book of Prayer and other liturgical sources of great help as I continue walking the Jesus way.  When visiting Israel and Rome, I felt a bond with the countless Christians who have visited these sites for centuries.  We need to show our youth just how big this Church they’re entering is.

Our Holy Huddle
Rachel makes good points that the discussion of science and hot topics like LGBT are often not discussed well in our churches.  I have a feeling that at the bottom of this is that we look to maintain a holy huddle.  The church seems to stand on the sidelines, bewildered by the growing acceptance of evolution or the LBGT lifestyle.  I think we’re afraid to enter into the conversation on a personal level for fear that we’ll be letting the 'riff-raff' break our precious holy huddle.

I’m not saying we ramp down our focus on holiness (I encourage us to ramp it up) or our faith in God as creator (I encourage a greater focus).  I’m certainly not encouraging us to blindly accept what culture suggests as the Jesus way.  What we do need is a new way of interacting with the culture we co-habit with our non-Christian neighbors.

We must remember that Christ ate with the tax collectors and prostitutes, rather than with those forming a holy huddle.  I think Christ would eat not hesitate to share a table with members of the LBGT community.  Why won't we?  He didn't say it was okay to be a tax collector or prostitute.  We don't say it's okay to live a LBGT lifestyle.  Welcoming and accepting does not equal condoning or agreeing.  It equals love.  Let us be holy and loving like Christ that when we welcome those living in sin, they may be transformed in a similar way that these 'sinners' were (or even that we were).  We need to understand that holiness is a way of life that includes loving others.  We need to have a faith that God can turn a messy collection of people into a work of beauty if we follow Him.