I have mentioned this before and will bring it up many more times in the future. I am surrounded in youth ministry. Jr. and Sr. High youth and how to better reach them with the message of salvation is a passion in my life. Through this passion it has placed me in a culture that I really don't understand, and in many meetings with other in my shoes who understand as little as I.
There are many views, ideas and strategies about how to "plug youth into the local church." This is the topic of so many of my conversations, that I could wright a book simply titled "We Don't Really Have a Clue" You see everyone says they want to get teens into church, but what they really mean is they want to get teens into their church.
I have been wrestling with this idea of what church is, and what it is supposed to be. There is a ridiculously large population of teens that have only set foot in church when their dad got married for the third time, or grandpa died. We have a tendency to sit in our cozy religious buildings waiting for these youth who have no knowledge of God and no desire for God to come strolling in our doors and fill our pews with an active "youth program."
Every so often an organization rises up with the goal of reaching the lost with the saving message of the cross, a desire to mentor and disciple teens, and train them to live out their belief's through their actions. All of a sudden it is grab the pitch fork and torches to go slay the beast that is "stealing" the teens from our churches!My thought for today is simple, and allow me to phrase it as a question. What and who is the "church?" Is it not the body of Christ? So if an organization is reaching the lost, and making disciples, isn't it part of the church? And if it is part of the church, how in the world are they "stealing" youth from the church?
Let me encourage you to wrestle with this as I have been. Let me warn you it just may push us to where we are no longer comfortable, but I think it is worth some long hours pondering, and seeking out the Holy Spirit's guidance. Is "the Church" our individual local churches, or is it the the Body of Christ as a whole? And if it is the body as a whole, how far are you willing to go to grow "the Church?"
The church is the body of Christ as a whole. But, God has designed that body to be organized into local churches. What local churches have that other organizations (usually) don't have is biblically qualified leadership, the authority for discipline, a "family" made up of young and old so that the older can teach the younger, and in the case of teens, a community in which to grow, not just for four years, but for the rest of their life.
ReplyDeleteThis does not tell us how to plug teens in to the local church. I just believe that it tells us why we should. Obviously lots more needs to be said. I will wrestle along with you.
It intrigues me, as what you knew as fact yesterday, you question today. There was a day when you would have been on the forefront of the correct answer to a question like this. A time when this issue would have stood before you in black and white.
ReplyDeleteI guess your question at hand however deal’s with the Church. And what exactly is the church? We actually see the word used 2 different ways throughout the New Testament. First as you used it; the Universal Body of Christ also known as the Bride of Christ. All true followers of the Christ, from his earthly ministry until he returns are members of this body, this Universal Church.
Now the second definition of church we see in the New Testament would be that of the local body of believers, through which Christ plans to grow his Church (Universal body of believers). We see this throughout the NT, and can follow the examples of Paul and other apostles who went out and started churches. The church was responsible for a number of things. Including (but not limited to) discipleship, and discipline. The church itself was not necessarily called to evangelize, as that was the job of each of its members.
Now I will be the first to stand up and say, most churches are not fulfilling even these two basic duties. However it’s not time that we abandon God’s plan and the plan that worked for the last 1970 years. Instead, it’s time to start talking about reforming the church as we know it, changing the mindset of its members and leaders to get them back in line with the way God intended it to be. It’s time to stand up and raise the standard, and not run away from it, looking for another.
We could continue at this point, to look at the fact that pulling teens out of church, if done long enough will eventually offer the death sentence to that church. We could speak to the fact that biblically the older women in the church are called to mentor the younger women, and the older men, to mentor the younger men. We could look at the commands to be under the authority of a local church. But I’m sure we may need to save some of that for a later post.
In the meantime, I hope I was able to shed some light on your question. And I hope to continue to help you look at ways we can reform the church to fulfill the duties it was called to do.
Timbo got the definitions of the church right on: Universal Church and Local Church.
ReplyDeleteI married my wife and brought her out of the country of West Virginia. On my first trip to see her before we were married she and her older brother lived at home. Sunday morning we were all getting ready for church and her brother announced he was taking off and he'd see us later. When we got to church I didn't see him. In the young adults class... he was not there, he was no where to be found. I asked by (now) wife, "Does Matt work in a class somewhere? Where is he?" She replied, "He doesn't go to church here, go goes to..." I thought that was strange. I grew up in a Pastor's home where you had to go to dad's church or else...
Different story. As I said, I am a PK. When my older brother (older by 1.5 years) graduated he lived at home for a while still before moving out but the day came when he moved out. I didn't know all the details of why he moved out but I knew there was a great tension between him and my parents for some reason. Later I found out that by brother had wanted to attend a different church (a Bible centered church) than "dad's" church and he was told that as long as he lived at home he was required to attend our church. He moved out and went into a few months of rebellion.
In the end, I repect my inlaws decision to let my brother in law to attend a differnt church and I repect my own parents decision but I agree with a wise man who said, "If your kids are going to a Bible centered church and growing, don't stop them. It may not be your church but that isn't the point. It is best that they go to a church that can reach them than to regularly attend one that doesn't."