Millenials seek what we all seek in the Church

There was good news for more traditional congregations in a recent edition of Relevant Magazine. Relevant’s audience is the generation known as the Millenials. Researchers and commentators use birth years ranging from the early 1980s to the early 2000s to identify the Millenial generation…that is those who are teenagers now up to people in their mid-30s. That’s an important group to consider for churches who want grow and make a difference in the years to come.

Here’s the good news about millenials for us more traditional congregations. Recent research from the Barna Group and Cornerstone Knowledge Network has found that in reality, 67% of millienials say a quiet church is more ideal than a loud one; 67% say classic is more ideal than trendy; 77% would chose a sanctuary over an auditorium. As Dr. Clint Jenkin explained in the research, “Most millennials don’t look for a church facility that caters to the whims of pop culture. They want a community that calls them to deeper meaning.”

Rachel Held Evans, a theologian, church futurist, and a member of the Millenial generation, said this in her Relevant Magazine interview:

“But I think as soon as [church] crosses over into sort of this consumerism—like church is a show that we go to and either approve of or disapprove of and then leave—as soon as it becomes this show that we put on to try and keep people there instead of go out and make disciples and serve the community, that’s where I see it getting a little problematic.”

The Millenial Generation is looking for a church community that calls them to deeper meaning, to making disciples and to making the world different. The good news for more traditional congregations is that our sanctuary, our music, and our worship style aren’t really barriers to having Millenials as active participants in the life of our church. I think there is more good news here for us, because I believe deep down this is what we are all seeking…to discover deeper meaning in our lives, to love and serve God and our neighbors, and to make the world a different and better place.

I think that’s what we all want.

God give us what we need to live right

(This is the homily I preached for the Lockhart Ministerial Alliance Holy Week service on April 1, 2015 on the theme, “Love the Lord Your God.”)

At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask what I should give you.” And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you; and you have kept for him this great and steadfast love, and have given him a son to sit on his throne today. And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?” It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.

--1 Kings 3:5-10, NRSV

Since the subject of the scripture text is wisdom, I thought I would share a few nuggets of wisdom from the mind of a popular contemporary source…Larry the Cable Guy:

• A day without sunshine is like night.
• He who laughs last thinks slowest.
• A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
• Light travels faster than sound. That's why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

Larry the Cable Guy’s wisdom is probably not that useful for living well, but laughter is always good for the soul. Living well and what is good for our souls is what our theme for these Holy Week Services is all about. God gave the Israelites the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4), “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength,” so that God’s people would live well and live in right relationship with the Lord. Jesus reinforced the importance of this covenant principle by teaching it as God’s primary commandment. When God’s people love God wholeheartedly, they enjoy God’s favor, care, and protection.

As followers of Jesus, I think we are interested in loving God wholeheartedly. You and I want to live as members of the kingdom of God. In a recent blog post, Pastor Mark Altrogge reflected on his 30 years of ministry. One of his insights was that God’s people want to please God. He used to think that he had to convince people to obey Jesus against their wills. His understanding shifted to seeing that Christians deep down want to please Jesus, obey him, and worship him.

This is Solomon’s concern in today’s text. He wants to lead the Kingdom of Israel righteously. Solomon recognized that, in becoming king, God was honoring the promise…the covenant…that God made with his father King David. Solomon also recognized that he needed to live up to his end of the covenant by living and governing righteously. And so Solomon asks God to shape his mind in such a way that he would be the wise and righteous king God called him to be. Solomon asked God for what he needed to live up to his end of the covenant.

In the Last Week of Jesus’ life, he held the traditional Passover meal with his disciples. He shared the Passover cup of wine with them and told them that it represented the blood of a new covenant with God. Through it, people would experience forgiveness of sins. Living rightly with God was now based on our love of Jesus. The covenant sacrifice was made, the debt of sin was paid, by Christ’s death on the cross. Once, and for all time, through Jesus, by God’s grace, God provided the way for our redemption and eternal life.

God gives us what we need to live in a right relationship with him. The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 12:1-2 that when we give ourselves over to God, as we ask God for transformation, our minds are renewed. Our thinking is shaped by God to what is good and pleasing to God. Paul wrote to Christians in Galatia that the fruit of the Spirit, the fruit of Christ’s presence within us, is love and faith (Galatians 5:22-25). It is Christ’s Spirit that grows our love and strengthens our faith. It’s Good News that God gives us what we need to live rightly with God. Solomon’s experience assures us that when we ask for what we need to live up to our end of the covenant… when we ask for what we need to love him wholeheartedly…God is pleased to give us what we need.