This is a terrific post.

There are so many dangers in political gospels, and you have covered many of them.

I happen to be fortunate (as you were) to be a member of a congregation that ha NO political gospels.

In fact we are roughly split down the middle with conservatives and liberals. If politics are mentioned (in a sermon) it is to put a pox on both their houses. That our hope does not come from the princes of this world and their political agends.

I love what Luther said (concerning politics), "I'd rather be ruled by a smart Turk (Muslim), than a stupid Christian."

Thanks.

This is so bogus. Tell the truth about sex and your kids will be atheists? Deliver a wholistic gospel that engages and confronts every area of life including politics and your kids will be atheists? Skye is merely baiting for more posts so he throws up a flamer.

Get those churches to shut up on abortion and gay perversion and your kids will follow the Loed. Yuk yuk. This is not the problem or even one of them.

It has nothing to do with politics, these young people do not love the Lord! Enjoy the song...

If You Love The Lord by Keith Green:

If you love the Lord, you will love His will for you.

Instead of questions why, there'll be praise for all He brings you through.

And if you love the Lord, you will love His holy commands.

Delight yourself in them, and everything you do will surely stand.

We are His workmanship, created for good works in Christ.

He calls us to offer up ourselves a living sacrifice.

Well if you love the Lord, His discipline you won't despise.

Cause it will prove to you, that you're a child in His eyes.

And if you love the lord, you'll seek his face with all your heart.

And even when you're old, from His holy place you won't depart.

"We love, because He first loved us."

Very true.

Some will hear (really hear).

But many will not. And many will have a hard time keeping in the faith that was given to them. This, is also quite true.

"So, we are left with a narrow path." Yes, indeed, we are. And it's Biblical. Jesus said it in the Sermon on the Mount: "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." Matthew 7:13-14

If the message that is communicated to our young people is the "New Gospel" that is so popular today, i.e. that hell really doesn't exist as the Bible describes it; that since Jesus died for all sin then all will ultimately be saved whether they repent or not; that 'sola scriptura' is so...last year and that God doesn't care about your sex life and there is no final judgement, then only an idiot would waste half a day going to church. If I believed that stuff I certainly wouldn't waste my time. Furthermore, how is any of it 'good news'?

Elegance, what Evangelical or mainstream Christian have you heard (or read) teach that all will be saved whether they repent or not? Rob Bell does not (and I have read his book). In Orthodoxy, salvation and true repentance are inseparable. That is why there are many who say, "Lord, Lord" and will find themselves outside the Kingdom, and others who, having responded to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in their consciences and ministered from hearts of compassion to Jesus Himself in the guise of the poor, imprisoned, hungry, thirsty, etc. will be found to have owned Him as Lord, incognito, even though they did not realize this was what they were doing (see Matthew 25)! Just wanted to clarify that, for what its worth.

Karen, I'm intrigued as to why the one name you mention is Rob Bell. Why is that?

Yes I do remember Jesus freaks, the charismatic movement and the beginnings of contemporary music. And guess who stood up for us and understood us then? For the most part, our parents were baffled, but their parents' generation was so happy to see our enthusiasm.

Young people now are even more into relationships than we were. You can hardly reach them unless you befriend them. But our churches have separated the older folks from the younger ones by having traditional and contemporary services. So the kids have a very hard time finding out that there are people who have loved the Lord a long time and their wisdom is valuable. In fact, most of the time the kids are off in their own youth ghetto, making it very difficult for them to transition into adult roles at all, let alone establishing healthy cross generational friendships.

For the most part I think Skye is full of liberal dung.... Youth are leaving the church - because the church left Jesus and what is real for a political, social hierarchy of people and ideals. Political conservatism and liberalism are a two-sided symptom of the same disease (trusting in man and man's government and man's ways instead of following God).

There's nothing liberating about a bunch of lawyers crafting a bunch of laws - in the civil government - or the church government.

The law (Moses) could never lead God's people into the promised land - only Joshua (Jesus) can do that.

Elegance, your question is obviously disingenuous. That does not become you (or anyone). You have been reading the relevant posts at this site regarding the accusations about Rob Bell (despite what he actually *does* say) just as I have. Have you, by any chance, actually read his book? If you have, make your case based on what is actually in it (in its own context)--don't just accept accusations based on hearsay. If you haven't, it's looking to me a lot like jumping to conclusions is your preferred form of mental exercise! :-(

Ann, it seems to me those are some very good observations indeed.

Jerry, kind of loaded words about Skye there, don't you think? (Have you ever actually met him?) Despite my revulsion for the accusatory name calling, I think there's an element of truth to what you are saying. Too bad you always seem to want to set valid points in the context of a false dichotomy--in this case implied, i.e., following God vs. observing God's commandments. Technically, you are correct, Christians are no longer obligated to keep the Jewish Law. We are obligated to a much higher law--the Law of Christ, which means nothing less than sacrificially pouring out our lives in love for others the way Jesus poured Himself out in love for us (Matthew 5:17-20; Matthew 16:24-25; Romans 13:8-10). This is actually much more difficult than ceremonial observance of the Law of Moses, and, of course, impossible apart from the Holy Spirit working within us to transform us from within.

Isn't the real issue that young people see no need for church involvement? If they really just felt that "their" church were too outspoken about issues, they would be finding other churches. But they're not. They are leaving church altogether. Which says they feel they don't need it.

It's easy to see why they would feel that way. This world is easy (at least in the West) to live in. There is food in all the stores. There are jobs that do not require 12 hours a day in a sweatshop. There are rules and regulations that govern people, rather than arbitrary decisions that cannot be anticipated. Why, then, should people have a fear of this life or the afterlife, if it's already pretty good here?

Skye,

This is by far the closest I've seen you come to setting up a straw man through proxy.

You can do better, Skye, a lot better.

This is not a new issue, growing, yes, but not new, and it predates this silly article you cite.
Sex, or even sex scandals...geez...really?

No Skye, this problem isn't the external, secular nation we live in, it's the internal health of the Church...it's sick, reeling, and quite frankly dying from the inside.

This problem goes back to the fifties, Skye, perhaps even further back, but you should definitely do more research before you post further on this.

You're a smart man, you have good insights, but this article...this is one of those articles where you should have told the editors, "sorry, can't make deadline as this thing is a lot bigger than what I thought it was, and requires more space than what I can put in 500 words."

Karen:

I'd be happy to sit and discuss this with you or Skye anytime - I didn't mean to attack his person - just his post. I thought the post to be full of liberal political bias - and void mostly of the true reason people (not just youth) are so disgusted over the church. Obviously by reading the other posts here - I'm not alone in my assessment.

A lot of Christians think that to win God's heart you have to keep a bunch of rules. So they start crafting rules and start dishing them out to young people. They may do this under the 'law of Christ' banner. These I will call "lawyers". Not only are their kids leaving the church - they're leaving their parents too.

I have four awesome kids - and hardly any rules - we don't need them - my kids want to do the right thing - Jesus has touched their hearts - and they want to serve Him. I say 'yes' to them 50 times to any one time I say 'no'. I mean that - we can go weeks without saying 'no' to a kid. There is peace in my house.

Jesus transforms a person - turns them into something they weren't before - without Him. You don't 'have to' - you 'want to' - not to prove your love to Him - but to respond to His great love for you. Kids respond to the great love that's poured out to them - not to the rule book that's imposed on them.

I was quite deliberate in my use of the word 'dung' - you see it comes from this passage:

… “Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:” (Php 3:6-9 KJV)

I have a very simple statement that my Pastor this last 25+ years uses for just about any given situation: "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care."

Our youth don't pay attention to politics. They pay attention to genuine Christians that have put their selfish ways aside by the Grace of God.

Kids see right through our rhetoric and home in on our attitudes and actions (or inaction).

Don't complicate God's unfathomable yet simple love.

Jerry, my sincere apologies! I just overreacted to the phrase "liberal dung." I agree there is no way to "win God's heart." It's blasphemous actually to believe such a thing. On the other hand, there is no practical way to "follow God" apart from doing our best with the help of God's grace (and secure in the knowledge of God's self-giving love for us) to obey Christ's commands. That's what I meant. Also, I'd be interested in your thoughts if you read Skye's post at his site here:

http://www.skyejethani.com/4-ways-the-church-keeps-young-people-from-faith/1218/

. . . because it seems to me what he says in that post is putting some specifics from his own experience with youth on the very same thought as you in your reply to me.

Karen:

I think Skye's talk you referenced here is awesome. I couldn't agree with it more. I would hope everyone participating in this blog would wander over there and partake of that. It is well worth the 20 minutes. I'm sure I've over reacted to many insignificant side paths- and not seen the whole very well - but this clip gives Skye's perspective very well. Thanks much for sharing it.

We are losing the next generation the same way our parents lost part of ours and their parents lost part of theirs. The Bible says that in the last days there will be a great falling away. It also says that God will pour out His Spirit on all flesh in that same period. This world, our vessel, is going down, having torn out its bottom on the reef of sin. It has been sinking since Adam and Eve, is sinking more quickly every day, and nothing that man can do will fix that. We are so caught up in whether to sit on the right or the left side of the ship that we have forgotten our purpose - to get as many people to the life-boats as possible. If we lead them to Christ, He will cleanse them from all sin and unrighteousness. Trying to clean them up before they meet Him just angers them and frustrates us. Preach Christ, and Him crucified, to individual persons and quit worrying about entire generations. He will take care of the rest.

"The Bible says that in the last days there will be a great falling away."

You do realize that the term "last days" indicates the time between Christ's resurrection and his return, and that by that definition...we have been living in the "last days" for the past 2k years.

Anyway, I highly recommend watching the new video upload that Url has put up with Skye talking about this subject...it is, by far, better than this post.

I was the founding pastor of a church started with my family plus one other. God led me to remain there for 21 years, growing a great fellowship of Christ loving individuals. By His grace we found ways to reach and include many new believers as well as many who had given up on organized religion. Our ministries - and there were many - were aimed toward reaching our community and beyond, for Christ. We served with a mission, a belief that God had put us where we were for an important reason - to share the life changing Good News of a loving Heavenly Father, a God who loves and forgives, who redeems and grants new purposes for our lives. We learned to accept God's love for ourselves and for everybody else, those who were like us and those who weren't, who believed as we did, and those who didn't. God used good folks from every walk of life, democrates, republicans, liberals, conservatives, fundamentalists - all of us, to build up His Kingdom. When I retired after 21 years, nobody knew if I was a Democrate, a Republican or what. They just knew that I was a fellow believer who wanted the will of God worked out through all our lives. I think that kind of Philosophy of Ministry will still work today! Let's stop classifying each other, politicizing Christ's message, and learn from Him how to relate to one another. David

This phenomenon is running amuck. My heart was breaking recently as I saw my young son taking this turn. I wrote this out. Thought I'd share it. Pray, Moms, pray like crazy!

The Son Snatcher
by L.L. Diller

Who took my son? I turned around for only a moment. Wasn’t it just a moment? Maybe it was longer. When I turned back, he was gone.

Yet, some form of him is still here. I can see him. His appearance. The dark, curly locks of hair framing the handsome face of a teenage boy beginning his transformation into manhood. The intelligent eyes of glorious green. Wearing his favorite sage colored T-shirt that sets them off so well. I see his shape. The tall, lanky physique that epitomizes slim. Standing there. The feet of a skateboarder, in tattered Vans, shoelaces dangling loosely on the floor.

The part of him that I can see is here. But his spirit has been snatched. His vitality. His joy for living. Seemingly, his very heart and soul, is missing. The sense of humor, stolen. The quirky smile, gone. The ramblings of excited discovery, stifled. An incredible, unquenchable curiosity, quenched. A rational, thinking, believing mind, emptied of the Truth. Or, so it seems.

Who took my son? You know and I know who took him. Satan has snatched my son. For now. For this season of sifting, perhaps. But he can’t have him. Not for keeps. You see, my son’s entire being belongs to only One, his Father in heaven who is greater than all, who is not willing for any to perish. Out of His eternal hand -- the hand that holds eternal life for those who have once accepted Truth -- no one is able to be snatched.

I think Peter Berger sort of gets it right in saying that "most 'nones' have not opted out of religion as such, but have opted out of affiliation with organized religion." I would say that noones are opting out of religious tribalism, and anything that separates belief communities into "us / them" dualities with "outsiders." The virtual generations, I think, are increasingly sensing all people as a global family of insiders created in God's image, regardless of faith. Religion often gives the opposite impression.

And thanks to virtual connection, I think noones are becoming more discerning of marketing at an increasingly younger age. This is especially true of religious marketing where Jesus becomes little more than a propositional belief system. Noones are leaving old forms of "church" but have not stopped searching for a more transcendent quality of Spirit and spiritual community.

I see most of this as a healthy transition.

It seems like the article is saying that everything that turns kids off to church is abortion, homosexuality, morals, ethics, etc. I don't think it's the church but the public schools who are teaching their "religion, secular humanism" and not Jesus' belief system. I don't see Jesus saying kill your baby because it's inconvenient or not what you want right now, or to accept homosexual activity as "normal", or to have morals and ethics instead of stealing, killing not in self defense, raping children, etc. Secular humanism teaches "if it feels good do it" and "it doesn't matter who it hurts such as your parents whom you're taught to ignore as long as your're free to do as you want, like sex with anybody and everybody except your married partner which is called man and woman. Even the gov't is teaching this through the actions of it's legislatures, judges, making it's own laws by ignoring the Constitution, etc. The media has kids having sex before they even meet, and pushing drugs as "happy time". It's not the church but the secular humanist world around the kids failing the kids. The 60's kids are the parents who don't encourage their kids to be in church and don't teach Jesus at home. Todays kids have to look to their grandparents for churching. And stuff like abortion (the murder of the innocent without trial), how you do sex and with whom, ethics, morals, etc. are not politics, they're stuff that the church has beliefs about and if the gov't goes against the church's beliefs than the gov't's beliefs need to be changed not the church's beliefs.

Anne Phillip's post resonated with me. The senior generation has much wisdom to share with us. At the beginning of the Jesus Movement in 1969 I was a seventeen-year-old Jewish girl who came to Christ and played guitar. The presence and interest of adults from their forties through their nineties helped me to mature in Christ. I was lucky to have that influence. I was a pseudo-hippie, living in community (communes) with friends and contemporaries as we memorized scripture together, wrote music, and encouraged each other in the Christian life. The senior adults in my life were essential in guiding my spiritual beginnings. The separation of children from adults in worship today, along with the entirely separate churches for youth and college aged that we see in some mega-churches has set a weak foundation for the essential inter-generational church that we MUST have in order to benefit from the wisdom and guidance of our senior members. The separation of generations also sets youth up to leave the church in search of something more meaningful to them. Churches struggle to fix this problem by bringing younger worship leaders into the "main worship space," turning up the volume, and disenfranchising committed older members. They miss the point. The younger generations leave because they never learned to relate to church as some senior pastors envision it. The Evangelical Church has shifted far right. That turns a lot of kids off, just as going too far left and into secular approaches leaves many cold. Young people yearn for authentic relationships with God and they are looking for loving, caring, wise people who will invest time in them to help them through their spiritual formation. I am sixty years old now and I love the opportunity to invest as a mentor in youth, young adults, and professionals. I have mentors who are in their seventies, eighties, and nineties. We may have differing political views, but we are one in Christ. We have to be careful not to use our our political agendas as a substitute for raising people up in the Lord. Good Christians have differing points of view on many issues, but we agree that resurrection power changes lives. Let's listen to each other, respect each other, no matter what our age. Let's see the potential each individual has in Christ and help them to become the person God intends them to be.

they aren't coming - we have to GO. go to where young people are - any people are who are disconnected from Christ. and then take the long journey of preparing soil - building trust by loving in selfless ways. the writer is right - we don't get to just offer Christ - the soil of hearts has been packed down by years of Christian stupidity. this kind will only come out by prayer fasting. there are no quick fixes. the Gospel is often rejected without our help, but we don't help with the barriers (politics, traditions, hypocrisy, judgmental-ism ...) that we've erected.

But first and foremost is this assumption that we have to get "them" to join "us." That's not our task. Our task is to GO like Jesus went and to be a tangible, visible witness to the Gospel by our lives and love. They aren't coming - we need to plant the Kingdom where they are - which means sowing the Seed in places where we've spent all our emotional, spiritual and physical capitol to get the soil ready.

Thank you, Debbie, for your insightful comments. You have an amazing track record in the baby boom Christian world and many, many people have been blessed by the musical gifts you and your husband have shared in children's musicals. I teach in public school and each year my 4th graders sing your song, "Christmas Is A Time To Love". There is a phrase in that song, "...it really doesn't matter; let's keep our eyes above, ..." that really applies here.

What I love about the gospel is this; the "Truth" is that I am a hopeless sinner who must pay the penalty of death for my sin because I could never do enough good work to cover it before a righteous God. The "Good News" is that I don't have to; Jesus shed His sinless blood on the cross for my sin; paid a debt I could never pay so that I could live and spend eternity with Him. The knowledge of both of these wonderful things has brought me to repentance and faith. I love Jesus because of what He has done for me. Hallelujah, what a Savior.

Debbie, you are right. Your post hits the mark in that the generations need to come together. We did benefit from older adults many who took us to hear your concerts. Living in Southern CA in those days was a great blessing! Today we miss out on this benefit when our target group is solely the emerging adult. It is also difficult for the older generation to bless and mentor the younger when they are isolated out to senior status and senior life groups and senior classes. Many long to obey the exhortation to let the older teach the younger. Right now I have three young adults that I mentor, but I had to seek them out. We meet regularly just to hang out and talk. But the most important thing as Debbie suggest is that we do a lot of listening.

The problem is that we think there is only one problem. Our world exists in interdependent systems - like a fish tank. There is a tenuous balance in the fish tank that keeps the fish alive. Bacteria, nitrite levels, nitrate levels, plants, fish food, oxygen and carbon dioxide...all of these in balance. But when the fish start dying everybody wants to think that it is somebody else's problem. The republicans blame the liberals and vice versa. The a-politicals blame both the other two. But it's a fish tank and we are all peeing in the same water.

It is just as much a mistake to limit the message of the Gospel to salvationism as it is to turn to liberation theology. As a Canadian, allow me to say gently that the general American view of what makes a Christian nation - or even an understanding of western culture as "Christendom" is partly to blame. The simple reality is that while you CAN legislate morality, you cannot make people moral. You can make your kids to go church, catechism, or AWANA, you cannot make them love Jesus. Far too often our cart ends up before the horse, for true obedience always comes from love (John 14.15).

OF COURSE issues like gay marriage and legalized abortion are important! (and Canada is officially a pagan nation that democratically supports both of these things), but if you don't know the LORD that made the rules, all you have is rules. Our failure as parents is when we do not pass on that love and allow for its contextual application as younger generations mature, and instead only pass on our rules. Of course kids hate organized religion - Jesus did too! (not the organized part - the religious part). Many of us think we have won some kind of victory when a law that is passed somehow reflects our Christian ethics. To some degree, when we have prevented the legislation of evil, we have won a small victory. But this does not change people. It does not make people right with God or one another.

The problem is that we have missed the point of letting your light shine (as Skye has alluded). If all it means is identifying yourself as a Christian, no wonder we are in trouble. When the world hears Christian - they think Christendom. They don't think gospel. To finish Skye's thought, Jesus said, "in the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

Kids see the implications of the Gospel. They are not stupid. What they want to know is how come the stuff that is important to God isn't important to us?

I am a Millennial, and I left the church because I just think Christianity isn't true.

I think it isn't true because we have better access to information in recent years, and I'm able to see all the scientific, historical and even logical reasons why it doesn't make any sense.

No amount of political piety can fix that.

SteveM

I left the institutionalized form of church but not Christ or the Bible. I have heard what is said to be science and history and logical and found it loaded with assumptions and theories claiming to be fact that are only theories. There are a zillion scientific theories and a zillion versions of history for any number of issues and many of them contradict each other. There are many more being developed every day under the banner of newer truth and enlightenment. But it's all based on an assumption that there cannot be a God of any kind. This is a religion, an issue of faith. Christianity or no christianity, it all requires belief or faith because nothing can be proven. Squeezing the definition of proof to allow many things to be proven that are not proven changes nothing.

"I think it isn't true because we have better access to information in recent years, and I'm able to see all the scientific, historical and even logical reasons why it doesn't make any sense."

I think you have misunderstood the nature of science, history is more of a courtroom for our species, and logic in and of itself can lead you to all sorts of erroneous ends unless your starting thought is fully understood.

I've worked in the pharma and biotech world as a bench scientist for near....geez...since 1994...wow, I really should do something else.
Anyway, I can tell you right now that what you call science I, being in the thick of it, often told my co-workers, "is this real science we're doing, or is it faith based science?"

In fact, the biases loaded into our scientific method is so overarching that there are papers discussing whether or not our research into our drugs are even accurate because of the biases front-loaded into the drug studies.

And so, seriously, I think you should be a lot more critical with everything...not just Christianity, but everything you think is trustworthy is not...at all. Educate yourself, and if you don't know, ask questions.
But the most important thing I can tell you, as Christian, a philosopher, a scientist, and a historian (yeah, history, Ancient and Medieval history here) is that you, not someone else, but you, yes you are going to have to do a whole lot of foot work to find the truth.

If there is one thing I learned from G-d it is this...information is malleable and easily biased, and thus requires a disciplined individual to sort through the nonsense to get to the grain of information that leads you on to the next grain.

The other thing I have found out is that the truth is a tantalizing little tart who darts in an out like a ninja on meth, and just because one corners it in a citadel doesn't mean that that citadel is going to be something to defend all the time...truth is dynamic, and it takes a whole lot of work to tackle it and understand it.

Good hunting, and G-d be with you.

Sheer, and don't forget one more essential ingredient to the success of the search to discern truth from error: that being ruthless personal honesty and integrity, or to use a more old-fashioned and religiously loaded term--purity of heart!

I do not think that we should "sugar coat" at all. Politics are a major part of this country and the fact is that politics are pushed on youth everyday. Rather than avoiding the subject altogether, we need to, not only show love, but we also need to show a worldview that is Biblically based. We also need to be direct but understanding of where the youth are coming from as well. Churches need to tell the youth that it does not matter what politcal affiliation they or their parents are. What matters is how they are percieving the Gospel and that what the youth believes lines up with what Jesus teaches in the Bible. That the youth are following God in glorifying way and not in a worldly way.

"The younger generations, and our culture as a whole, needs evidence of a third way to be Christian. It will require more than individual voices, but an organized and identifiable community of believers that reject Christianism and stands for Christ’s Good News, manifested in good lives, and evident in good works." I feel like that statement summarizes it well. I'm a Pastoral Ministries student at a bible college and I can say that I've seen these very same things growing up in the church. It seemed when I was growing up that being a Republican and being a Christian were synonyms. This has honestly led me to shy away from the title of Republican or Conservative for this reason. I can't help but think of homophobia or close minded rejection when I hear those terms. In the same way the secularized church puts a bad taste in my mouth. I can't help but think its an attempt to cover up the foolishness of the gospel, thereby watering it down and minimizing its real power. What I wish the church had was a fierce unyielding uncompromising commitment to loving God above everything and loving others as ourselves.