Movements that change the world

Paul Robotham

There are the obvious reasons, like Evangelical/Pentecostal services being more ‘modern’ in terms of music and liturgy, but also the less obvious, such as younger people feeling inadequate in more traditional churches due to their lack of sophistication in, and reverence for, theological and biblical understanding and tradition. At E/P churches the language is more common and emotion plays a greater role. You can express yourself more freely and generally the pastors/ministers are less serious, cynical and negative and more energetic, expressive and humourous. Young people hardly care at all for the old theological divides (Calvinist/RC/Arminian), with a few exceptions (Sydney Anglicans). Young people want to go to church to be uplifted and refreshed (sorry, if that sounds self-centred, but isn’t one of roles of the church edification?) not put into a half-sleep on a routine basis. I think it is also harder for the churches today to counteract the culture that young people are attune to. Churches that make concessions to that culture are more likely to be successful.

Ryan

I think it is not the liturgy, or the music – for the numbers that also LEAVE pentecostal / “evangelical” churches in this age bracket are the same – but something that many of the bigger denominations (including Anglicans, Uniting, Baptists, Church of Christ, Presbyterian, Methodists etc) have slipped drastically away from – and that is the simple Gospel message of Jesus Christ.

Now this is something that the so-called ‘evangelicals’ do well in some settings (as do pentecostals) but the message is polluted in the sense that many ‘things’ are added to the ‘message’ of Jesus Christ, and in some cases ‘things’ are taken away from the message – making it distorted from what was intended by Christ.

The pentecostals have an attraction value for the young people – the music styles, the high-energy ‘worship’ and the ‘hip-culture’ that tends to go with the ‘prosperous kingdom of God’, but it does not take long before something sad must be realized and either embraced fully or rejected… they can get them in the door, but when there is little or no spiritual food – just a whole lot of “carbonated-christianity” (that’s church with nothing much solid, lots of air, and when you open it up for the first time it smells sweet and exciting but let it sit the same way for a while and it goes stale quickly and loses it’s flavor) you cannot survive as a believer for any length of time.

So the cycle goes “get ‘em in, get ‘em dunked, get their cash, oh their gone! [raw-hide]” but what does it do for the kingdom of God? I would venture to say little or nothing of consequence.

I am distressed by Paul’s statement about ‘evangelical’ churches – like you have a choice as a believer in Jesus Christ to be either someone who ‘seeks out unsaved’ to share the message of Hope that we have, or not – it is not an option to sit back and ‘soak in your salvation’ while they come to you whenever God ‘switches the light on!’

This is exactly the sort of hypocritical Christianity that the younger generations reject… you say you live for Jesus (this is not just aimed at Paul) yet you do not obey His commands “my sheep hear my voice; if you love me you will obey my words” and one of the major reasons they refuse to swallow the ‘message’ of the ‘established church’.

Now I am a pastor of a ‘big denomination’ church, and we have the opposite trend going – young people coming to know the Lord – but we still sing Hymns, we still have some more ‘traditional worship’ aspects – as well as combining with new music that is theologically sound… so there is something for all generations… but that’s just the window dressing:

We have a message that is life changing and this is it – that JESUS CHRIST was anointed and appointed by the Father to come to earth as the God-man – fully flesh and fully deity simultaneously. That He was blameless and sinless in every way – the lamb without blemish – who offered Himself up on our behalf as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. He was crucified and dies, buried and rose again – conquering death once and for all on our behalf – so that all who might believe in Him and His glorious name for the payment for their sins, would be given eternal life and the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide us and dwell in us that we might know the good and perfect will of God (as we read it in scripture) and walk in His ways and out of the kingdom of darkness.

That is not evangelical – that’s biblical. I share that with my neighbors – not because of my denomination, but because of my Lord’s command. Anything less than this is so easily transparent to the younger generations – who are searching for the ‘ultimate truth’ that our God represents – but can’t find it in the displayed lives of us the church.

The young people want to know the depth and width of their faith – they don’t feel inadequate due to their ‘lack of sophistication’ like we the church are above them – NO they see hypocrisy and spit on it for what it really is – offensive to God… and they’ll go somewhere where they can see people who really believe in JESUS – not the institution of religion.

Now I am not an emerging church supporter – the church does not need to be thrown away – it needs to WAKE UP and as Keith Green said in frustration of us 30 years ago – “HOW CAN YOU BE SO DEAD WHEN YOU’VE BEEN SO WELL FED?” and begin again to preach the message of the Gospel – IT ALONE is what will make disciples of Jesus and it alone is is what will cause the numbers to come AND STAY and it alone is the power for salvation – not the bells or hymns or pews or morning teas of handouts to the poor – but the message of Jesus!

“For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Romans 1:16