Diaper Church: Part 3

Craig Ferguson figured out how youth became so valued in our society:

That helps.

Diaper Church: Part 2

Two posts ago I raised the question of how the church is supposed to handle the changing religious landscape that is Christian America.

The trend in society and even church models now is to reach the younger, hipper, “cooler” generation; oftentimes, to the exclusion of all other demographics.  I submit that this pursuit of youth to the exclusion of others ages is doing more harm than good.

In our society, while youth often represents vibrance and passion; old age is associated with feebleness, close-mindedness, and obsolescence.  However, when I look into scriptures, I see that the majority of the the time that youth is to be shunned or forgiven while wisdom that comes with age is to be cherished.  In a word of encouragement to Israel, Isaiah states that we will forget the shame of our youth.  Throughout Proverbs, the father warns his young son of the dangers of folly, youth, and foolishness.  In the book of Job, Elihu (who is the youngest of Job’s friends) is condemned for his foolish counsel.  While there are a few exceptions (mainly David) most instances warn against the folly of youth, and/or a youth’s self-delusion of knowledge and significance.

One of the greatest claims in favor of youth comes in the writings of Paul to Timothy.  Most people refer to 2 Timothy 4:12

Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity…

The above passage was written to a young pastor.  But what is often not noted is that in the first century, a young pastor was usually thought to be someone under the age of 40.  As a matter of fact, most scholars would agree that when the letter from Paul was written to Timothy, he (Timothy) was most likely close to 40 years old.  That’s right.  Forty.  He was an old fuddy-duddy!  Not exactly the picture of youth that many young cowboy-shirt wearing church planters look like.  Therefore, we see that maybe the church pursuing youth isn’t so much about biblical mandate as much as pursuing the path of least resistance.  Its not about spirituality at all, but rather not wanting to fight with other’s opinions, no matter how wise they may be.

This all leads me to ask, what are established churches supposed to do if their congregations are getting older?  Are they to pack up shop and leave or do they offer something that these new “hipper” churches cannot offer?  It may be easier to pack up and leave or close shop to do away with the baggage, but what would this accomplish.  Is there not a need to maintain and shepherd those congregations that God has brought together?  By ignoring the older (read: over 40 years old) people in a congregation, they are doing the body of Christ a disservice.  Here are a couple reasons why we should focus and mobilize these families.

1. Wisdom-They have a great deal of experience.  This isn’t the “leadership” garbage that is propagated today, but rather spiritual wisdom that can only come from years of faithfully walking out their Christian relationship.
2. Heritage-Partner older church members with younger families and students.  It’s not just the church that can benefit from their wisdom, but also individual families.  How does a family who has been through a miscarriage cope?  How about a young family who is contemplating separation and divorce?  How does a widow make sense of their spouses recent death?  Mobilize the older couples to spearhead these relationships so that they will add to their spiritual heritage.
3. Leadership-They should lead the congregation by example.  Their leadership will be greatly utilized throughout the management of the church and more importantly, the administration of biblical ordinances and ordering care for orphans and widows.
4. Spiritual Health-It is too easy today to fall out of church attendance.  We are slighting these older church members and instead of them making a stink about it, they just stop attending.  When we eliminate these church traditions, whether they are legitimate or not, we often offend those who have been there the longest.  I am not saying that we shouldn’t eliminate ineffective church programs, but rather that we should evaluate programs while also considering those who have a vested interest in them.  Then, we can alleviate any potential fallout from the elimination of the program and thus preserve the elder portion of our congregation.  Our goal isn’t to get across the finish line with as few people as possible, but rather that Christ would redeem as many as possible for the sake of his glory.  And not just that we would finish, but finish strong and gloriously.

So, should aging congregations pack up shop?  No.  They should stop focusing on just surviving.  Instead, we should all focus on mobilizing the church to devote themselves to the Word, providing for those in need, taking the Gospel to the ends of the earth, living in a manner worthy of the Gospel, and creating a lasting spiritual heritage on earth now and in heaven to come.  This would reinvigorate our congregations and eventually reach a generation who is looking more for something authentic than for “hip” and “cool.”

So who is the target of the Diaper Church model?  People so old they have to wear diapers at all times.  Maybe it isn’t a viable model.  But that is what I thought about Cowboy church.

Student Pastor Utility Belt

The other day I ran across an article that got me thinking.

First I thought, “This is ridiculous.”  While I can sniff out a humorous article, the thought I was stuck with was that some people actually believe this garbage.  While I do not think any Youth Pastor would articulate all these things as necessary, there are a few items that I am sure are perceived as required to be an effective minister.  Some of the more ridiculous one the list were a Smartphone, Netbook, and 3G Wireless Card.  Seriously.  I feel so bad for Paul, Augustine, Richard Baxter, and others who never had these tools and were therefore ineffective in their ministries.  Poor guys.  Maybe they will get a free pass in heaven by God for his mistake in ordering their days improperly and setting their going out and lying down hundreds of years early.

BUT in all seriousness, it got me thinking, “What is really needed in ministry today?”  So, I have made my own list of items required for effective ministry today.

1. Bible-There is seriously a famine of biblical knowledge in youth ministry today.  We need more ministers who KNOW and LOVE the Word.
2. Original Thought-Stop copying the latest sermon series.  Stop copying the other youth ministries you hear about.  You are better at finding something that fits your group than a “Hot Topics” or “Cool Sermons” website.  Get Creative!
3. Discernment-Hear from God.  Discern His voice.  Follow His leadership for the people He has put in your flock.
4. 1992 Ford Taurus-OK.  SO maybe not a Taurus.  Very few can tame the bull.  But every youth pastor should have a commitment to sacrificial living.  While having a cool car may impress students, a commitment to giving sacrificially is a much more compelling testament to the Gospel.
5. Treadmill-While this item wasn’t around in the 1st Century, it is necessary today.  I am not perfect, but I am working at getting back at it.  This item probably applies to most people in ministry.  It truly is ridiculous the number of potbellies present in the seminary classroom today.

Maybe I am just bitter that I only own 2 of the items on the original list I ran across.  Can you guess which ones I own?

New Church Model: Diaper Church

You heard it here first.  With all the crazy church models out there from Cowboy Church to Baby Church to Emergent Church to Sticky Church to Young Urban Professional with a highly disposable income who like to listen to smooth Jazz and chant in tongues churches, I figure Diaper Church has a shot, right?  There are a thousands models out there.  The church has taken many forms over the years and within the last couple decades have decided on slicing up the market to focus on their target.  For instance, you have the Saddleback Sam who is “seeking” God (btw, those who hold this view of seeker, please explain Rom. 3:10-12) and Willow Wally.  This isn’t so much as an assault on these models.  Their own churches have realized that it isn’t the best model/plan to follow.  This has more to do with asking a simple question…which I will get to in a sec.

America’s culture is obsessed with a young culture.  There are thousands of beauty products pitched to women to help them appear younger.  Cosmetic medical operations are continuing to increase and Hollywood crams “beauty” down our throats from every angle.  There are chiseled young heart-throbs and beautiful young women all over the cinema.  I don’t think I need to go much farther as I am convinced that anyone who would try to make a case otherwise would be laughed out of the room.  Not only has this affected Hollywood, but also the marketing geniuses in our consumer driven culture.  Marketers and advertisers are falling all over themselves to vie for the money and attention of the age 14-25 demographic.  They say to themselves, “If only we can attract a younger crowd with our product, we will be perceived as fun, new, and desirable.” Once again, I think this is common knowledge and doesn’t require much more explanation. Which brings me to my question…

Has the church also bought into the lie that our culture is propagating; those who are young and youthful are the desired target market?  Have we decided that this is the demographic where God moves most frequently?

Carl Trueman reflects on this subject in his book, The Wages of Spin,

More often than not, these changes [abandoning hymnody for contemporary songs and styles deemed more sensible] are implemented with more than a passing reference to the need to attract  young people to church – a most legitimate  aim but also perhaps a significant modification of the emphases contained in the Great Commission where the category of age receive specific mention.

This is an honorable aim, right?  I mean, we have statistics that show that the majority of “salvation decisions” occur before the age of 18.  This is evidence that God almost exclusively moves among the young.  No?  Or have we just bought into that line of thinking and thus propagated a lie?

Does God only move among the young or are we overlooking the vast majority of the world?  Franklin Graham is now focusing on Youth Crusades.  Louie Giglio has started Passion Church to focus on this young single demographic.  The church is mourning the sustaining or decline of youth baptisms.  Entire churches are focusing on this young demographic, often to the exclusion of other demographics.  But have we really thought about the implications of this claim?  If God is moving among the young, what is a church supposed to do in a community with an aging demographic or one who is ministering in community with an increase in new home construction with houses in excess of $500,000 (certainly young families aren’t buying these properties)?  Should they just pack up shop?

What are your thoughts.  In the next post, I will explore a few implications of this and provide reasons why I think this may be a terrible strategy.  In the mean time, what do you think?

Oh yeah, this is coming from a youth pastor whose job it is to reach this young demographic exclusively.  But more on that next post.

UPDATE: I skipped the follow-up post.  It should come shortly.

*Sharp Inhale*

There aren’t a lot of experiences in life that are embarrassing to me.  I will make a rear end out of myself almost any chance I get.  But today, I made a rear end out of myself that as I recollect it, it makes me whince.  You know, a sharp inhale.

Today I was supposed to preach in my final preaching/practicum class.  I use the word “supposed” intentionally.  You see, I didn’t really preach as much as I fumbled around looking for words to communicate how inadequate we sometimes feel.  It was like I had been transported into my own worst memories when I started my preaching “career.”  Instead of preaching a sermon, I BECAME the sermon.  The original sermon was that God uses inadequate and under-qualified people to accomplish his work.  Today, I think everything came true, and I became the medium for God to communicate how inadequate we truly are.

There are few things in a seminarian’s life that are as stressful as preaching to a room full of preachers.  For those not on the inside, preachers are one of the most critical and pious people to walk the face of the earth.  And here am I, supposed to preach to them.  It’s kinda like covering yourself in butter and laying out for a 6 hour tan.  Or a swimming in shark infested waters while wearing a goat carcass as a wetsuit.  Or picking a switch, climbing into a cattleyard, and trying to smack a bull with it.  The words, “Come and get it” seem appropriate.

While everyone in class was kind, we all knew the elephant in the room.  To top it all off, I was so focused on getting the sermon finalized this AM, I was just wearing jeans and a dress shirt.  No Khakis.  No tie.  Not even tucked in.  I am sure I could find a million reasons to blame for my failure, but the truth is staring at me in the face. I am my own worst enemy, and the Lord has taught me a valuable lesson.

I would love to say that I intended to do poorly to reinforce my main point about God using inadequate people.  But the fact is that as much as I hate to recognize it, I am inadequate for the task God has called me to.  I need to rely on the Holy Spirit for guidance, direction, and even communication.  Today, I preached in my own strength and it magnified my own inadequacy.  I hope that never happens again.

Facebook…can I quit you?

I LOVE Facebook.  I must put it in CAPS because it is such a wonderful technology, right?  It tells me when birthdays are coming up for people I know, and sometimes people I barely know.  It reminds me of events that I agreed to attend.  It gives me access to a plethora of information I may not have anywhere else.  It provides glimpses into the lives of those I truly care about.  It helps me keep tabs on people who have moved out from underneath my ministry into the temptations and triumphs of college life.  I mean, it is a great thing, right?  Well, lately I have been thinking otherwise.  

The whole premise of these social networking sites, at their core, is to get you to keep thinking about yourselves.  You may be saying, “But Jody, they were designed to keep you in contact with your friends and stay engaged in their life.”  While partly true, I seriously doubt that logic.  I would argue that Facebook’s success is largely attributed to people assembling these loose associations with people so that in the event that they need something, they have easy access to these people.  I am “friends” with a bunch of people from high school, but apart from a few short emails, I do not talk, or connect with them at all.  Instead, we are “friends” in that we know each other exists, but that is the extent of it.  Instead, Facebook’s success can be attributed to our narcissistic side and need to impress others.  We think others want to know what we are doing (but only in 160 character increments).  We think that others care how many movies we have seen.  We think we need to announce to the world that we _________ (fill in the blank).  It doesn’t matter.  Go ahead, look at your last 5 status updates.  Who realistically cares about them?  And this is where Facebook becomes my problem.

The life that I seek to live does not revolve around me.  I want it to revolve around my belief in God and allowing others to see that in every area of my life. Following Jesus’ example in John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”  I must get out of the way.  I must allow the power of the Holy Spirit to live through me that he might receive the praise for all things.  Instead of getting out of the way, Facebook beckons me to think more about myself.  I must think of a funny or witty status.  Quick, log in and see if anyone responded to the video you posted.  I find myself saying, “I should change my status to that.”  Not because I think it will particularly edify anyone, but because I think it will make people think more highly of me.  They will think, “Jody is so funny” and that should not be my purpose.  I am a nincompoop of the highest degree.  You can quote me on that in your “Favorite Quotes” section of Facebook.  Without beating a dead horse too much, Facebook sabotages my self-conscious to do things that I struggled against even before I used it.  

Not only does Facebook cause me to think more highly and more often about myself, it also allows me to disengage from the work of valuing people.  True, I can send a quick email or write a happy birthday on someone’s wall, but it doesn’t require me to use my mind to think of ways to speak life into people.  It allows me to cruise instead of actually remembering someone’s birthday.  It allows me to send a quick message instead of taking the time to write a letter or send a card.  Is it convenient?  Absolutely.  But it fails to communicate the value of a person by using the least involved medium.  In any case, it allows me to get lazy in my relationships with people by substituting something of less value for something of greater value.  

DISCLAIMER:  I know that there is nothing inherently evil about the technology called Facebook.  It can be used for just as much “good” as “bad.”  This is not the debate.  The conflict I am wrestling with now is how can I utilize Facebook to create and communicate value instead of allow me to waste hours looking at pictures of people I barely remember, let alone people I may never see or email again.  Don’t get me wrong, it is fascinating to see other people’s lives.  However, it can become a time-suck from which there is little return.  Especially for someone as ADD as me.  

I could go on and on about the evils of Facebook, but I must say, it has the potential to be a useful tool in the life of everyone.  It may not fetch my paper, but it helps me to connect with a bunch of people at once and has helped me on more than one occasion get in touch with someone via some other medium (cell, email, address, etc.).  In any case, can I quite Facebook?  Not yet, but I think we may be going down the road of breakup.  Especially since every 80 year old Grandma has a Facebook page now too.  Just kidding.  I love the Grandmas of Facebook also (once again, you can quote me on that).

To Know Nothing But…

It’s the new year.  Every year, there are millions of people who decide to make a resolution (or multiple resolutions) which usually falter by mid-March.  I for one am not looking forward to the crowded gym over the next couple months.  These resolution have temporary effects, while we often ignore the practices and disciplines that have eternal ramifications.  

I am not one for making resolutions, but it is a good time for reflection upon the past year.  For me, 2008 has been an unbelievable ride filled with “work,” family, and school.  I need to use quotation marks around work because it is truly the best job for me in the universe.  While it has taken a ridiculous amount of school and preparation, I am not sure I would trade it for anything.  My family has grown with the arrival of my precious daughter, Annabeth.  Finally, my schooling is coming to a close and I am getting excited about finally being able to devote everything to my wife.  An incredible year in which God has shined mightily upon my family. 

So, what will 2009 hold?  If I stand by idly, I am sure that I will be disappointed because of what it could have been.  Will I spend my time devoted to the frivolous things that I blogged about the other day or will I do some serious soul work?  Without fail in 2008, I would spend at least a little time each day in devotion to things that matter little by reading about things like technology, electronics, elections, and world events, while even sometimes ignoring my own spiritual health.  I have even read recently that it is encouraged that we know what our neighbors are reading just to know.  

While watching my favorite college and professional football teams on television, I’m also reading the newspaper, magazines, books, or surfing the Internet. I want to know what my neighbors are reading and the ideas they are exposed to.  You would benefit from doing the same. 
           -Aubrey Malphurs, A New Kind of Church 
            (Professor at Dallas Theological Seminary) 

While there are some redeeming qualities about knowing these things, we must understand that they are fleeting.  I don’t go to my doctor to discuss politics, I go because he can help me with my sickness.  I do not think students or anyone seeking spiritual help would come to me and respect my understanding on cultural relevance at the expense of their eternal benefit.

What would Jan. 1, 2010 look like if I devoted myself, like Paul, to know nothing but Christ, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”  1 Cor 2:2.  How much more joyful would I be if I filled my life with the Scripture?  How much more prepared for spiritual warfare would I be if I actually hid his word in my heart?  How much more of the greatness of God would be revealed to me through earnest and deep study of God’s word in my own personal life?  I believe that God and his Scriptures are sufficient, why wouldn’t I live what I believe?

For you, what is your 2009 going to look like?  Are you going to fill it with useless college football facts?  iPod Touch Applications?  U.S. & World History (useless unless you are taking a class in it, in which case you should devote adequate time in order to glorify God in your studies)?  Hollywood Trivia?  Movie Quotations? Music lyrics?  Or will you devote your time to the only eternal thing and begin to store up massive treasures in heaven that are waiting on your arrival? 

I hope to not be ashamed of my time in 2009, but we will re-evaluate that in March…maybe.

I Want A Conversation

How many kids do Angie & Brad have?  What movies have you seen?  What do you think of the auto bailout?  Is Obama having another press conference?  Answer: Don’t care.

These holidays provide a great deal of down time.  Not only time to think, but also time to talk with those you may have lost contact with or been too busy to follow up with.  Family that are states away or friends that re just coming back in town.  We have such great opportunities to talk about things that matter and that just might be intellectually stimulating and spiritually challenging.  But do we have those conversations?

Nope.  We digress into a discussion about movies that are popular even though they offer little redeeming value cinematographically, let alone promote morals and ideas that are worthy of promoting.  Instead, we talk about Hollywood.  We talk about TV.  We talk about useless stuff and my mind is tired of it. 

I want a civilized conversation about eternal things with competent people who are genuinely interested in an authentic Christian relationship.  Not with the type of people because they choose a church with comfortable stadium seating and a Starbucks in the lobby.  Not with the type of people that give me strange looks when I tell them the last movie I saw in the theater was over 9 months ago.  Not with the type of people that are bullheaded about their views and have little desire to see what the ultimate authority (read:scripture) has to say about anything.  Not the people who own an iPhone and think I am a mutant because I don’t want to pay an additional $45.00 a month (over $500 a year!) for a data plan that allows me to find the closest sushi bar just so I can impress people I don’t really even care about.  Sorry, these people are not my bag of tea.  

I want a conversation with genuine brothers of faith who want to get together at Panera (or someplace that has a cheap cup of coffee) and talk about things that matter.  Topics that run the gambit of the validity of the emergent movement (if you can call it valid), how to reach people without coming across like a vacuum salesman, the role of the Holy Spirit in our daily life.  Topics that might matter such as personal spiritual disciplines like prayer and its effectiveness in daily life, the possibility that the majority of Western Christians aren’t really even know by Jesus.  I mean, what if the Christian life isn’t about praying a prayer, but instead about genuine Christian service and sacrifice for the cause of Christ.  Who wants to have that conversation?

Stuck In Our Poor Affluence

For a while now I have had a heart for orphans overseas.  Jessica and I want to adopt a child internationally, but do not yet have the means to accomplish this.  But that is not the purpose of this post.  I was surfing this thing we call the internet and ran across an article about the hunger crisis that is occurring in Zimbabwe.  I surfed to the World Food Crisis photos and came across the photo you see above.  What an amazing photo.  The baby is 2 month old malnourished infant from Ethiopia.  You can see the concern on the mother’s face just wondering what to do next.  Or maybe I am making that up.  But in any case, you can see the critical health of the baby.

The article outlined the food crisis that is currently and will continue to take place over the next two years.  The causes are varied from unstable governments, natural disasters such as droughts or hurricanes, lack of suitable farm land, and pestilence.  In all cases, the effects are widespread from N. Korea to Kenya to Somalia to Haiti.  The U.N. is also spending a quarter billion dollars more this year to distribute food in disaster areas.  This photo helps provide incredible perspective to the type of trouble we are all about to see regularly.  

Here in America, we are here complaining about how our inflation rate is high, the price of crude oil, or how big of a handout we American’s are going to give the banking system or automotive industry.  We are one of the richest countries in the world and yet we gripe and moan about how our retirement accounts are shrinking.  Oh no!!!

People are stinking dying everyday from things like hunger, and yet we cannot even take our eyes off ourselves for one second to the see the tremendous REAL needs in our world.  I think the best term to describe our situation is “poor affluence.”  Americans carry more unsecured debt than is healthy.  We live in houses that are too big and expensive to maintain.  We drive multiple cars that have 8-year loans on them.  We eat out regularly because it is easier than opening a cupboard and grabbing a pan to boil water.  Both spouses are “required” to work, mainly because of the lifestyle they choose to live.  I mean, for real?  Are we really that selfish?  

Without sounding too melodramatic, people will really continue to die at higher rates in the next 2 years because food is in short supply in their community, and we are giving $700 BILLION dollars to the private sector??  We are so affluent and yet we consider ourselves poor because we are going to be FORCED to cut our Christmas budget by half…which is what?  A $1,000? Our affluence is killing us and we don’t even see it happening.

What if a group of Christians would stand up and say that enough is enough?  That we will clothe the naked.  Feed the hungry.  Visit the sick.  Adopt the orphan.  Rescue the dying.  Help the hurting.  

Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,
you did it to me.  Matt 25:40 (ESV)

This isn’t about a social gospel, this is about THE gospel.  

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’   Matt 25:34-36

I sure hope Jesus isn’t watching, because this is just embarrassing.

My election views!

With everyone else posting about the election, I feel pressured by the blogosphere to acquiesce to their demands.  So, here is my obligatory election post.

McCain.  Obama.  Election.  2008.  Long lines.  Higher taxes.  Smaller government.  Racism.  Shorter Public Restroom Lines.  No Sock Left Behind.  Smarter Animals as Pets.  Blah Blah Blah.

You’re welcome.