The Millenial Shape of the Modern Church

Thom Rainer recently ran this article on his blog.

Ten Ways Millenials Are Shaping Local Congregations Today 

They are the largest generation in history. In the United States alone, they number more than 78 million, even larger than the seemingly ubiquitous Boomers. They are the Millennials. They are changing our nation, our world, and our churches. 

For the purpose of today’s post, I want to focus on changes they are already bringing to our local churches. I have the benefit of a large research project on the Millennials, plus the ongoing conversations I have with members of this generation. And I have spoken with countless leaders in churches about their experiences with Millennials. 

Keep in mind that the birth years of the Millennials: 1980 to 2000. So the oldest member of this generation is 34, while the youngest is only 14. But their impact is already noticeable, and it will be for years to come. Here are ten ways they are shaping local congregations today:

• More of them are attracted to smaller venues. They are thus one of the reasons for the incredible growth in the multi-venue model of churches and the growth of new churches. Leaders of smaller churches should be encouraged by this trend as well.

• They see culture as something to influence, rather than an enemy to denounce. Many Millennials truly have a missionary mindset. They are turned off by those who constantly rail against people.

• They like to cooperate with others. They do not view other churches and Christian organizations as competitors. They are attracted to congregations that are working with other congregations.

• They abhor worship wars. I have a previous post on this topic called “What Worship Style Attracts the Millennials?”

• They love churches that love their communities. One of the first questions a Millennial will ask a church leader is, “What is the church doing to influence, impact, and minister to the community?”

• They are attracted to churches that emphasize groups. The Millennials want to be a part of a congregation that has healthy small groups, Sunday school classes, home groups, or other groups.

• They want to be trained on their schedule. The Millennials truly desire training. But they are accustomed to having that training available when they are able to hear it or view it. Such is the reason that many churches are going to video training while having “live” worship services and small groups.

• They will question almost everything. This generation will want to know why a church does what it does. The most unacceptable answer is, “We have always done it this way.”

• They are slow to join, and slow to leave. Church leaders are often frustrated that a Millennial takes so long to commit to a local congregation. But they are intentional and thorough. Once they commit to a church, they are less likely to leave, especially over petty issues.

• They want to be involved. If a church does not have an intentional plan to get Millennials involved in ministry quickly, they will not reach Millennials.

I love this generation. I love their enthusiasm, their commitment, and even their questions. They are one of the reasons I remain an obnoxious optimist about the revitalization of local congregations.
I would love to hear from some of you Millennials. And I would love to hear from some of the older folks like me who are interacting with this generation. Your comments are always more valuable than my posts.

Become Calvinistic . . . You Know You Got Nothing Better To Do! ;-)

"I became what is popularly known as a “Calvinist” sometime in 1988. It is a long and sordid tale, and to this day I am not quite sure what happened. There were various factors in play, as there always are with such things. The first was that I was preaching through Romans. I can recall telling one of our elders that I did not know what I was going to say when I got to “those chapters.” When I began preaching through the book, I was not Calvinistic, and when I finished, I was. So that was one factor. I got to chapter eight and decided, “Oh, well,” and just preached what it said. After all, I had nothing better to do" (Douglas Wilson, A Study Guide to Calvin's Institutes, 11).

U.S.A.

Wise words from R.C. Sproul, Jr. regarding America and Independence Day.

There are a host of shameful episodes in the history of these United States — people were bought and sold like cattle. Others were locked into government camps simply because of their racial background. Eugenics was embraced and practised. And today perverts parade in the streets. All of these, as dark as they are, however, pale in comparison to our great national ignominy — the wholesale slaughter of the unborn. For forty-one years now we have been a nation whose highest government protects over a million murders each year, and worse, whose citizens will commit over a three thousand murders of the unborn just today. Whether we consider our government, or our people, we are wicked. How then can we wave our flag, sing odes to our national patrimony, pledge our allegiance? . . . Independence Day should be for the Christian a day of mourning and repentance, a day of confessing our dependence on the finished work of Christ. It should be a day to remember that we, like our true founding father, seek a city whose builder and maker is God. It should be that day when we fly the white flag of surrender, and pray that the King of Glory would come in. A day when the blood of the babies on our hands drives us into the bloodstained hands of the Innocent One.

I Will Prepare for Worship by Thom S. Rainer

 "I Will Prepare for Worship" from Thom S. Rainer's blog.

This weekend I will attend my church’s worship service.
I will prepare for that corporate worship event;
I will not take the moments lightly.
I will see it as a precious time to gather with brothers and sisters in Christ. 

I will prepare for worship.
I will ask God to prepare my own heart.
I will ask Him to help me hear God’s Word clearly.
I will ask Him to speak to me that I might be changed. 

I will prepare for worship.
I pray that I will not be distracted by my own preferences:
By the style of music; the length of the sermon; the place where I sit;
Or anything that would cause me to focus on me instead of God. 

I will prepare for worship.
I will pray for my pastor that the sermon will be anointed.
I will pray for strength for my pastor,
And for encouragement in a world that often offers little. 

I will prepare for worship.
I will pray for other leaders in the church,
Leaders often unnoticed and unappreciated,
And specifically for those who sacrificially care for our children in the services. 

I will prepare for worship.
I will pray that I will hear God’s voice in the music, in the prayers,
And in every moment we gather as a body of believers,
United in heart, focus, and purpose. 

I will prepare for worship.
I will pray with my family before we leave to go the church service.
I will also pray alone for the services before we leave,
Even if it’s only for a few minutes. 

I will prepare for worship,
As I see fellow believers enter to worship together,
I will pray for them and their families,
And I will pray for their own hearts of worship. 

I will prepare for worship.
I understand I am blessed to be able to gather,
Because I know that many Christians around the world
Are being persecuted and banned from such times. 

I will prepare for worship.
I pray I will understand that it is a foretaste of heaven,
And that I will never take such times for granted,
I pray I will truly rejoice in the house of the Lord. 

I will prepare for worship.
Thank you, God, for your grace.
Thank you, God, for you goodness.
And for allowing me these precious moments to gather to worship You. 

"I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD."
—Psalm 122:1

American Church

From the Pew Forum. I take statistics with a grain of salt, but these benchmarks ought to be alarming.

Key Findings and Statistics on Religion in America

More than one-quarter of American adults (28%) have left the faith in which they were raised in favor of another religion - or no religion at all. If change in affiliation from one type of Protestantism to another is included, 44% of adults have either switched religious affiliation, moved from being unaffiliated with any religion to being affiliated with a particular faith, or dropped any connection to a specific religious tradition altogether.

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Landscape Survey confirms that the United States is on the verge of becoming a minority Protestant country; the number of Americans who report that they are members of Protestant denominations now stands at barely 51%. Moreover, the Protestant population is characterized by significant internal diversity and fragmentation, encompassing hundreds of different denominations loosely grouped around three fairly distinct religious traditions - evangelical Protestant churches (26.3% of the overall adult population), mainline Protestant churches (18.1%) and historically black Protestant churches (6.9%).

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Although there are about half as many Catholics in the U.S. as Protestants, the number of Catholics nearly rivals the number of members of evangelical Protestant churches and far exceeds the number of members of both mainline Protestant churches and historically black Protestant churches. The U.S. also includes a significant number of members of the third major branch of global Christianity - Orthodoxy - whose adherents now account for 0.6% of the U.S. adult population. American Christianity also includes sizeable numbers of Mormons (1.7% of the adult population), Jehovah's Witnesses (0.7%) and other Christian groups (0.3%).

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Reconciled

"The reconciled world is the church." -- St. Augustine (Sermon 46).

"But the sum is this, that Christ doth repair with his grace the world, being destroyed; which cometh to pass when he reconcileth us to the Father." -- John Calvin (Commentary on Acts 8:5).

Western Church: Salt has Lost Its Savor

"It is fuel for the fire to point out that western culture is in radical decline. I do not deny it. I recognize that things are getting ugly in the world--precisely because they are already ugly in the church. When another teenage gunman treating his school like a video game is greeted with a yawn, when sodomites become a protected class, when a million and a half babies are killed every year, we can safely conclude that the salt has lost its savor" (R. C. Sproul, Jr., Eternity in Our Hearts: Essays on the Good Life, 59).

The Debate of Nye and Ham: Reading Notes

A week ago Bill Nye (you know, The Science Guy) and Ken Ham (of AIG = Answers in Genesis) held a public debate at the Creation Museum. Kudos to all involved. The cultural pot has been stirred, indeed. There were several hundred-thousand viewers who watched the debate live via YouTube--you can go here to view the entire debate, complements of AIG. Since last week there has been a lot of post-debate fallout: blog posts here, newspaper articles there, post-debate interviews online and TV. For example:

• Articles at Ars Technica
• Nate Anderson's long-feature survey of the debate.
• Ars' visual tour of the Creation Museum.
• Eric Bangeman's initial (short) opinion of the debate.
• At Mashable -- a 4 minute recap of the debate.
• At BaylyBlog -- Ben Burlingham sketches a Christian approach to witnessing to Scientists.
• At his blog: Dr. Ken Schenck sadly reflects on the debate.
• At his blog: Dr. Albert Mohler, who had a front-row seat at the debate, shares his thoughts.
• At reformation 21: Pastor Rick Phillips provides some excellent post-debate observations.

Happy reading!

Andrew Sandlin on "Aborticide"

Lengthy excerpt from Andrew Sandlin's website. If you have the time, follow the hyperlink and read the full article.

Every January many churches in the United States highlight God’s truth as it relates to preborn children, notably in memory of Roe v. Wade, the January 22, 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.

Actually the term abortion includes the definition of “the expulsion of a fetus from the uterus by natural causes before it is able to survive independently,” denoting what is today termed miscarriage. This is not what most people mean when they use the word abortion, however. They mean the intentional termination of human pregnancy, abortion’s primary — but not exclusive — definition.

A more suitable term for that intentional act is aborticide, which is a perfectly legitimate English word and enjoys the rhetorical benefit of similarity to homicide, infanticide, suicide, regicide, and other words that denote the willful deprivation of human life. It’s a word that supporters of the act likely deplore for precisely the same reason that opponents would prefer it. Supporters want attention deflected from the (im)moral implications of the act and redirected to the benefits to the pregnant woman (“a woman’s right to her own body,” etc.).

The Christian verdict on aborticide derives from the Bible, which clearly, if not explicitly, condemns it.  All intentional deprivation of judicially innocent human life is murder (Gen. 9:6). Human life begins at conception (Jud. 16:17; Ps. 139:13–18; Jer. 1:5; Lk. 1:15). Therefore, aborticide is murder.

More specifically, biblical law requires compensation for a miscarriage unintentionally precipitated by violent human action (Ex. 21:22). Even if the child is miscarried as a result of violent actions that did not intend that fatal loss, the violent are guilty of what we term these days manslaughter (not fetus-slaughter).

A human fetus is a human, created in God’s image, entitled to full legal protection.

Legalized aborticide, therefore, is nothing short of legalized murder, not materially different from Nazi leglislation legalizing the extermination of Jews or Marxist laws allowing the liquidation of capitalists.

Closing Prayer: March for Life, Billings, MT

Yellowstone Valley Christians for Life sponsored the local March for Life here in Billings on Sunday, January 19th. We gathered at Soup and Such and marched to the Court House, where Mike Rapkoch, member of YVCfL, provided a brief talk before keynote speaker Dr. R. C. Sproul, Jr. (RC Jr. also provided the opening prayer at the Court House.) I had the privilege of leading the crowd in a closing prayer.

###

1:30 PM
Sunday, January 19, 2014
March for Life
Billings, MT

Our Father in Heaven, sanctify us through thy word; thy word is truth (John 17:17). We praise you for Jesus Christ, for having ransomed sinners like us from sin’s curse. We praise you for Jesus Christ, who prays for us and intercedes on our behalf right now at your right hand in Heaven. And we thank you for the gift of the Holy Ghost, who regenerated us—giving us new natures, making you our Heavenly Father.

O Lord, we are reminded of what Christ told his disciples: “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Lord, we know that tribulations occur according to your all good and wise providence, and that they are the means by which you cultivate our faith and craft our souls to desire you, our Triune Lord, more and more and more. And Lord, we do not fear tribulations; for You are our strength and defense (Psalm 59:9).

And Lord, because you are our strength and defense, we pray and ask and beseech that you would teach us how to be both a strength and defense for the innocents—teach us how to be penitent defenders of the unborn and of the downtrodden. We also pray for our prayers: fill us with your Holy Ghost, and in filling us make us powerful and diligent, make us humble and submissive before you in prayers-of-repentance and prayers-of-intercession on the behalf of children in the womb. And we pray for the salvation of men: we pray that you would give the gift of saving faith to the fathers and mothers whose hearts have turned away from their children; we pray that you would give the gift of saving faith to the butchers who perform abortions, that they might confess their sin, repent, and find salvation in the Redeemer-Jesus.
 
And Father, we pray to you corporately:

 

Prayer to End Abortion

 

Lord God, I thank you today for the gift

 

of my life,

 

and for the lives of all

 

my brothers and sisters.

 

I know there is nothing that destroys more life

 

than abortion,

 

yet I rejoice that you have conquered death

 

by the Resurrection of Your Son.

 

I am ready to do my part in ending abortion.

 

Today I commit myself

 

Never to be silent,

 

Never to be passive,

 

Never to be forgetful of the unborn.

 

I commit myself to be active

 

in the pro-life movement,

 

and never to stop defending life

 

until all my brothers and sisters are protected,

 

and our nation once again becomes

 

a nation with liberty and justice,

 

not just for some, but for all.

 

Through Christ our Lord, Amen!



Thom Rainer on American Churches in 2014

Thom Rainer recently posted "Fourteen Predictions for American Churches for 2014" at his blog in a two-part post: Part-One (Predictions 1-7) and Part-Two (Predictions 8-14). Below I've listed the "predictions" that caught my attention.

Prediction #2: Downsizing of denominational structures. Many denominational structures are becoming smaller because their churches are declining. Others are feeling economic pinches. This trend of smaller and more efficient denominational structures at all levels will only become more pervasive in 2014. 

Prediction #3: Decline in conversion growth. American churches that grow are more likely to get their growth at the expense of other churches. Evangelism is waning in many churches, and fewer non-believers are becoming Christians. The negative reaction to programmatic evangelistic methods has evolved into an overreaction. Too few churches emphasize personal and church-based evangelism. 

Prediction #7: Increased challenges for congregations to build and acquire land due to restrictive governmental policies. American churches will experience more frustration with governmental authorities as they seek to expand, build, and acquire land. Part of the reason will be due to the authorities’ concern about traffic and congestions. Another part is the underlying concern of losing a property tax base to a nonprofit organization. In a few cases there will be outright animosity and prejudice against Christians and churches. 

Prediction #11: Longer pastoral tenure. There will be incremental but steady growth in the length of tenure of pastors at a given church. Part of the reason is the influence of the Millennials who do not view larger churches as their next step in ministry. Part of the reason is economic; moving in today’s economy is not nearly as easy in pre-recession days. Hopefully, the main reason is a sense of God’s call to stay rather than move. 

Prediction #12: Local churches increasing their roles as ministry training leaders. The role of ministry training in the past decades fell largely upon Bible colleges and seminaries. More churches in 2014 will partner with those colleges and seminaries to provide contextual training at a local church. 

Prediction #14: More multiple teaching/preaching pastors. In larger churches, there has been a decided trend toward having more than one teaching and preaching pastor. Now the trend is taking place in smaller churches. We will see more churches with attendance under 200, even some under 100, with more than one teaching/preaching pastor. Of course, not all of them will be full-time vocationally at the church, so there will be more bi-vocational pastors whose role is to be a second or even third pastor in these smaller churches. 

Aphoristic Commentary: Isaiah 33:22

Isaiah 33:22, For the LORD [lit. Jehovah] is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.

John Calvin said, "Let us only yield to his [God's] authority, hear his voice, and obey him; and, on the other hand, he will shew that he is our protector and most faithful guardian."

John Calvin on Isaiah 33:22 (abstracted into bullet points):

• On the one hand
• Yield to God's authority
• Hear God's voice
• Obey God
• And on the other hand
• God will shew that he is our protector and most faithful guardian
• i.e., "God will save us"

To-Build or Not-to-Build (And What to Build) - That is the Question

Thom S. Rainer reflects on current trending for how Christians are thinking about church-buildings.

Preparing for Glorious Things

1 Corinthians 15:20,  But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

Some day I'll die. How glorious will it be?--beholding the face of God and waiting for the full redemption of my body? And how much more glorious will it be at the last day when soul is united again to resurrected self-same body? How do I begin preparing now for such glorious things?

God Condescends

"In relating to us, the triune God creates the means by which he condescends to us. He takes on human language, meaning, experience, and even flesh (supremely in Christ) in order to faithfully maintain his covenant with us; and he does all of this while remaining fully and completely God" (K. Scott Oliphint, Covenantal Apologetics: Principles and Practice in Defense of Our Faith, 96).

Regarding the condescension of God, John Calvin drew a correlation between how a nurse who speaks baby-talk with an infant and how God lisps in speaking to us - God condescends "far beneath his loftiness" in order to accommodate himself to us.

Art of Dying and God's Peace

"Dying is one of the two most difficult acts of faith (the other is coming to Christ for the first time). But the dying believer who is able to rehearse the blessings of God's providence in his or her life will surely know God's peace" (Joel R. Beeke & Mark Jones, A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life, 177).

Friday "How To Video" at Tree & The Seed: "How To" Create Demand for and Fund Death/Abortion Quotas

From the Alliance Defending Freedom website:

Abortion generates up to half of all of the income from the services at Planned Parenthood. In 2011 They committed 333,964 abortions which generated a minimum of $150 million. To continue to drive this revenue, they enforce abortion quotas which require all affiliates to conduct abortions. This is why 92% of pregnant women who go to Planned Parenthood get an abortion.

Alliance Defending Freedom is litigating lawsuits to protect the unborn, and restrict Planned Parenthood’s ability to do abortions until we drive them out of the abortion business.

Roger E. Olson says, "Me No Likey Clavinistic Creep!"

For a side splitting laugh, go read Arminian-powerhouse Roger E. Olson's musings on New Calvinism.

We've heard of "Mission Creep" -- when a project expands beyond its original goals. Roger E. Olson is struggling with "Calvinistic Creep" -- "What am I going to do with all these Calvinists (that are showing up in the unlikeliest of places, i.e., in Wesleyan, Pentecostal, Holiness, and Anabaptist Churches)!!!"

My thoughts: John 3:8 "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit."

Ignatius and Art of Dying

Ignatius was the Bishop of Antioch in Syria. He was arrested and led to Rome to be executed around 110 A.D. During his travels from Syria to Rome he wrote several letters to Christian churches. The following excerpt is from his letter to the Roman churches.

His captors were brutal; Ignatius says they "only get worse the better you treat them." Ignatius knows they will feed him to lions/beasts when he arrives in Rome.

Reflecting on this, Ignatius says, "Now is the moment I am beginning to be a disciple. May nothing seen or unseen begrudge me making my way to Jesus Christ. Come fire, cross, battling with wild beasts, wrenching of bones, mangling of limbs, crushing of my whole body, cruel tortures of the devil -- only let me get to Jesus Christ!" (Quotations from Early Christian Fathers, edited and translated by Cyril C. Richardson (Volume I: The Library of Christian Classics), pages 104-105, in William C. Placher's Readings in the History of Christian Theology, Volume 1, 18.)

Bible and Lordship of Christ

"The Bible is authoritative not because we accept it as such, but because it is the word of the risen Lord. It has a claim on all people. Its truth is the truth for every person in every place. Why, then, would we be reluctant to communicate that truth in our apologetics? Perhaps because we have not reckoned with the actual lordship of Christ. Perhaps we haven't really set him apart as Lord in our hearts" (K. Scott Oliphint, Covenantal Apologetics: Principles and Practice in Defense of Our Faith, 37).