Young Adults, Megachurches, and Meaning

Last week we discussed the third session of Ray Vander Laan's series, Dust of the Rabbi, and we had a conversation about how young people, especially young adults, feel lost in the current church culture. We talked about megachurches and the various technologies that churches are using to draw the younger generation...and how that fits into the context of making disciples. We talked a little about what we imagine the church "should" be and what it might have been at its beginning.

Coincidentally, I found that Rachel Held-Evans was on Minnestoa Public Radio speaking about this very topic just the day before our conversation! If you were with us at Morning Blend last year, you will recognize Rachel Held-Evans. She was part of the Animate:Bible series that we studied (see more about her by clicking her name in the right sidebar). You can hear the 11 minute podcast or read the transcript here: Where Church Goes Wrong for Many Millennials.

The MPR interview resulted from an article that Rachel Held-Evans wrote, which was featured in the Washington Post: Want Millennials Back in the Pews? Stop Trying to Make Church 'Cool.' Evan points out:

"According to the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, among those of us who came of age around the year 2000, a solid quarter claim no religious affiliation at all..."

The church has responded by...

 "...focusing on style points: cooler bands, hipper worship, edgier programming, impressive technology." 

However,

"Recent research from Barna Group and the Cornerstone Knowledge Network found that 67 percent of millennials prefer a “classic” church over a “trendy” one, and 77 percent would choose a “sanctuary” over an “auditorium.”

And, perhaps, my favorite quote from the whole article:

"You can get a cup of coffee with your friends anywhere, but church is the only place you can get ashes smudged on your forehead as a reminder of your mortality. You can be dazzled by a light show at a concert on any given weekend, but church is the only place that fills a sanctuary with candlelight and hymns on Christmas Eve. You can snag all sorts of free swag for brand loyalty online, but church is the only place where you are named a beloved child of God with a cold plunge into the water. You can share food with the hungry at any homeless shelter, but only the church teaches that a shared meal brings us into the very presence of God. "

 I highly recommend checking out both the article and the podcast. Enjoy!

Dust of the Rabbi - Additional Resources

Ray Vander Laan has an excellent website with additional articles about the people and places mentioned in the study. You can browse through addtional articles on this page:

https://www.thattheworldmayknow.com/in-the-dust-of-the-rabbi

Obedience & Biblical Commands

We had a discussion last week about obedience, and it came up that the New Testament scriptures actually have more commands than the Old Testament scriptures. Here are some links if you're interested in reading more:

613 Commandments of Torah (meaning the first five books of the Old Testament) - If you scroll down the page, you'll see all 613 Commandments listed with their scripture references. You may notice that some commandments are very similar or nearly the same. They are still counted toward the total number by the rabbis.

1050 New Testament Commands - The 1,050 commands are divided into 69 categories on this website. Other sites put them into 800 categories. Again, you'll notice a certain amount of repetition of similar, nearly identical commands. You'll also notice that several are repetitious of commands from the Torah.

This statement by Jim Garrish in his article The Commands of the New Testament seems to echo some of Ray Vander Laan's thoughts on the subject of obedience:

In the past, the church has often avoided the subject of God’s commands and laws in fear of leaning too far in the direction of legalism. Unfortunately, by so doing the church has now leaned too far in the direction of antinomianism. It has become lawless, disobedient and sinful in the process.  Jesus reproves such a church, saying, “Why do you call me, `Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say” (Lk.6:46)?  It is amazing that the modern church has diligently carried out part of the Lord’s great command.  She has gone into all to the world to make disciples. Yet, she has often ignored the last part of the same Great Commission, that is in teaching those disciples to do all that the Lord has instructed (Mt. 28:19-20).

The Jim Garrish article also attempts to list all the New Testament commands, which he describes as no easy task:

This is a difficult task. I have first tried to eliminate all those commands that were given to specific individuals, unless those commands seem to have a direct application to the church in general. I have also omitted the many statements and teachings of Jesus and his disciples which are given in a manner that they may almost be construed as commands.  These ‘implied commands’ could become the subject of another study entirely.  Here I have listed only those statements that seem to be clearly given as commandments.