One of my favorite titles for a book was by David Ravenhill. It was called, For God’s Sake, Grow Up!
What we haven’t done in the American church is grow up. We’ve been stuck in adolescent neverland for decades. We’re enjoying the ride, but when we want to get off… we just leave the church. And then… we blame the church.
This article in Christianity Today cuts the heart of the matter.
One aim we have in our church is to be multigenerational. It doesn’t lead to a huge church, but I believe it leads to a healthy church. We need each other in our lives.
From the article:
I believe one key is to renew our commitment to the church as an intergenerational family, in which each person has a unique role in helping the others toward our shared goal of maturity in Christ (Titus 2:1-15; Eph. 5:21-6:4; Col. 3:18-4:1; 1 John 2:12-14). Adults need children and adolescents to draw out their committed love and provide concrete opportunities to care for others. Adolescents help adults reconnect with the passion of a life devoted to Christ, what he called the first love of the Christians at Ephesus (Rev. 2:4). Young people need adults in their lives who are modeling a vibrant spiritual maturity. One reason no one wants to grow up in America is that many adults don’t make their life stage look very attractive.
Dan, I like the idea of the multi-generational church…the truth of it speaks to me. I think it’s not only a noble goal for a pastor but should be the norm. However, “What we haven’t done in the American church is grow up.” is a little troublesome for me. The truth of the statement not so much…but the limitation of the indictment to the “American church”. Do you have an example of the church “grown up” on a grand geographical scale anywhere? I’m not trying to be adversarial…I’m just wondering if it is possible under whatever definition of that term “grown up” one chooses to use.
I would say the Persecuted Church has a maturity. On a “grand scale?” Well, I don’t. know. But in many ways ther is a level of “adult” awareness in othed parts of the world I think we could draw from..