At our recent board retreat, we had some intense discussion about how each generation of believers tend to process worship, church organization and community.

We acknowledged that most churches in our nation have been dividing along generational lines because of these differences. At Christ Church, we are determined not to do this. We believe our strength has been the deep bonds we have shared. In some cases, these bonds stretch back nearly a century. At the recent funerals for our dear friends, Eric and Emmy, it was clear that we experienced a common grief, whether old or young, Black, White or Hispanic, wealthy or poor. We comforted one another. In our pain, we forgot our differences.

That was a unique moment, to be sure. Nonetheless, it was a revealing one. If we can experience community in a crisis, perhaps we can deepen the sense of community during “ordinary time.”

Maintaining our community requires one thing above all: “love.”  Love will stretch to comprehend the needs of others. When the needs of our friends do not violate scripture or offend our deepest values, we must bend to accommodate. Then, we must move to participate. We learn to tolerate and then to appreciate things that were not to our taste before, simply because we want to stay on the same page with our brothers and sisters, children and grandchildren.

We experienced some of this on Palm Sunday, I think.

The great social upheavals of our times: economic, technological, moral; globalization, immigration and integration; spiritual revolutions of all sorts – etc, etc, have produced a generation of CONSERVATIVE Christian leaders who are deeply cynical of denominational structures and religious brand loyalties. Therefore relating to our believing children and grandchildren requires a lot of listening and a willingness to understand why they wish to express the faith in the ways that they choose. At the same time, the Christian faith requires for our children and grandchildren to respect and to honor the heritage that is so precious and which we wish to hand to them. It all takes a lot of work, a lot of humility and a lot of learning.  

Anyway – enough of my editorializing. A friend of mine recently sent me an article about one of the great trends among Evangelical Christian youth called the Emergent Church movement. I have attached it to this email for your reading pleasure.

The Emerging movement is basically a reaction against Baby Boomer churches. I don’t agree with it at every level. Indeed, I take real issue with the movement in some significant ways. However, I am listening to what they are saying. I remember that the hippy churches we made fun of thirty years ago became the Calvary Chapels and the Vineyard Fellowships of today. People mature and as they do, the movements they lead mature. However, something of the original culture of these movements endure. This article addresses some of pros and cons of this particular movement. However, many of the disagreements among younger adults on these issues is not about the issues but about how to address them effectively. So, whatever conclusions you reach about their response, the issues themselves are fairly common among young believers throughout the nation: what do about community, intense worship, care for the needy, and devotional life.

I think it would be helpful for the leaders of our church to read this article. It would help them understand at least one type of Evangelicalism that many young American Adults are now embracing. As the days go by, I’ll try to send out information on other kinds of Christian movements – such as the Third World kinds of  neo-Pentecostalism, for example. Click Here for the Article

All of these movements affect all local churches in a globalized world created by the internet. As leaders, we need to stay informed.

Dan Scott