Why millennials are leaving the church

[ayin jade]

I didnt know it until I read another article elsewhere, but millenials are apparently a generation of people. 

 

 

Generation Y, also known as the Millennial Generation, is the demographic cohort following Generation X. There are no precise dates for when Generation Y starts and ends. Commentators use beginning birth dates from the early 1980s to the early 2000s.

 

 

[~candice~]

Very interesting...

 

What millennials really want from the church is not a change in style but a change in substance.

We want an end to the culture wars. We want a truce between science and faith. We want to be known for what we stand for, not what we are against.

We want to ask questions that don’t have predetermined answers.

We want churches that emphasize an allegiance to the kingdom of God over an allegiance to a single political party or a single nation.

We want our LGBT friends to feel truly welcome in our faith communities.

We want to be challenged to live lives of holiness, not only when it comes to sex, but also when it comes to living simply, caring for the poor and oppressed, pursuing reconciliation, engaging in creation care and becoming peacemakers.

You can’t hand us a latte and then go about business as usual and expect us to stick around. We’re not leaving the church because we don’t find the cool factor there; we’re leaving the church because we don’t find Jesus there.

Like every generation before ours and every generation after, deep down, we long for Jesus.

 

How many of these things do we see on this very forum?  culture wars, the battle between faith and science, fighting over political parties/points of views.

 

Seems that millennials would not find our little forum very welcoming.

 

All of these things I actually agree with. (With a caveat that I want my LGBT friends to be able to ask genuine questions, genuinely seek, but also genuinely find the truth.)

 

We want an end to the culture wars. We want a truce between science and faith. We want to be known for what we stand for, not what we are against.

 

Some people are interested in only certain kinds of discussions. End times debates don't interest me at the moment. So it isn't so much that we aren't welcoming - but that this is a "self service" forum. You participate in only what you are interested in, and you get out what you put in!

[~candice~]

FYI - I am part of that generation.

[Guest]

How many of these things do we see on this very forum?  culture wars, the battle between faith and science, fighting over political parties/points of views.

 

Seems that millennials would not find our little forum very welcoming.

 

The way I see it, if a person is not interested in the culture wars, the battle between faith and science, the fighting over political parties - they just won't spend time in those threads.

 

 

~

 

Wars

 

Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied. Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. Jude 1:2-4

 

And Discourse

 

Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. Proverbs 27:17

 

And Beloved, Not All Warriors Are Male

 

And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: Acts 2:17-18

 

~

 

We want to ask questions that don’t have predetermined answers.

 

 

As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: 1 Peter 2:2

 

~

 

True

 

Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever. Psalms 119:160

 

True

 

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. Hebrews 3:8

 

True

 

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6

 

~

 

Like every generation before ours and every generation after, deep down, we long for Jesus.

 

 

Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. John 5:39

 

~

 

Holy Words

 

It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. John 6:63

 

From The Word

 

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John 1:14

 

The Holy Bread Of Life

 

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life.

 

Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.

 

I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. John  6:47-51

 

~

 

But I would encourage church leaders eager to win millennials back to sit down and really talk with them about what they’re looking for and what they would like to contribute to a faith community.

Their answers might surprise you.

 

 

Contribution

 

And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. Mark 8:34

 

~

 

Faith

 

So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do. Luke 17:10

 

Based

 

For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. Isaiah 57:15

 

Community

 

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. John 14:1-3

 

~

 

High Church Or No

 

Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. Jeremiah 6:16

 

Be Blessed Beloved Of The KING

 

The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:

The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

 

And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them. Numbers 6:24-27

 

Love, Your Brother Joe

 

[hippo's hope is HIM]

~Candice~ I am a part of that generation too- or close enough any way.

 

I agree with a LOT of the things the article brings out. Particularly these statements:

 

"But here’s the thing: Having been advertised to our whole lives, we Millennials have highly sensitive BS meters, and we’re not easily impressed with consumerism or performances."

Why yes, this is actually a totally accurate statement. I hate insincerity. I've been to so many churches where people are completely fake. And half the time they don't even know why they believe what they don't even know why they believe in Jesus.

 

Also this: "We want an end to the culture wars. We want a truce between science and faith. We want to be known for what we stand for, not what we are against."

 

This sums up pretty much everything- and why I have such a hard time with not only the church- but also online christian communities: "We’re not leaving the church because we don’t find the cool factor there; we’re leaving the church because we don’t find Jesus there."

[gnomonist]

I think this is also a generational thing.  The baby boomers was the first generation that broke all traditions, morals and customs, and were known as the generation of the "counterculture" movement. I do believe that several generations before that subtly planted their ideas into people's heads, but it came to fruition in the baby boomer generation.  That gets into conspiracy theories and whatnot as for taking over of minds to behave the way people do, but realistically I don't think it took on everyone anyway, and that's a subject for another thread.

 

The baby boomers had a mission in life, and a goal, even if it was a messed-up one, and we know this to be true because look what's in power today with all the anti-constitutional mentality out there, and new sets of rules and regulations. They in effect created rules more draconian and then ones they accused their parents of and rebelled against, so it makes me wonder if they were so much against rules as much as they simply wanted their own rules. So you can probably thank some baby-boomer legislation out there for the TSA feeling people up and the political mess we are in. That's how messed up in the heads some were.

 

Generation x is not really any better, as their boomer parents were out finding themselves, gen x had no religious training or upbringing. So the latch-key kids found a way to be independent and raised themselves basically, but is probably one of the first generations that basically stood for nothing--- like my pastor said in the 1990's, "Generation x is such a lost generation". They grew up on Kurt Cobain, and Beavis and Butthead cartoons.

 

Enter the millennials, aka generation Y.  I think this generation is very promising. I think they are taking a step back, and seeing everything going on they realize something is amiss.  And yet.... they don't seem to take anything personally, but simply want to fix things. They are thoughtful and reflective, at least the ones I know. I think very highly of gen Y and have hopes for this generation, provided they stay on course. These "Echo boomers" like their "baby boomer" predecessors, have a powerful goal in life, and it's more than to "turn on, tune in, and drop out". And the thing that amazes me is how they turned out so well in spite of the previous two generations.  And they flatter mine by actually taking interest in the things we done and the music we listened to.  I guess they are neo-hippies but without the bad side-effects, as this generation seems to have a stronger grasp on reality.

[nebula]

Generation x is not really any better, as their boomer parents were out finding themselves, gen x had no religious training or upbringing. So the latch-key kids found a way to be independent and raised themselves basically, but is probably one of the first generations that basically stood for nothing--- like my pastor said in the 1990's, "Generation x is such a lost generation". They grew up on Kurt Cobain, and Beavis and Butthead cartoons.

 

As a Gen Xer, I have to tweak your description here a bit. Kurt Cobain and Beavis and Butthead came to the scene in our latter years. My generation had a delusion and party attitude. We grew up with M-TV, "material girl" Madonna, Michael Jackson, The Breakfast Club, and the like.

[GoldenEagle]

I think this is also a generational thing.  The baby boomers was the first generation that broke all traditions, morals and customs, and were known as the generation of the "counterculture" movement. I do believe that several generations before that subtly planted their ideas into people's heads, but it came to fruition in the baby boomer generation.  That gets into conspiracy theories and whatnot as for taking over of minds to behave the way people do, but realistically I don't think it took on everyone anyway, and that's a subject for another thread.

 

 

 

Have you studied the 1920's or 1930's in the U.S. ?

 

God bless,

GE

[GoldenEagle]

First as to the specifics of the article like Candice and Hippo I too am part of this generation - Gen Y or Millennials.
 

1. What millennials really want from the church is not a change in style but a change in substance.

 

1. I wonder what is meant by a change in substance?

People will always be hypocritical. There will always be IMO a leaning by individuals (Believers or non-Believers alike) too far right (legalism) or too far left (liberalism). I think balance based on Biblical truth is key. I also think the key is to look to Jesus for our example and not other people – people always disappoint us. Yet the Bible is true and God has revealed Himself through His Word.

If the desire is for a new message (i.e. that there is another way to God other than through Jesus Christ) I don't think this generation will find what they want. Jesus was not into universalism - Heaven is real, Hell is real, the Day of the Lord is real, and we will all have to give account for our actions. There is no card everyone gets "get out of jail free." Life is not like Monopoly - everyone doesn't get to pass go and collect $200.

Thoughts?

 

God bless,

GE
 

[GoldenEagle]

 

1. What millennials really want from the church is not a change in style but a change in substance.

2. We want an end to the culture wars. We want a truce between science and faith. We want to be known for what we stand for, not what we are against.

Jesus came to divide Matt 10: 34-35 and not to bring peace because to fully obtain peace would mean to become of the world. Culture wars are happening because of the ever ongoing battle between good and evil.There is already a truce between science and faith because science is understanding what God created. But the problem is that too many people put faith into science as a supreme being and not God. God has to be before science because he has already created what we are learning. For example, creationism has to come before atheistic evolution (or evolution in general) since the Bible does not say anything about evolution. Thus the war between faith and science is a man-made war that should not be around in the first place but has started because of non-believers push for their views to be dominant. 

 

The third sentence illustrates confusion on this group of millenials. You have to first be against something to stand for something, i.e you have to be against abortion to understand that you stand for life. This just sounds like a "peace and love" type of Jesus that the modern generations are so enamored with.

 

 

I think you summarized this quite well Rev.

In particular I think you nailed it here in red. You have to be for something and by consequence be against the opposing ideology.

God bless,

GE