Ageism in the Age of Hipster Chrsitianity

[Guest]

http://deeperstory.com/ageism-in-an-age-of-hipster-christianity/

 

A couple years ago I attended a splashy conference full of vibrant energy. The speakers donned hipster clothes (they knew the trend before it became a thing), shared relevant messages, and generally pumped me up to rah-rah-rah follow Jesus. I left the conference energized but also a bit jaded and cynical. Where were the matriarchs and patriarchs of the faith?

 

When I attended Cape Town 2010, I had two very significant encounters. As a table group leader, I had the privilege of leading six people in discussion during our time there.

 

One man, an Iraqi Christian, told of his imprisonment for his faith, how he dared to operate a Christian radio station before and after regime changes. I wanted him to become my father. He was old, grayed, and definitely not hipster, but oh his heart, how it radiated Jesus.

The other man told of his son being shot (and paralyzed) in their home in South Africa. He had a beautiful story, one of anguish, yet full of God’s restoration. He heard my story of abuse, and at the last moment we shared together, pulled me aside, put his hands on my shoulders, and said this, “Mary, on behalf of all men, I apologize to you.” Tears wept between us as this patriarch salved a wound I thought would never heal.

 

Both these men were over sixty years old. They did not wear skinny jeans. They had no platforms, no real “tribe” to call their own. They didn’t have people chasing after their guru ways. Neither had a Twitter handle, a blog, or a podcast. They seemed unaffected by trend and The Next Big Thing. They simply spent their lives in sacrifice for the One who sacrificed for them.

 

I appreciate younger Christians. And, of course, I’m grateful for their gifts, verve and guts. I even think they’re cool.

 

But I believe we miss out on the breadth and depth of the Christian life when we marginalize or dismiss those who have walked with Jesus for decades, who have successfully moved away from Me-First, Ego-driven Christianity and have settled into selfless service. Who have learned the beautiful art of finishing well, of practicing long obedience in the same direction.

 

Instead of tattoos, they sport battle scars.

Instead of skinny jeans, they’ve endured lean years, learning to rely on Jesus.

Instead of piercings, they’ve been pierced by health concerns, death of loved ones, ministry failures. (Oh, why is it that we flock to those who only have ministry success?)

Instead of highlighted hair, gray punctuates their crown.

 

We should welcome these voices to the platform, sit at their feet, listening intently. The author of Hebrews reminds us to remember them. “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.” Hebrews 13:7 Notice that we’re to view the OUTCOME of their faith. This indicates a track record of faithfulness, not just three awesome years of church planting success.

 

R. C. Sproul wrote, “When I last crossed a decade barrier in my own aging process, God was good enough to grant me this small bit of wisdom—the Bible honors age, not youth.”

 

And yet, our celebrity-obsessed culture that values trend and the hip factor, worships youth, deifying and idolizing perpetual adolescence. This may be true in the world, but it should not be true in the church. We should look different, act different, value the marginalized, the powerless, the overlooked.

 

Job 12:12 reminds us, “Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days.” The Apostle Paul whose words we prize admitted to being old as he wrote from prison, “Yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus.” (Philemon 1:9) Peter warns all of us to walk with humility, subjecting ourselves to those farther along the journey than us. “Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5).

 

Wouldn’t it be amazing if we dared to listen to and honored those who have walked before us by giving them the stage? We stand on the shoulders of our predecessors, but God is not yet finished with them. Why not dignify those whose lives have played out well, who have so much to offer?

 

Agreed.

 

I've gone to many churches over the years and the best balanced ones were usually those with a good mix of all age groups in the congregation. I've been to a couple of them that had none of the older crowd . . . and they really suffered in a lot of small ways. Ways many of us would take for granted.

 

Here's an example: a young church plant in our downtown area is made up mainly of college age folks . . . and no one had ever explained how a "pot luck" lunch was supposed to work. First time I ever ran into that! To be fair, they had a good pastor and folks heading for leadership but there were things they were missing partly because they were just starting out as a church body. I'm not slamming anyone here, but I found it odd that so many small things were missing . . . they got up to speed in time though. Sometimes these things can take awhile, but they now have a better mix of age groups too.

[Guest shiloh357]

Agreed.

 

I've gone to many churches over the years and the best balanced ones were usually those with a good mix of all age groups in the congregation. I've been to a couple of them that had none of the older crowd . . . and they really suffered in a lot of small ways. Ways many of us would take for granted.

 

I see the trend where churches are catering to more to folks 30 years old and under more than ever before.  A balanced healthy church ought to be ministering to all age demographics.  A healthy church a children's ministry, youth ministry, college and singles ministries, young marrieds, older marrieds and senior adult ministries. 

[nebula]

I see the trend where churches are catering to more to folks 30 years old and under more than ever before.  A balanced healthy church ought to be ministering to all age demographics.  A healthy church a children's ministry, youth ministry, college and singles ministries, young marrieds, older marrieds and senior adult ministries.

 

I just realized something - how much of this problem has come about as a result of cultural influence?

 

Our whole society, thanks to the media, is geared towards "the young and hip".

 

Not only that, but young people are separating themselves from the older generations.

 

Then you have problems like my grandmother's church; it used to be full of families, but after the pastor left, the new pastor wasn't able to maintain the congregation (I forget the details), but many left. What was left of the church was a congregation of elderly. At some point they realized that if they don't attract younger people in, their church is going to die. Many of these denominational traditionalists had to accept the need for the kind of cultural appeal that would attract younger people to be incorporated into their services.

 

(Since my grandmother passes away, I don't know if/how things progressed from there.)

 

 

*Note: this is not an argument, but pointing out a factor that needs to be brought into consideration when looking for solutions.

[Guest]

That reminds me of the church right across the street from where I live. It used to be part of one of the really liberal mainstream denoms, but sold the building to another church in the area. If you are over 30 you are not the new outfit's "target demographic." I walked over to check it out and was massively underwhelmed - and I'm pretty flexible when it comes to church services! It was the first time I've ever heard a Boston song played in church. (I grew up with that group, oddly enough! Listened to them when I was a kid.) The main thing that made me really uncomfortable was that I was the only one in sight with gray in my hair - and the way folks didn't really want to talk with you (because: old person.) You could see it in their eyes. Overall: I went, was not impressed, and left.

[OakWood]

I wonder if anyone has noticed a correlation between 'young' churches and 'false' churches.

[Guest]

I wonder if anyone has noticed a correlation between 'young' churches and 'false' churches.

 

If any church doesn't have a good grounding in truth it leaves an opening for the lies of the enemy. It doesn't matter the age mix of the congregation in that case. Keep in mind many of Paul's letters were written to "young" churches too, so I think that's part of the answer. A shortage of God's truth can lead to all sorts of false doctrines.

[OakWood]

 

I wonder if anyone has noticed a correlation between 'young' churches and 'false' churches.

 

If any church doesn't have a good grounding in truth it leaves an opening for the lies of the enemy. It doesn't matter the age mix of the congregation in that case. Keep in mind many of Paul's letters were written to "young" churches too, so I think that's part of the answer. A shortage of God's truth can lead to all sorts of false doctrines.

 

 

Sorry, I meant 'young' as in aimed at young people. Happy clappy modernised churches that try to recruit young people at the expense of older ones.

[ayin jade]

 

I just realized something - how much of this problem has come about as a result of cultural influence?

 

Our whole society, thanks to the media, is geared towards "the young and hip".

 

Not only that, but young people are separating themselves from the older generations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I agree Neb. Society is so geared to youth that old is considered disposable and not worth anyones time. 

[Guest]

 

 

I wonder if anyone has noticed a correlation between 'young' churches and 'false' churches.

 

If any church doesn't have a good grounding in truth it leaves an opening for the lies of the enemy. It doesn't matter the age mix of the congregation in that case. Keep in mind many of Paul's letters were written to "young" churches too, so I think that's part of the answer. A shortage of God's truth can lead to all sorts of false doctrines.

 

 

Sorry, I meant 'young' as in aimed at young people. Happy clappy modernised churches that try to recruit young people at the expense of older ones.

 

 

No problem.

 

My reply works for the whole spectrum, I think. Besides, a congregation that deliberately excludes one group in favor of another is in violation of Scripture to begin with. The book of James has a lot to say about not showing favoritism. Rich vs Poor or Young vs Old is still the same thing - favoritism (or discrimination too, I suppose.)

[ajchurney]

The scripture as a whole seems to offer some patterns, though not meant to be absolute and without exceptions, they are obvious scriptural norms. 

1) The leaders of NT churches are "Elders". The word itself is telling. I have read that in Jewish culture, one would not fall under this category until at least the age of 40, which is the backdrop for the NT early church. Watchman Nee presents an interesting idea that the exception to this norm would be in a group of new believers where the "Elder" would likely need to be the one with the most experience in the Lord amongst the group, hence the most qualified one available at the time. The point to made here is that time and experience in Christ is what makes one "Elder" and most qualified for leadership, their character also bearing witness, of course. For example, a 30 year old who has been faithfully following Christ for 12 years is more qualified than a 60 year old who got saved 2 years previous. Timothy is likely one in the NT in this rubric. This must be taken into account.

2) Youth has strength and energy, which should be utilized, yet under the supervision and leadership of those "Elder" to them. It is dangerous to give too much authority to anyone who is not a seasoned veteran in the faith. One can often see this pattern in the stories of the great men of faith in the OT. David is a great example of one who was early anointed by the prophet Samuel to be king, but did exploits and served long before He actually became the leader. Joseph, Moses, and others required much seasoning before being ready for their eventual place of leadership. 

3) There is voluminous general instruction in scripture for younger believers to honor and submit to elders, even apart from official leadership capacity. It is unwise in the extreme to find excuse to flip this on its ear. One of the curses found in the OT was that the children would rule over the older ones!

 

I have personally witnessed leadership positions being given to younger ones mostly based on charisma and talent, particularly when it comes to worship teams and youth groups. I have wondered at the wisdom of putting often the least experienced minister in charge of the most challenging group in the church, which is very typical with the choice of high school youth pastors and leaders. This is an area where charisma and "hipness" often seem to outweigh other more important factors in determining qualification. I have strongly questioned the idea of "relevance" and how it is applied in these situations. 

In summary, style and hipness are superficial at best, and conformity to worldly standards at the worst. Substance is always to be preferred over style! I appreciate the reminder in this thread to recognize where the lines are being blurred and crossed in many circles. It is a rebellious spirit that despises or disrespects the wisdom and glory of age and experience, particularly experience and time "in the Lord".

Blessings, Andy