Stuck in a Moment, Both Young and Old
Posted by C. Holland on Jul 28, 2010The other evening we were invited to attend an outreach meeting. Located in a place that has no evangelical influence for a 15 mile radius, we were encouraged to hear that the monthly service was drawing around 30 people. But when we walked in the door, it became clear to me that we had stepped into a different time. It was this nation’s interpretation of a good, old-fashioned tent revival. And it couldn’t be more out of place.
At first I thought that maybe I was being too judgmental or too quick to think, “Hey, church isn’t done this way anymore”. God forbid that I was trying to push current ministry or worship trend for trend’s sake. Seriously, that not me. But then I realised that it wasn’t that they weren’t modern, it was that they were speaking in the voice of another generation (the oldest generation, mind you), yet they hoped to engage the young generation, most of whom have never heard the Gospel. Ever. What I was witnessing was a generation gap.
As we were introduced to people before the service, it became obvious that the room was filled with people further afield from the general village or area (actually, there were people from the next county in attendance). Perhaps three or four lived in the village. It also became apparent that all attendees were believers and church attenders in their home area. With the average age of 70 (and I’m being really, really polite here), we were some of the only “youngsters” in attendance, and, since we’re already saved, I believe that there were no non-Christians in the room.
It was a typical warm summer’s evening. Outside the meeting I could hear the sounds of life going by: loud cars, music, shouting. I couldn’t help but wonder that if any of the people on the street below somehow found their way upstairs to our group, would they understand any of what was being said and why? And I’m not referring to the work of the Holy Spirit illuminating that which seems foolish to the world. I’m talking about people speaking in the service in “Thee”s and “Thou”s, repeating a rote benediction without providing the words for those who wouldn’t know it, showing up right as the service starts and scampering off quickly afterwards back to the next county. Though I understand it through exposure as a younger child, it seemed to me that an outsider today would easily interpret this as some group of religious people who descend on the village monthly without warning or interaction for about an hour and a half once a month to recite religious jargon that is unnecessarily difficult to understand.
When talking to some of the people after the service, we found that many had adult Christian children around our age who, while active in church, none of whom were in attendance that night. I’ve met a lot of Christians within my generation who are truly engaged in witnessing, evangelism, social justice, etc., so it would be unfair to say that the Younger Christians just don’t care. I know they do. Although they may understand the older generation’s way of “doing church”, they’re not participatory, and I believe it’s because they know that the unchurched of their generation would find it difficult to navigate the lexicon and actions of the church of yesteryear.
Because I’m not the person that just spouts, “Modernise, man! Get with the times!” I realised that my generation and the even younger generation will be in this boat one day. What I witnessed the other night was, at one time, cutting edge, modern, perhaps even considered scandalous at some point due to the presence of an organ (an electric one, mind you). These had been the avant garde and trailblazers who spoke to their generation in a way that they were familiar, who had the same point of reference as the non-Christians around them. Yet now we watch our spiritual ancestors, cock our heads and say, “Huh?” Of course, it works both ways.
The generation gap has been a quandary for years, both in and outside the church, and this post isn’t even going to attempt to address the issue in relation to church worship or practise in an established body of believers. However, when you’re looking at what’s effectively missions (it doesn’t matter to me whether it’s on the homefront or in a foreign country), I fear that we’re checking our brains at the door and falling into comfortable patterns of “how it’s always been done”, even if that’s coming from a younger, more modern perspective. If we can’t communicate effectively to the people we live amongst in favour of a dogmatic approach to practise, then what’s the point? The answer isn’t to modernise or even revert back to the old ways; it’s to engage our brains, consult the leading of the Holy Spirit, and hold outreaches in a way that engages people in the language that they know.
The outreaches have continued on since I visited, and just recently I heard that attendance has unfortunately dropped down to just 10 people. I’m not a “ministry justified by numbers” advocate, yet I fear that those ten are not part of the village or even the area. People in that town don’t even understand what the outreaches are about, so they don’t attend—and can you blame them?
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I jest. Good one!
August 2nd, 2010 at 12:19 am
It’s funny because some churches talks about “a new song” or “a new covenant” but at the end of the day they still maintain the same old tradition but they repackage it into some “new way”. Makes you wonder.
I guess it’s human nature to stick to old traditions that “work”.
tai fu´s last blog ..Correlation between the firing angle and distance achieved in Kitty Cannon
August 3rd, 2010 at 2:44 pm
@Tai Fu: Yes, and I think the most difficult part is to engage our brains about it. I’m not immediately anti-tradition or automatically pro-new methodology; I think one has to review the situation in the context and culture it occurs before deciding to keep tradition or go with something new. The reality is that this takes time, effort, and discernment through the Holy Spirit.