Source: On Being an iPhone Pastor for a Typewriter Church | The Millennial Pastor
This is yet another great blog post from The Millennial Pastor that gives a great insight into the great generational divide in the Church. While he looks at it from the Millennial/Boomer divide, its also true for many of us GenXers. We are a bridge generation between the two, equally dissatisfied with Boomer culture and sense of church, but we were raised in the references. Standing between the two, we may have the chance to transition the church so there is a future for and with Millennials.
Either way, a good read and makes the point that while most congregations ask the question how do we get the young people back, it really needs to begin with why they left. And that includes those who weren’t raised in the church but showed up once and never came back. Essentially, we need to look at ourselves and how we live and express the Gospel and Great Commission first.
Here’s a good quote: But we aren’t talking about why people are leaving church.
And we certainly aren’t talking about how to translate ourselves into a church for 2015 and beyond. Instead, we are talking about restructuring, and right-sizing… the corporate language of the 80s and 90s.
I suspect that this is where a lot of conversations in local churches, in districts and national offices are going. Churches are trying to catch up to the 80s… while my millennial contemporaries are leaving churches because the cultural commute to even access church is just too far a journey.
We need to learn to give away the church to the next generation(s) before we die. If we don’t, the church will die with us.