The
Changing Face of the Millennial Church
What it looks like when the lost are found
What it looks like when the lost are found
by Dawn Irons
I recently observed a worship service after-hours at a
public school where children volunteered to stay after school for the
opportunity to be able to learn about Jesus.
I was almost moved to tears as I watched the dynamic children’s leader
engage the children and lead them in worship. It was a sight to behold! The
fact we were in a public school was all the more powerful. As they children raised their hands in
worship and had the freedom to dance and rejoice-- their leader was doing the
same. This leader was unique. She was spunky, had an infectious smile, she had
neon blue hair streaks and as she raised her hands in worship her forearm
revealed a tattoo.
Several days later as I was sharing with a group of women
just how powerful the after-school outreach to the kids in our community has
been, I sat in stunned silence as one of the women calmly said, “I don’t think
she is a good role model for children.”
I felt my heart and every muscle in my body tense as the shock of what
was said washed over me. Another woman came to the rescue, “Why, because she
has blue hair and tattoos? Have you seen the way she connects and engages the
children—holding their attention as she shares the gospel with them and leaves
them asking for more? Yeah, right! Clearly not a good example!” as she shook
her head in disbelief.
Oh, those character building situations! It is this kind of
dilemma taking places in churches all over this country that will eventually
prove what we are made of. Is the gospel message so shallow that a person’s
appearance determines if they are a good role-model? My heart breaks at the
hypocrisy… God forbid that we would ever again sing, “I once was lost, but now
am found, was blind but now I see,” with that kind of spiritual blindness in
our hearts. Have we forgotten from what we ourselves were saved?
The Changing Face of
the Church
If f we are to ever reach the 59% of 18-to-29-year-olds who
were once raised and very active in the church who now says they will never
return-- the church must be willing to embrace change. Without embracing change
we are whole-heartedly participating with full-consent as co-conspirators in
sending the next generation straight to hell. If we are so entrenched in our
traditions that we refuse anything that remotely looks like change we may as
well just hang a sign on the church that says, “No new members allowed” and
call it a day… as Jesus weeps.
If the opposite is true and the church is willing to do
whatever it takes (within Biblical parameters) to reach the lost and those who
have abandoned the church in droves (59% is nothing to dismiss!) our landscape
of what and how church functions may have to change.
Over the years we have witnessed cosmetic changes in church
buildings that were brought about because of the vast research that went into
studying what would cause people to have a better experience. Some of the
results seemed somewhat shallow—things such as comfortable seating. But it is a
wise church that sees the benefit of that information as not really
superficial. If having cushioned chairs gives people a more comfortable worship
experience and gives them a sense of having some “personal space” as opposed to
be squished together in pews—then bring on the chairs and out with the pews!
Tradition is really not that important compared to the value of giving people
more freedom in their worship experience. If pews ever become more important
that giving someone freedom to worship in a way that makes them feel
comfortable, we have far bigger problems to confront with our churches!
Not only were there cosmetic changes made to keep people
coming back to church and enjoying their corporate worship experience, many
churches saw the benefit of having two services: traditional and contemporary.
Wasn’t it Paul who said, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do?” It is a wise
church that studies their community to such a degree that many missionaries do
their foreign countries. It is necessary to bridge the communication gaps,
language barriers, etc. The same is true for our local community.
If congregations are
polarized into two camps of traditional and contemporary, there had better be
much time spent in studying the culture of both of those camps and making
necessary accommodations to meet the spiritual needs of both camps. If not, the
contention between the two camps of not having their needs met could very well
begin the under-grumblings of something that could ultimately end in a church
split. Church splits are not of God! We need to look at areas of pride (and if
we are honest, arrogance) and truly look to the needs of others as more
important than our own. If this truly happened (in a healthy and balanced way)
the traditionals would be doing everything within their power to make sure
their contemporary counterparts had their spiritual needs met just as much as
the contemporaries contending in favor for their traditional brothers and
sisters getting their spiritual needs met.
Greater love has no man than this—that he lay his life down
for another. Do we have the strength to do that? In terms of church atmosphere
or services, thankfully one group does not have to die for the other, but
rather if both groups are equally concerned for the other group’s needs, a
church would then begin to THRIVE. There would be unity among the believers—not
enmity and strife. There is also the
beauty and unity of a blended service. Would it not be a beautiful sight to
behold to see Mrs. Granny Grey-Hair with her time-period pill box hat on her
head worshipping side-by-side with Road Rambling Randy, a Harley –driving,
tattoo sporting, long haired gentleman with both of their hands lifted in
sweet-surrender to the Lord they both love with all their hearts?
Where do We Begin?
First and foremost it begins with genuine repentance on the
side of both contemporaries and traditionals. We must admit that our
selfishness (and in some cases judgmental bigotry) within our heart’s have
harmed our fellow believers. We should
pray and seek to view those who are different than we are through the eyes of a
Savior who died for them.
We need to submit our traditions and
desires to the Lord. 1 Samuel 16:7 reminds us, “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of
his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
With repentance comes forgiveness and with
forgiveness comes restoration of a body of believers. A church that is healthy
and whole will embrace the new face of the church. Because ready or not—there is a generation of
people out there that many Christians have NOT given up on. They have a
missionary-fire in their bones for their local communities. If those home-based
community missionaries go into their communities and win the lost—or find the
one’s in self-exile from the church over whatever reason—and bring them back
into our congregations, they need to be received with love and dignity—no
matter what. Prepare your congregations
in advanced to be ready to receive former prostitutes, former drug dealers,
former gang-bangers, people who have chosen to express themselves through body
art and body modifications such as tattoos and body piercings. Prepare them.
The harvest is coming and the harvest is great—but the workers are few. We
should be preparing our congregations to be cheering and supporting the
home-based community missionaries just as passionately as we support foreign
missionaries.
Prepare your congregations to open their
hearts to receive God’s children—no matter what they look like, or where they
have come from. Teach them to look past the exterior and to the heart of a lover
of Jesus; who just happens to look different than them. After all, we were all
saved from something. We were all former sinners (no matter what specific sin
it was) and we still daily struggle with our sin nature. We are all in the same
boat. At the end of the day, we really are more alike than we will ever be
different. We just have to learn to prefer one another over ourselves. If
genuinely done on both sides your church will experience unity like never
before.
I Love Lucy…And Lucy Loves Me
I would tend to describe myself as more of
a traditional sort of believer. Some would say I am conservative to a fault. As
I was bringing up my children friends called me the “all-American mother.” I was a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom of
three children. I was protective to a fault. We sort of lived in a “bubble”
that I felt would protect us against all worldly influence. Then one day I had
a wakeup call! I was asked how I shared my faith with my non-believing friends.
I had to rack my brain…I couldn’t think of ONE non-Christian friend that I knew
or had any sort of friendship or influence with. I was ashamed. I knew the
bubble had to POP!
I remember my legalistic days of trying to
teach my daughter that modesty had to do length of skirts and colors that would
not draw attention to herself…and I totally missed the point that modesty is a
heart-issue! Life started to change in our home. It began in my heart and then
flowed outward! I remember when my daughter asked me if she could dye her hair
pink and purple! The moment of truth had arrived! The test was truly pass or
fail. I had begun teaching my daughter that outward appearance had nothing to
do with the condition of one’s heart and that we could not “judge a book by its
cover.” So yes, she was the most
beautiful girl with pink and purple hair that I ever saw…and Jesus still loved
her and she was still modest.
I was going through a learning curve and it
didn’t happen overnight. So fast-forward
to this conversation I was confronted with recently about the children’s
director who had blue hair and tattoos. It disturbed me on a deep level—maybe
because it hit a bit too close to home. That attitude used to be my attitude
and the shame flooded my memory again. I decided to make an appointment to meet
with this children’s director Lucy Arrellano who embodies what it means to be a
home-based community missionary. She
serves as the Director of Children’s Ministry at First Baptist Church of
Bedford and she also serves as the
Director of Innovation and Creativity at Courageous Church in Arlington.
When I had the opportunity to speak with
Lucy I asked her if she ever felt the sting or the stares of people she felt
may be judging her. Her answer surprised me.
She said, “I’ve always marched to the beat of my own drum. I’ve learned
to be confident in who I am in the Lord.” It’s not that she hasn’t noticed
looks and stares, but they don’t define or change who she is in Christ.
Lucy went on to describe the origins of her
spunky and different sense of style. She shared about being in-and-out of 10
different schools in 12 years. She said having a different look enabled her to
come out of her shell. She has an amazing sense of humor and claims the style
and humor had become a survival skill. It was an easy way to make friends for
her. But don’t be fooled! Her style and
humor are more than just survival skills and coping mechanisms to get through
tough times. She is not masking anything! Lucy said, “My style is just an
outward expression of how I feel inside.”
Lucy knows and lives authentic joy in Christ. If you talk to her long
enough you will find her joy is contagious!
On a more difficult note, Lucy described a
recent event where a close friend of hers told her that she would no longer
provide Lucy with a job reference for children’s ministry because “real
Christians don’t dress or look like that.” The sting is real, but it does not
deter her passion to live courageously for Christ and to be comfortable in who
He has created her to be. And because of her courageous passion for Christ,
there are two churches in the DFW Metroplex who have sought her out
intentionally to work with their children, serve on their worship teams, and
bring innovative and creative ideas to make Jesus relevant to a post-Christian
society.
