Young Millennials and Faith

Millennials is a term used to define people born in the late 1980's up to about 2000.  They are also known as Generation Y.  According to the Millennial Values Survey, many of the youngest Millennials are leaving their childhood faith and becoming mostly unaffiliated.  Many 18 to 24 year old Americans are rejecting religious doctrine and orthodoxy in general.  About 24 percent do not identify with any religion.
Jess Rainer recently co-authored a book on Millenials and is a member of that generation himself.  Here are some of his thoughts about this topic.  Millennials that enter churches only to find infighting and large amounts of negativity will become frustrated, leave, and avoid the church altogether. Those Millennials with minimal religious convictions will let go of them in order to maintain peace in their own lives.

I mentioned before that I am not the typical Millennial, so I see the church in a different light. The few Millennials that hold strong religious convictions desire to see the church change in a more positive, outward, and deeper theological direction. We are willing to maintain our convictions and work through disagreements in civil way in order greater God's Kingdom.

Those who match my Evangelical convictions only make up around 6 percent of the entire Millennial generation. But the other 94 percent of the our generation are not against the church or organized religion. In fact, using the very broad definition of Christian, 65 percent of the Millennials claimed it as their religious preference. Without using too many more numbers, approximately 85 percent of the Millennials are indifferent to the church.

So how do we reach Millennials with the Gospel?  Rainer's response:  There are two different groups of Millennials that churches need to be aware of: the 85 percent group and the 15 percent group. As mentioned previously, 85 percent of Millennials are not Christians. And its these non-Christian Millennials that are indifferent to the church. Churches need to understand that they are not on the radar of non-Christian Millennials. It will take an intentional effort to reach our generation.

A great place to start to reach non-Christian Millennials is to simply invite them. When asked, these Millennials will attend church with a friend.

Also try to find a way to connect the Millennials to their Christian parents. Millennials are seeking advice and guidance from their parents on a regular basis.

Additionally, leaders must be transparent, humble, and have integrity. It's these leaders that need to demonstrate the deep meaning of following Christ.

And how do we retain the 15% of Millennials who are believers?

The Christian Millennials want to see churches challenge themselves. "Church-as-usual" is no longer effective in retaining Christian Millennials. Churches need to start with deep biblical teaching. Watering down scriptural truth will only cause Christian Millennials to look for another church. There has to be an outward focus as well. Churches need to commit to investing in their communities, love the nations, and direct revenue outwardly. Christian Millennials, like their counterpart, want to see leaders who demonstrate transparency, humility, and integrity.
It's not an easy task to reach the Millennial generation. I am experiencing these difficulties first hand as I reach out to our generation with my church plant. At the same time, I am seeing a small group of younger believers start to desire deeper teaching and community involvement. One of the biggest misconceptions is Millennials are unwilling to commit themselves to the church. It's this small group that is becoming more committed each week. Millennials want to radically commit themselves to something. There is nothing more radical than a true follower of Christ.
I hope we can all commit at the very least to praying for Millennials and then add seeking to build relationships with them.
Blessings,
Dr. Paul

How Great is Our God

Instead of a written blog, I am giving you a link to a pod cast of a message I gave recently at Davisville Church and Calvary Memorial Church.  The message is How Great is Our God and is based in Psalm 139.  I hope it will inspire and inform you.  Here is the link: http://davisvillechurch.podomatic.com/player/web/2012-08-05T16_50_05-07_00

Blessings,
Dr. Paul

Olympic Counter Culture Sexuality

I have been enjoying the Olympics over the last 2 weeks.  It is amazing to watch what these athletes can do.  And they make it look so easy.  One of the Team USA olympians getting a lot of attention is Lori "Lolo" Jones.  She is an accomplished athlete who has won 3 NCAA titles, 11 All-American honors during her time at LSU running track and field.  She competed in the 2008 Olympics in the 100 meter hurdles and did the same this year    just coming short of getting a bronze medal.  There is a lot of drama surrounding her place on the team leading up to her race.  

But what many in the media focused on in the days leading to her competition was not her athletic ability, but her virginity.  Just like Tim Tebow, the media seems amazed when any accomplished, good looking adult choses to remain abstinent.  Both of these athletes have helped to put a new face on abstinence.  And the amazement surrounding their choice reveals how countercultural the biblical view of sexuality really is.  Being a virgin isn't just a fate left for nerdy, unattractive, pathetic people who were raised by puritanical Christian parents.  It is a real choice selected by accomplished adults who are good looking, head turning attractive.  

Loir was interviewed on HBO and said this about her decision to remain abstinent: “It’s just a gift I want to give my husband. But please understand this journey has been hard. There’s virgins out there and I want to let them know that it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. Harder than training for the Olympics. Harder than graduating from college has been to stay a virgin before marriage. I’ve been tempted, I’ve had plenty of opportunities.”  Sounds like this is a woman who discipline, self-control, who takes biblical morality seriously.  Even when it is not an easy path to follow.  And to Lori, a path more difficult than training for the Olympics.  

God created us as sexual beings to enjoy this experience.  God, our creator, also established that the place for sex to be enjoyed is in marriage.  Why?  Is God a cosmic kill joy who gives us a desire and then limits when He says we can have it? No, and let me illustrate it by looking at the Olympics, specifically swimming.  The Olympic committee requires that each swimmer must have a clearly defined lane within which they must compete.  Why?  Imagine that there were no lane lines and when the gun sounded, swimmers jumped in from various locations on the sides and started swimming in any direction.  The result would be chaos and even injury to the swimmers.  The lane lines protect each swimmer from interference and provides the best opportunity for the swimmer to succeed.  

God has done the same thing with sexuality.  He places it in the confines of marriage to protect us from harm and to provide the best place for it to be enjoyed. Marriage protects you from sexually transmitted diseases and the guilt and pain that can come from the "one night stand" and other sexual encounters.  Sex once a couple is marriage provides a context of unconditional love and commitment for the couple.  

So instead of looking at Lori Jones as an idiot, it seems to me that she is a lot wiser than the people who seem bent on making fun of her.  

Blessings,
Dr. Paul