Alec Satin |
A recent post at WELS Documented underscores the frustration young Christians are having with church. Baby boomers deliver lightweight teaching, contemporary music and downplayed theology. The Millennials are responding with their feet, with 50 percent or more of church-raised Christians leaving by age 231. While some boomers are determined to remake church according to a business model, evidence continues to show the failure of this model. Millennial Christians want something radically conservative: reverent liturgy with clear, meaty and Biblical teaching. Just what you might expect to find in a truly Confessional Lutheran Church following a quia2 subscription to the Lutheran Confessions, but seldom do.
From WELS documented:
Young people today have been marketed to all their lives, and they can see past gimmicks and tricks. They don’t need church to pretend to be something it’s not – an entertainment venue, a relationship course, a nightclub. They find it refreshing to enter a building which openly proclaims itself as a worship space, to take part in ceremonies and rhythms which unashamedly focus on worship. They’ve swapped the salesman’s pitch for simple sacraments.In an era of continuous rapid change, young people are seeking to feel grounded and connected to their past. In the midst of chaotic change and technology, there is a strong desire to be rooted and grounded in traditions of the past.What do Millennials want to learn at a Confessional Lutheran Convention? The top three items include:
- Study of the Historical Lutheran Liturgy
- Study the Book of Concord
- Confessional Lutheran Meets Today’s Social Issues
Millennials are leaving churches in droves; why don’t we give them what they want?1/3 of American adults under 30 state they have no religious affiliation and 88% of the religiously unaffiliated say they’re not looking for a religion that is right for them.
Millennials Want It: The Demand for a Confessional Lutheran Convention challenges many American Christian sacred cows. What do you think? Are you willing to go back to the old content-filled hymns for the sake of the next generation? Would you nudge your pastor to do expository3 preaching for a change?
Can you admit that what much of the church in America is doing is not working? Is it really someone else’s fault that so many of our kids leave and never come back?
Image credit WELS Documented.