Living On Mission

A quote from Ed Stezer about the barriers we face in energizing the next great generation.

The unique barriers for twenty- and thirtysomethings are also twofold. First, many are trying to await the renewal of the Church. Their hope is to show up one Sunday and it will suddenly be different—more missional, more externally focused, more compassionate. The problem: It won’t, unless they are willing to lead the way by serving in the church to which they are committed.

The second barrier is that the culture they face is farther from the Gospel than any other in American history. The young adults and families today have grown up without a mooring to biblical truth, and young Christians now have to begin at the beginning. They were raised to present five-point Gospel outlines, and it is not working very often. Instead, they must describe God in Genesis 1 and then Colossians 1. They will need to share about the freedom God offers first from Ecclesiastes and then Galatians. What I am trying to say is that twenty- and thirtysomethings must recognize the distance their culture is away from the cross and be prepared to work in soil that is dry and parched.

Ed in my opinion is the finest missional thinker the SBC has produced. He's right on target here. Those of us who are boomers have to consciously be working every day not just to help the church grow into her clothes (see Col 3:12), but invest in the lives of our fellow disciples who are in their 20s and 30s. That investment means not just helping them see what we see, but working diligently to learn from them too.

Maybe if Ed and others keep writing and speaking, our churches and their leadership will wake up and realize the truth of his words. Here's the thing - we have the best story to tell ever. The narrative of God's Big Story is compelling in itself. We can tell our stories of what He has done for us personally, without having to remember whether we were on point one or four. We can share out of the cohesiveness of His Word just how wide and how deep His love truly is. We can show up and project God's compassion into the lives of the people we live around and with. We can live in Spirit and in Truth. And we can make an eternal difference!

I get excited just thinking about all the tools we possess today to connect with people. I visited a teenager in the ER yesterday. We were talking and then I noticed that they now have TV's in the ER. A commercial for "Rock band" came on, and he asked me when our church's next game night was. "We ought to have it twice a month!"

How did game night get started? Some of our leadership decided that we needed more face time with our youth and college aged members and their friends. So we looked for a way to do that and came up with game night. It began with board games and then grew to include a full LAN network real-time strategy ring as well. Then last month we rolled in the Wii and the Rock Band setup. We had kids galore. They had a great time, and so did the adults. Another point of entry. Another front porch experience. We're earning trust and hopefully opening the door for more later.

Come on friends, look for ways to use what you already have in ways you never have. If there are few opportunities for recreation where you are, then create some. We have to start building the bridge from our end and we have to do it with younger followers of Jesus alongside us.