True Religion 2
Millennials are passionate about justice, and especially about making a difference in the community they are a part of. They are the most educated generation in American history, with unprecedented access to information all across the globe...instantly! They want to change the world and, being the largest generation, they have the numbers to do it. To them, "religion" is about doing good, not sitting in a pew (or chair) on Sunday morning.
All of this makes me think that, in many ways, the Methodists should be perfectly poised to be a church that attracts this generation. Our culture, our history, our DNA is all about the pairing of the evangelical gospel and social justice. Faith and deeds. Deeds because of faith. John Wesley is reported to have said there is no holiness but social holiness. In other words, our faith ought to make a difference in the world around us. We ought to respond to the injustices in the world, and seek to bring God's justice to a world in need.
The problem is that, for Millennials, "justice" isn't always an objective standard. As I shared yesterday, they are rather eclectic in their beliefs. If we only pick and choose what is liked in the Bible, how do we establish what justice is and what it isn't? Can justice be one thing to one person and something else to another person? If there are varying understandings of what is right and what isn't, how can we ever really make a difference in the world?
Millennials won't necessarily join a church (only 15% of this generation say that being part of a church is important), but they will join alongside a church or other group if there is a project they believe in. However, with such a large generation—is there any sort of agreement in what justice is?
Christians believe that God is the standard for justice, that experiencing God's love and mercy calls us to advocate for the poor, the outcast, the outsiders. We're called to reach out to the least, the last and the lost. God's justice is what we're about, not our own idea of "justice." How do we bridge that gap when it comes to reaching out to Millennials?
Continuing to ponder...
All of this makes me think that, in many ways, the Methodists should be perfectly poised to be a church that attracts this generation. Our culture, our history, our DNA is all about the pairing of the evangelical gospel and social justice. Faith and deeds. Deeds because of faith. John Wesley is reported to have said there is no holiness but social holiness. In other words, our faith ought to make a difference in the world around us. We ought to respond to the injustices in the world, and seek to bring God's justice to a world in need.
The problem is that, for Millennials, "justice" isn't always an objective standard. As I shared yesterday, they are rather eclectic in their beliefs. If we only pick and choose what is liked in the Bible, how do we establish what justice is and what it isn't? Can justice be one thing to one person and something else to another person? If there are varying understandings of what is right and what isn't, how can we ever really make a difference in the world?
Millennials won't necessarily join a church (only 15% of this generation say that being part of a church is important), but they will join alongside a church or other group if there is a project they believe in. However, with such a large generation—is there any sort of agreement in what justice is?
Christians believe that God is the standard for justice, that experiencing God's love and mercy calls us to advocate for the poor, the outcast, the outsiders. We're called to reach out to the least, the last and the lost. God's justice is what we're about, not our own idea of "justice." How do we bridge that gap when it comes to reaching out to Millennials?
Continuing to ponder...
Comments
Post a Comment