We need to raise a generation who knows God intimately, understands his Word and nature, and is ready to cling to that truth when life gets tough, and your view becomes unpopular.įollowing Jesus is tough, the Bible teaches that we follow the narrow way, and falling away from God’s truth is easy. Knowing God and knowing of God are two very different things. The church needs to focus on Biblical teaching, discipleship, and helping people to experience God’s presence in their lives. It's a pretty easy tactic on the part of the enemy to draw people away from the church by being told that your worldview is incomplete if you don’t actually understand what God actually tells us in his Word. Lifeway research tells us only about 11% of Americans have actually read through the Bible at least one time. Most of us don’t know what the Bible actually says because we aren’t taking the time to study it ourselves. Many are walking away from faith because they “grow out of it” due to a desperate lack of discipleship in the American church. If we want to reach a generation that is filled with questions and sometimes, consequently, a lot of confusion, we have to start engaging them with some tough, well-thought-out answers. They question why teachers can give them a certain grade, why parents have a say in their lives, why God has assigned them a certain gender, and the list goes on. The generations coming up have been programmed to question everything. There is no way to live this life where evil abounds and not have a why God moment! Our churches need to make space for questions. Yet, each of us will enter seasons of doubt, struggle, and questioning. Many of us grew up in a very rigid Christian culture, where questions felt like an affront to Jesus himself. The Bible is powerful all on its own, and God’s truth changes hearts when we continue to pursue it. Sometimes healing has to happen outside the church if the church is the main offender. Remind them that they can lean into and grow in their faith through the Bible and in their personal life. If you stick around it long enough someone is likely to make you upset along the way.Įncourage those you know that have stepped away from the church to not let go of Jesus. Again, the church is a flawed organization. Many times, people leave the church not because the Bible offended them or they hate Jesus, but because a person or organization hurt them. If we want to build a bridge, we have to first be willing to hear the stories of others to truly see where they are at. We cannot make assumptions about the motivation of others.
CHRISTIAN LIFE CHURCH FULL
Church communities are full of imperfect people, and the rejection some have felt in the church is deep. Holding onto faith through unimaginable loss is one of the toughest trials we can ever face.
The idea that reason points us away from religion is a pervasive idea in our culture and not one we should dismiss without hearing what about this worldview appeals to their hearts. Church trauma is real and leaves deep scars. Humility needs to be the defining quality of our posture when entering these important conversations.
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