Oh, what a night. Remember that song? Well, all of us who were conceived in late December, 1963, will be turning 50 years old this month. I'm one of 'em.
(If you want something a little more contemporary, try this version-)
Anyway, turning 50 is awfully anti-climactic. Forty is the age when everyone is mean to you (black stuff everywhere, and so on). At fifty, nothing much changes.
(That's all. I think an anti-climactic post is suitable for an anti-climactic birthday.)
Showing posts with label age. Show all posts
Showing posts with label age. Show all posts
09 September 2014
20 July 2011
Some More on Age-Segregation in the Church
I've posted on this topic, age-segregation in the church, in both April and August of 2010.
Now, Tim Challies has posted this very interesting review of a movie made by a group opposed to age-segregation in churches. Its a great example of how to take a good idea and add an 'ism' and make it a bad philosophy.
It is also clear from the comments posted after Tim's article that a lot of people think the division of the church by age is a bad idea. I agree. But dividing the church over a division in the church is also a bad idea. Making age-integrated church an exclusive thing, with no separate programs ever for kids, teens, moms, middle-aged vegetarian lego-lovers, etc., is a form of legalism* that will be as destructive, long-run, as teen-exclusive worship services have been in the recent past.
It was also a nice eye-opener to me about how things I say could be taken to an extreme, even unintentionally. We all have a bit of that fundamentalist thought pattern rooted into us, even liberals, and I'm no different. So I hope what I've said about this in public isn't so extreme as to make it a test of faith or fellowship. Its not. It is important, but not a test of faith or fellowship.
All things in moderation, as they say.
*Legalism- making firm prohibitions where there are no biblical prohibitions...R. C. Sproul's definition.
Now, Tim Challies has posted this very interesting review of a movie made by a group opposed to age-segregation in churches. Its a great example of how to take a good idea and add an 'ism' and make it a bad philosophy.
It was also a nice eye-opener to me about how things I say could be taken to an extreme, even unintentionally. We all have a bit of that fundamentalist thought pattern rooted into us, even liberals, and I'm no different. So I hope what I've said about this in public isn't so extreme as to make it a test of faith or fellowship. Its not. It is important, but not a test of faith or fellowship.
All things in moderation, as they say.
*Legalism- making firm prohibitions where there are no biblical prohibitions...R. C. Sproul's definition.
23 August 2010
Chronological Snobbery (and How to Fix It)
I remember the day, though not the date, when I heard my church was going to break into 'traditional' and 'contemporary' worship services. I was a member of a vibrant, growing church in the St. Louis area at the time, and was serving as a deacon. The change was announced to us at a deacons' meeting. I remember feeling that something wasn't quite right, but I was still a fairly young Christian at the time (at least, I was immature in my faith) and I didn't want to make waves, so I didn't ask any questions.
Boy were my gut feelings right.
The gospel-focused experts now call this divided approach to congregations, 'Chronological Snobbery'. Tullian Tchividjian (who I've blogged about before) posted a fascinating blog on this topic today. He says about his church, "For many years Coral Ridge had two very distinct worship services–one contemporary and one traditional. The result was the unintentional development of two different churches under one roof. It wasn’t healthy."
In every church I've been a part of that had divided the congregation by musical preference (age, in fact), I've seen the same signs of unhealthiness. (In fact, none of the churches I've joined since that first one have had anything other than this same chronological issue.) I've learned to call it 'age segregation' because the word 'snobbery' is insulting to people even when it is deserved, and even though it is a C. S. Lewis term. The age segregation causes a loss for both young and old, but most especially for the young. We are clearly instructed in scripture to ensure that the young and old are integrated in our churches (see Titus 2:3-5 for example). We throw this out when we age-segregate our congregations.
We also deny the power of the gospel when we do this. Tullian continues, "You see, when we separate people according to something as trivial as musical preferences, we evidence a fundamental failure to comprehend the heart of the gospel. We’re not only feeding toxic tribalism; we’re also saying the gospel can’t successfully bring these two different groups together. It’s a declaration of doubt about the unifying power of God’s gospel. Generational appeal in worship is an admission that the gospel is powerless to join together what man has separated."
Why would we as a church want to make such a powerful anti-gospel statement by feeding our own desires about music style? To avoid the chronological snobbery, we should look both ways, backwards, to the past to see the shoulders on which we stand, and around us now, to see the value in contemporary ways to worship and glorify God, so we can all as one look forward to the hope that is ours in Christ. We need to take the best of the old, the best of the new, and continue to worship and glorify God together as we proclaim the gospel to the nations; and we certainly need to not neglect meeting together, as is the habit of some, but to encourage each other, across all age groups (and any other false division we can think of), all the more as we see the Day approaching (Heb 10:24-25).
I encourage you to go read Tullian's blog in full.
Boy were my gut feelings right.
The gospel-focused experts now call this divided approach to congregations, 'Chronological Snobbery'. Tullian Tchividjian (who I've blogged about before) posted a fascinating blog on this topic today. He says about his church, "For many years Coral Ridge had two very distinct worship services–one contemporary and one traditional. The result was the unintentional development of two different churches under one roof. It wasn’t healthy."
In every church I've been a part of that had divided the congregation by musical preference (age, in fact), I've seen the same signs of unhealthiness. (In fact, none of the churches I've joined since that first one have had anything other than this same chronological issue.) I've learned to call it 'age segregation' because the word 'snobbery' is insulting to people even when it is deserved, and even though it is a C. S. Lewis term. The age segregation causes a loss for both young and old, but most especially for the young. We are clearly instructed in scripture to ensure that the young and old are integrated in our churches (see Titus 2:3-5 for example). We throw this out when we age-segregate our congregations.
We also deny the power of the gospel when we do this. Tullian continues, "You see, when we separate people according to something as trivial as musical preferences, we evidence a fundamental failure to comprehend the heart of the gospel. We’re not only feeding toxic tribalism; we’re also saying the gospel can’t successfully bring these two different groups together. It’s a declaration of doubt about the unifying power of God’s gospel. Generational appeal in worship is an admission that the gospel is powerless to join together what man has separated."
Why would we as a church want to make such a powerful anti-gospel statement by feeding our own desires about music style? To avoid the chronological snobbery, we should look both ways, backwards, to the past to see the shoulders on which we stand, and around us now, to see the value in contemporary ways to worship and glorify God, so we can all as one look forward to the hope that is ours in Christ. We need to take the best of the old, the best of the new, and continue to worship and glorify God together as we proclaim the gospel to the nations; and we certainly need to not neglect meeting together, as is the habit of some, but to encourage each other, across all age groups (and any other false division we can think of), all the more as we see the Day approaching (Heb 10:24-25).
I encourage you to go read Tullian's blog in full.
05 August 2010
What Younger Believers Need (and Don't Need)
Every once in a while, I come across a statement in a book I’m reading that begs to be shared. This is one of them.
“Younger believers don’t need another speaker to come in and tell them about dating, self-esteem, and relationships. They need to have relationships with saints who have put on a few miles in the Christian life and have faced challenges to their faith and practice that younger believers have not. And the lessons learned from these relationships need to be passed on to the rest of us in unplanned, unchoreographed, and unplugged conversations.”
This is from Michael Horton’s, The Gospel Driven Life, p. 197. I highly recommend this book. But since it is the sequel to, Christless Christianity, you’ll probably need to read that one (highly recommended as well) first.
We tend to over-think and over-react when we hear bad things going on with our youth. I'm afraid that's part of the problem. Saying we need to simplify things is easy, but doesn't give enough information. This paragraph is an appeal to simplify, and it give all the information we need to do what is suggested.
We need to stop age-segregating our churches.
“Younger believers don’t need another speaker to come in and tell them about dating, self-esteem, and relationships. They need to have relationships with saints who have put on a few miles in the Christian life and have faced challenges to their faith and practice that younger believers have not. And the lessons learned from these relationships need to be passed on to the rest of us in unplanned, unchoreographed, and unplugged conversations.”
This is from Michael Horton’s, The Gospel Driven Life, p. 197. I highly recommend this book. But since it is the sequel to, Christless Christianity, you’ll probably need to read that one (highly recommended as well) first.
We tend to over-think and over-react when we hear bad things going on with our youth. I'm afraid that's part of the problem. Saying we need to simplify things is easy, but doesn't give enough information. This paragraph is an appeal to simplify, and it give all the information we need to do what is suggested.
We need to stop age-segregating our churches.
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