This is from Leon Brown's Blog: Press on until glory.
A lot of things have changed over the years concerning how we "do" church. The liturgy, to a large degree, is gone, churches rarely sing hymns and psalms, preachers really don't preach, and the emphasis on preaching the gospel to the body of Christ has diminished--the gospel has merely become an evangelistic tool.
I don't desire to be this negative, but all of the above statements are true. And if this list could not get any longer, there are typically 3 or 4 churches operating under the same roof.
What do I mean by that?One of the things that has changed over the years, which by the way is no where in church history, is "youth church." Typically, a youth pastor will preach to those 18 and under. Sometimes, however, the age group may be college-aged and under or 16 years of age and under. I guess it all depends on the church and the programs being run.
That's one church under 1 roof.
Then, right along side youth church is, I guess, "adult church." That's two churches under 1 roof.
Then, next to adult church, some churches have 2 or 3 services, and each service operates as previously discussed (e.g. adult church and youth church).
So...How many churches do you have under 1 roof? 1, 2, 3, 4, or more?I know, at this point, it's probably easy to say, "We only have 1 service--1 for the adults and 1 for the youth." To me, that's no better. Why do we separate ourselves from our children during this most precious time of worship on the Lord's Day? Are we afraid our children will be a distraction? If so, train them not to be? Are we afraid our children won't understand the message? If so, are we willing to explain the message to them afterward? And are we conducting family worship at home? This would definitely help them.
And besides, what are they learning during youth church? Have you ever set in to listen? Is the youth pastor even qualified? Do you know him by name?
All of these questions and concerns are essential. The individualistic mentality of America has bleed into many churches. This is why the youth must be separated. Adults worship their way and the youth worship their way. Separation!Please understand the point of this blog article. It's not to tear down, as some may envision. I only want to challenge you to question why "certain" things happen. As I've said in a previous post, if my wife and I had children and we were visiting a church, I would not dare let them take my children. But chances are, we wouldn't visit a church like that to begin with.
If you are one that falls into this category (i.e. you have 2, 3, or 4 churches under 1 roof), what should you do? Well, that's a big question. I'm not saying you should leave your church, nor am I saying you should go on strike, but you should definitely question things.
Consider how many people you don't know in the service you attend, let alone if your church has 2 or 3 services. And what about the youth? Don't you want to worship God with your children, regardless of the age?
God works through families. We shouldn't dare separate them, nor should we separate the local assembly into 2, 3, or 4 services (or separate churches).
A lot of things have changed over the years concerning how we "do" church. The liturgy, to a large degree, is gone, churches rarely sing hymns and psalms, preachers really don't preach, and the emphasis on preaching the gospel to the body of Christ has diminished--the gospel has merely become an evangelistic tool.
I don't desire to be this negative, but all of the above statements are true. And if this list could not get any longer, there are typically 3 or 4 churches operating under the same roof.
What do I mean by that?One of the things that has changed over the years, which by the way is no where in church history, is "youth church." Typically, a youth pastor will preach to those 18 and under. Sometimes, however, the age group may be college-aged and under or 16 years of age and under. I guess it all depends on the church and the programs being run.
That's one church under 1 roof.
Then, right along side youth church is, I guess, "adult church." That's two churches under 1 roof.
Then, next to adult church, some churches have 2 or 3 services, and each service operates as previously discussed (e.g. adult church and youth church).
So...How many churches do you have under 1 roof? 1, 2, 3, 4, or more?I know, at this point, it's probably easy to say, "We only have 1 service--1 for the adults and 1 for the youth." To me, that's no better. Why do we separate ourselves from our children during this most precious time of worship on the Lord's Day? Are we afraid our children will be a distraction? If so, train them not to be? Are we afraid our children won't understand the message? If so, are we willing to explain the message to them afterward? And are we conducting family worship at home? This would definitely help them.
And besides, what are they learning during youth church? Have you ever set in to listen? Is the youth pastor even qualified? Do you know him by name?
All of these questions and concerns are essential. The individualistic mentality of America has bleed into many churches. This is why the youth must be separated. Adults worship their way and the youth worship their way. Separation!Please understand the point of this blog article. It's not to tear down, as some may envision. I only want to challenge you to question why "certain" things happen. As I've said in a previous post, if my wife and I had children and we were visiting a church, I would not dare let them take my children. But chances are, we wouldn't visit a church like that to begin with.
If you are one that falls into this category (i.e. you have 2, 3, or 4 churches under 1 roof), what should you do? Well, that's a big question. I'm not saying you should leave your church, nor am I saying you should go on strike, but you should definitely question things.
Consider how many people you don't know in the service you attend, let alone if your church has 2 or 3 services. And what about the youth? Don't you want to worship God with your children, regardless of the age?
God works through families. We shouldn't dare separate them, nor should we separate the local assembly into 2, 3, or 4 services (or separate churches).
No comments:
Post a Comment