March 7, 2009
We don’t need to frustrate generational “emergents” into joining churches with borderline heretical “emergent” theology. Rather, our existing churches need to let them emerge into ministry and leadership, embrace their energy and life, and allow them to shake things up while mentoring them in what remains standing. Only then can we burst our old rigid wine skins and forge common vision within a comprehensive community of faith.
The biggest obstacle to this: The lethargy of my generation. Too many of us — including our leaders — have settled into the easy familiarity of complacency, hurts and disappointments, plus we’re tired. We’ve paid a high price for what we’ve learned and built over the years, and now lack the energy to reproduce what’s good — while discerning what’s not — from our own journeys. We’ve become old farts, set in our ways. As a result, we’ve turned our churches into cocoons. Unfortunately, however, they’re not cocoons for metamorphosis into new life, but rather cocoons to shelter us from life and change.
Me? I choose to embrace life and change because God’s Kingdom, while built on a firm foundation that includes God’s propositional truths and the saints who have gone before us, is nonetheless progressive! I refuse to miss out on what God wants to do, and is doing, with this new generation.
To generational emergents who have resisted the dark side of “emergent” theology: Don’t give up. Push forward and take your rightful place at the Lord’s table. We need each other and it’s time to demand your inheritance from the best my generation has to offer, while building your own legacy for generations yet unborn.
(c) Copyright 2009, Fulcrum Ministries. All Rights Reserved.
Teacher, pilot, foe of tyrants, world traveler, passionate, attorney, entrepreneur, friend of the dispossessed, Christian, thinker, reluctant counselor, occasional mentor, brother in the Lord, adequate cook, pretty good host and so-so bass fisherman.
As Eugene Peterson phrases it, “Don’t you see that children are God’s best gift? The fruit of the womb his generous legacy? Like a warrior’s fistful of arrows are the children of a vigorous youth. Oh, how blessed are you parents, with your quivers full of children! Your enemies don’t stand a chance against you; you’ll sweep them right off your doorstep.”
There have been times, honestly, when we didn’t feel particularly blessed by one or another of our four arrows. And I would think of the third verse of Psalm 127 and wonder what was wrong with me. But God wasn’t saying that we should feel blessed by poopy diapers and tantrums and nights when a child isn’t home and hasn’t called by curfew. It’s all about the amazing power of discipleship. The unconquerable forging of wisdom and energy.
A dear friend of mine heads a ministry called Children for Christ (CIC) out of Nairobi, Kenya. In 1997, Dr. Terry Andrews launched this powerful ministry. And as of last year, in 13 African countries, more than 70,000 children—80 percent of whom are from Muslim or animist backgrounds—have heard the gospel and attend or even lead weekly praise, prayer, teaching and life skills exercises in 750 CIC children’s clubs. Nearly all have chosen to follow Christ, and their lives are visibly changing.
“You really wonder how you can get so far in Muslim countries with Muslim kids, teaching about Christ,” Terry says. “But parents would tell us, ‘My child is talking with me, listening to me and obeying me more.’ Soon we received reports of kids doing better in school, as they began to understand that God created them, put them on earth for a purpose and is very interested in what they do. These little things speak loudly to unbelievers and allow us to continue.
“In Guinea, we brought the children to a village far in the interior forest. Someone said, “Bring us your sick, and we’ll pray for them.” The villagers brought the sick and the children prayed. One lady who was sick for many years with an unknown stomach problem received an immediate healing. Many came to the Lord. And to this day, whenever anyone is sick, they call for the children and ask them to pray.
“In Kenya, Dora’s parents had been fighting for years and had finally separated. Dora felt God was telling her that her parents would come back together soon. She drew a picture that God gave her and proclaimed that God would bring her parents together again. Within the month, her father gave up drinking, and her parents reunited in a special recommitment ceremony in the church. Her parents are still together and believe that their daughter’s visionary prayer played a role in their reuniting.
“In Sierra Leone, the father of 8-year-old Yeanor Kanu spoke openly in church. ‘Everyone in this village knows me as a man who uses witchcraft to bring illness and to kill people. But my daughter came from the Good News Club and sang a song she had learned: ‘All power in heaven and earth belongs to God. Everything will fail, but Jesus will never fail.’ Suddenly fear and cold came on me. Then I realized the witchcraft power in me disappeared. I did all I could to stop her from singing the song. Then I called her, and she explained the meaning of the song. I could not rest or sleep. So I decided to go to church where the pastor prayed and led me to Christ.’ Her father is still growing in his new faith more than a year later.”
One of the greatest challenges CIC faces is pastors and other church leaders whose vision for children is tucking them away in a “children’s church” to play with puppets and do crafts. It’s no different here in America. Too many of our youth groups do nothing but eat pizza, watch videos and raise money for a trip to Six Flags. If they hear anything from Scripture, it is the weary mantra about avoiding drinking, sex and drugs. Our greatest goal is to see our teens sign pink and blue chastity pledges, which, statistics show, are rarely kept.
Scripture tells us that we don’t have because we don’t ask. But the problem is not that we don’t ask God—to reach the lost, to fight for righteousness, to heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons. The problem is that we dare not ask our children to walk on water. I wonder what would happen if we did.
Like the Capital One Viking, God is asking his precious old farts, “What’s in your quiver?” Is it filled with wilting flowers or deadly arrows?
Ron Brackin
ronbrackin@aol.co
http://www.ronbrackin.com
http://www.ronbrackin.blogger.com
The “Emergents” are not the future. They are nothing but liberalism of the 1920′s adapting to postmodern culture instead of modern culture. The future belongs to those who draw the best from the past, while hearing fresh words from God. The future belongs to those who can hear the Voice now without casting aside ancient truths of Scripture and creeds.
When we were young, some men and women in their 40′s and 50′s accepted us, mentored us, corrected us, and released us. Now it’s our turn to do that for our children’s generation.
Looking at my kids, I think they are going to go far.
This old fart wants to be a Joshua who sees the younger generation cross the river. I do not want to die in the wilderness. How about you?
All right Barry, 50 cent words please. I think many of us old farts are getting a new out look on life and are being re energized. I believe we need to come to the place where we need to pass the baton to our kids and let them be themselves and crash out of the cocoons of the past. They need us to give them wisdom and guidance, but then let them rock and roll into the new generation their way, not our way.
For ourselves, we need to pray that the Lord will shake up his bride and bring her to her knee’s for her arrogance and withdrawing into her inner sanctum. I see the Lord moving and things are happening all over the nation. It’s behind the scene’s right now. The Lord is shaking his church and giving everyone a chance to get on board. The ones that don’t get on board will get left behind and will eventually shrivel and die because they camped and did not follow Jesus to the next step.
I think this is an exciting time in history. It’s not often where a generation gets to participate in a nation and earth shattering event brought about by the Lord. We get to be part of that. If this doesn’t beak open the cocoon’s of lethargy I don’t know what will.
Jim – I admire your openness to change and your firm-standing wisdom that seem to coexist inside you.
Barry – “They are nothing but liberalism of the 1920′s adapting to postmodern culture instead of modern culture?” Whoa. that’s quite a label. Nothing but, huh?