Saturday, November 6, 2010

The Generations are a Never Ending Frontier

There are a few things I’ve had to come to accept:

The music will always be the wrong style for someone.
The music will always be too loud or too soft for someone.
The sermon will either be too long or too short for someone.
The congregation will either be too casually or too formally dressed for someone.
The weekly worship service time will either be too early or too late for someone.

In short, nothing will ever be just right for everyone.

The built in frustration with ministry is trying to become all things to all men so that we might by all means save some. But just as Paul discovered, it doesn’t always work. The Galatians were foolish, the Corinthians were factional, the Thessalonians were prone to listen to other teachers. Paul laid down his life for these folks, gave them the best he had, and still there were complications. Human preferences and prejudices have always been a hurdle for the Gospel.

But some get it. They move beyond the style and volume of the music; they look beyond the length of the teaching;

Jesus never said it would be easy - some of the seed would fall on good soil, some on the rocks, some in the weeds and some along the path. We just sow the seed we have.

There is little doubt in my mind that a cataclysmic change is coming to the church in North America.
Please read: http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2009/0310/p09s01-coop.html

But there is also little doubt in my mind that the Lord has already raised up the next generation of church leaders and Christ followers to be his holy remnant and carry on his work and promises on this continent.
Please read: http://www.qideas.org/blog/gabe-lyons-and-the-next-christians.aspx

My heart’s desire is to be an influencer for Christ on the church that is coming. To be this I understand that I must lay aside my preferences as well and perhaps even labor to understand a different way of looking at the world. It’s difficult for one generation to understand another. I think it has always been this way. We don’t understand their music, their humor, their outlook. But we have to try. For the sake of the Gospel. There’s a whole mission field out there. Will you join me on this most fantastic of journeys? God bless. Thanks for reading. PJ

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