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Battle between the two camps
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There seems to be an internal war within the Christian camp. There is a generation who loves its hymns, consistency, dependability, and history; and then there is a generation who aches for change, freshness, contemporary applications, and a chance to grow and exercise their talents and spiritual giftings. The rift is a sad one because both generations have something to offer each other. .jpg)
One has the richness and value of life experiences while the other has the enthusiasm, determination, and energy to make dreams and visions a reality. One generation is steeped in wisdom, experience, and practicality that often causes them to be slow to act; while the other has "newer" knowledge that seems exciting but requires risk and sometimes lacks depth. However, if each side would be willing to admit to their own "weaknesses" and recognize and draw on one another's strengths, Christianity would see a unity and experience a purposeful depth that would set this century apart from any that we've ever romanticized and reminisced about from the past.
It’s no secret that church membership and attendance is on the decline in every denomination. Some of us have even had board meetings (and in come cases, “emergency board meetings”) to try to figure out why. And asking why is a good starting point. But we also have to be willing to embrace the answers -- many of which won’t be easy, but the majority of which need to be taken seriously.
While it would seem that at least some Christians desire to gain some spiritual depth or become spiritually mature, a Barna Study entitled, "Many churchgoers and Faith Leaders Struggle to Define Spiritual Maturity,” found that most people who attend church aren’t even clear concerning what spiritual maturity truly means, and what their church actually expects concerning “spiritually maturity” (www.barna.org). Yet the same study found that “trying hard to follow the rules” was an element associated with spiritual maturity.
One way that Jesus Himself summed this up was in Mark 2:27 when He said, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” And He was speaking to the hypocritical Pharisees when He said it. Then in Mark 3:4 Jesus asks a rhetorical question just before He healed the man with the withered hand: “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or evil, to save life or to kill?” By the way, another reason that Pew Forum gave for why people change their religion or just totally abandon it -- is because of hypocrisy and judgmentalism. And every church has it’s own man-made traditions that we expect others to follow.
Barna goes on to state that Christians under 40 experience less satisfaction spiritually and feel less spiritually healthy. In addition, about 1 out of 10 pastors felt that the church interfered with people’s growth. Is it possible that there were more who felt that way but that they were too uncomfortable to admit it? Nevertheless, there is still a battle between the two camps and somehow, we need to find the balance between irrelevant traditions and watered down truth. Perhaps we should start by taking a closer look at the fruit of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5:22-25, and finding ways to encourage unity and healing between the two camps.
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