I am reading "Goodbye Generation" by David Sawler, a Canadian who is writing for the church. David's concern is that we are losing a generation of youth and young adults from the church. In the fourth chater he diagnoses our major problem. Here is my summary of his diagnosis...
We are more interested in being spiritual sperm donors than in being parents. We find it exciting to lead someone to Christ, preach a great evangelistic sermon and see the altar lined, or be part of an outreach where decisions for Christ are made. But once born into the Kingdom, what happens to these babies. They become orphans.
Ouch. I have to admit that there is truth in what he says. Discipling means getting involved in someone's life at a level that means sharing deeply, caring completely, living with, teaching, correcting, and loving enough to do whatever is needed to insure that spiritual growth is happening. Unfortunately this cannot be done in a program or from a pulpit and certainly not by one person for a whole church. Sawler believes that discipleship programs don't even cut it when it comes to true discipleship. I agree.
What do you think?
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3 comments:
I also do believe that we have an orphan epidemic, both actual and spiritual. There is no substitute for spending intimate time with people, it's just not God's design...
Former church goer here. It seems strange to me that you include correcting, teaching, etc in your list, but listening to and learning from seem totally off many pastor's list of things to do. just a thought.
Dear Anonymous,
I hope you come back because I want you to know that this pastor is trying to listen and learn. In fact, we are in a Journey of Discernment as a church. The next three Saturday nights are for corporate prayer and listening to God, then reporting to those gathered what we have heard. I am trying to be a pastor who can be corrected and taught. Pray for me and all of us who have the responsibility to lead the church in these days.
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