Most of you know that my husband and I have been "called" to go plant a church. What many of you may not know is why. There were many factors but the one that's growing the most meaningful to me is this:
We are going to chase down the
unchurched and dechurched in our generation!
Vilonia is a "bedroom" town {people commute all week to jobs and only sleep in their homes} made up of mainly 25-35 year old's with an average of young 2 children. That's US. I am 28 and Matt just turned 35. We have 3 kids...but they all came in 2.5 kids so they're kinda like just 2... hehe
This is my generation! Generation Y. The Millennial Generation. Echo Boomers. The children of baby boomers or Gen Xers. Marked by an increased use and familiarity with communications, media, and digital technologies.
I've always wanted to be that generation. The generation that seeks! That seeks His face. Oh, God of Jacob!Sadly, when I moved into youth ministry with my husband I had all but kissed my hopes of being in that kind of generation goodbye. I'd moved on to the hopes of helping the next generations. I mean really! Ton's of people in generation Y won't even try church because they've been burnt by someone claiming they are apart of "the church" when really they have no idea it's not really just a boring weekend hobby. These are the unchurched. Lost. Completely unaware of Christ. Nope, they don't know the stories.
My people are, if in fact they've ever been apart of a church are leaving church in droves. No, we're not just leaving. We're running from church. We are no longer coming back to church either. Not like our parents and possibly grandparents did after their phase of college-age life. Ya know, coming to their senses when they settled down and had some "kids that needed to be in church." These are the dechurched.
Today I want you to know a little more about my generation from the well-know, much cooler than I, Jessica Bowman of Bohemian Bowman's, Parenting Wild Things, as well as the Finding Church Community Project set to release Fall of 2012.
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Who are the dechurched, the truest cynics?
We are her children - we are the churched.
We've been there, done that, and gotten the VBS t-shirt. We are the burned, the spurned. We are not scholars, but know when things don't add up. We know the words of Jesus, you made us memorize them for stickers and trinkets - so we know when they're being stomped, ignored - twisted.
When you attack our appearance, put your man-made traditions before souls, squander resources on self-preservation, exclude - we see it. We pick it up off the holy ground where you dropped it and load it in our guns like ammunition.
We don't bother listening to you because you don't have anything new to say. We tune out your Charlie Brown teacher droning - mwamwa, republican, mwamwa abortion, mwamwa, pro-war, mwamwa, gay-hater, mwa mwa mwa.
Until you speak grace, we will despise you. Until you speak love, we will only hear a clanging gong. Until you speak truth, we will run from your institutions.
We may be wrong, but we know you're not right. And that's enough to fuel the fires of our disgust and disinterest. Indefinitely.
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Learn more about Jessica's journey of Leaving the Church as well as her resent Returning to Church.
Continue reading here about another sect of the DeChurched, where we plan to chase them. and where you lie in the DeChurched perspective.
I’ve been the dechurched. Recently. Sometimes I want to rejoin their ranks. And God is calling me to reach out to others in the same boat. Thank you for sharing this!
Lisa, you are so welcome.
I’m slightly ashamed that up until now I’ve been in the “system” doing little to nothing about those living and the reasons why. Don’t forget to click over to Jessica’s other post on re-entering the church for some more encouragement if you haven’t already.
Thanks for stopping by!
I actually found you through Jessica 😉 I’ve really enjoyed her posts. They have resonated with me. We are “church” people — grew up in it, went to Bible college, the whole 9 yards. And somewhere in there I realized it wasn’t what God was calling me to. I was so busy doing church stuff, I had stopped living the Gospel and my passion for those who did not know God had gone from a fire to a flickering ember. It was so NOT okay with me. We took a year and a half out of church and found God with a passion we had forgotten existed. We became so hungry for Him that we found Him everywhere. It was wonderful!
Chills!
Satan knows exactly what he’s doing! When what’s his but made “christianity” the national religion it became stagnant. It became a mandate. The true fire of the Holy Spirit was washed away by the ocean of originally good-meaning, yet forceful moralism.
Satan’s 1st lie was you don’t need God. Why would he move from what works. If he can convince us that being ‘good’ and keeping traditions “gets us into heaven” then he wins! We eat the fruit and are eternally separated in our self-righteousness.
I LOVE that you were “so NOT okay” with your passion being dampened. I can’t wait for this to be the norm among our generation rather than either believing Satan’s lie of saving moralistic lifestyle OR the other, discontent and therefore disconnectedness for The Church.
Oh, and totally should have know you came from Jessica’s site. I love that girl. I’m just a fan but feel like I really know her. Prolly weird her out ;o) Thanks again for joining the conversation. It makes writing that much more fun!!!