By Ken Rolheiser
I want to send global, sky-writing airplanes telling the life-change that happens beneath a steeple. I want to install a police microphone on top of my car and cruise the streets screaming to the masses about the magical Utopian community of believers waiting for them just down the street! (Ned Flanders)
鈥―o we want Millennials, 22 to 35-year-olds, to be as excited as Ned Flanders about going to church on Sunday mornings?
In his article 鈥�12 Reasons Millennials are over Church鈥� Sam Eaton cites: only 2 in 10 Americans under 30 believe attending church is important. 59 % of millennials raised in the church have dropped out. 35 % of millennials have an anti-church stance believing the church does more harm than good. Ouch!
Eaton suggests what is needed in his metaphorical nailing of 12 theses to the wooden church door of the Millennial-less church:
1.Nobody鈥檚 Listening to Us - Nobody cares what we think.
2.We鈥檙e Sick of Hearing About Values & Mission Statements 鈥� get back to the heart of the Gospel鈥ctions and service.
3.Helping the Poor Isn鈥檛 a Priority 鈥� clock the number of hours spent serving the least of these.
4.We鈥檙e tired of You blaming the Culture 鈥� focus on real solutions and real impact in our immediate community.
5.The 鈥淵ou Can鈥檛 Sit With Us鈥� Effect 鈥� Church hasn鈥檛 always felt exclusive and 鈥渃liquey鈥� to some.
6.Distrust & Misallocation of Resources 鈥� frugality and transparency are needed鈥ollars to be used to better serve the Kingdom.
7.We want to Be Mentored, Not Preached At.
8.We Want to Feel Valued not manipulated: We want to be heard and thanked 鈥� not 鈥測ou鈥檙e letting your church down.鈥�
9.We Want You to Talk to Us About Controversial Issues (No One Is).
10.The Public Perception 鈥� Church needs to be visibly involved and serving the community鈥eing the aroma of Christ.
11.Stop Talking About Us (Unless You鈥檙e Actually Going to Do Something).
12.You鈥檙e Failing to Adapt 鈥� talk to the millennials you already have before they ask themselves, what am I still doing here?
Dramatic changes are needed to reach our millennial church avoiders. To prepare our minds for these changes let me borrow a metaphor Father Brendan McGuire used in discussing the 鈥淎bundance Theory鈥�.
Imaging you have a beautiful orange tree in your garden. You pick all the oranges you can reach. Now you say the tree is done. Then someone brings a ladder. You climb the ladder and take all the oranges you can now reach. Next someone invents a cherry picker and you can pick the ones on top. The business world calls this 鈥淛umping the S Curve鈥�.
It is time for Jumping the S Curve. We, the church, have picked all the oranges we can reach. We need a ladder. More radically, we need a cherry picker and more advanced technology to reach the millennials.
Three things needed in the church are: prayer, discerning the Spirit鈥檚 guidance and commitment to action. Tawnya Huhn responding to 鈥�12 Reasons鈥� said, 鈥淚ntense, deep pondering over scriptures is vital as it shows us the Father鈥檚 story鈥ood deeds flow from a heart surrendered.鈥�
Part of the solution suggested in #12 of Eaton鈥檚 鈥�12 Reasons鈥� is to 1)Look at the data and take a risk. Don鈥檛 keep trying the same things. 2)Admit that you鈥檙e out of your element鈥nd talk to the millennials.
