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Re: “Older Christians are Leaving Churches” Part One
“Must Not Read”
Please remove us from your mailing list. Several articles printed
recently remind us that the problem with the church today is people in the
church. Accusatory articles and pointing fingers by people/authors who have no
credibility with which to speak have made this a “MUST NOT READ” publication,
i.e. your recent front page article by Wayne Edwards, “Older Christians are
Leaving the Church.” Please remove from all mailing lists and future publications. First Church of the Nazarene Reprint Request
Thank you for the excellent articles published in Pulpit Helps. We respectfully request permission to reprint quotes from the
article, “Older Christians are Leaving Churches,” by Wayne J. Edwards from the
March, 2006, issue of Pulpit
Helps for the May, 2006, issue of the Sword
and Trumpet. The Sword
and Trumpet is an independent Mennonite church monthly magazine operated
on a non-profit basis. Peggy Jo Byler, Editor’s
response: Of course this request is granted—and to anyone else wishing to
republish Wayne Edwards’ article for local or regional non-profit distribution.
In fact, the permission also covers reprinting Parts 2 and 3, upcoming, of
Wayne Edwards’ article. Statements Are Alarming
I am a pastor in a rural area, and I concur, that I am seeing
this happen with many “older” believers.
I am not seeing them “leave” the church, I am seeing them transition to
other churches that fit the style that they desire. This is where Mr. Edwards
and I part ways! Every church in America is dealing with the same “Culture
War.” Yet, I see Mr. Edwards’ article as supporting the breach rather than
repairing it! I am in neither of the groups that we are speaking of. I am 45
years old, right in between the twenty somethings, and the sixty somethings. I
think that I see the real “Truth.” We cannot do without either of these. I have
to touch both of them! There are statements in Mr. Edwards’ article that are truly
alarming to me. • His statement
that it seems to him that we are turning all of our efforts to the “younger
group.” • His statement
that many pastors are so concerned about reaching the unchurched that they are
unchurching the churched. • His statement
that we are disenfranchising concepts that God has used to build His Church for
2000 years. These statements come from this position: Church is here to meet
my needs! Chester Passmore Jr. Editor’s
response: There is an old story about a group of blind monkeys who encounter an
elephant. One monkey goes to the great beast and touches a leg. He returns to
the group and describes the elephant as like a tree trunk. A second monkey goes
forward, and touches the elephant’s trunk…a third encounters the elephant’s
tail. Obviously, none of their reports match; and it seems Mr. Passmore is not
seeing the same part of the elephant that Wayne Edwards sees. Agrees Wholeheartedly
I have just finished reading the March, 2006, issue of Pulpit Helps. One of the
articles that really caught my attention is the cover story “God’s Wake Up
Call...Older Christians Are Leaving Churches.” I agree wholeheartedly!!! I
would like more info on the writer, Wayne J. Edwards. I would be interested in
his book, Raising the
Standard, and also more info on his ministry “Mature Ministries.” Your
help in this matter will be greatly appreciated. Greg Herndon, pastor Editor’s
note: Brother Edwards has given us permission to publish his e-mail address for
those wishing to contact him. It is wnledwards@alltel.net. There Has Always Been Change
I am a new pastor who sees the need for a shift in our ministry
focus toward a younger generation and we are paving the way for that movement.
The older generation has been concerned seeing no new growth in years and are
on board with this change. The message is the same, the method isn’t, and this
isn’t discouraging, it’s encouraging to them, as they haven’t been this excited
in years as we see the prodigals returning. If the older generation is “living on meat” they should be the
ones feeding the new Christians and raising them up, keeping in mind that
ministry back in the old days was done differently to speak to a particular
generation. Why must we insist that the methods we have been using are somehow
“holy” and above change? I refuse to serve tradition; I’d rather serve truth!
The only thing “holy” is the message. All church styles (preaching and musical)
were at one time contemporary. Jesus used the teaching tools that were popular
in His day; Jesus was “cutting-edge!” I applaud the use of multi-media and drama from the pulpit
because it is how we communicate everywhere we turn in life. The older generation should embrace the change and be a part of
it. If they are leaving the church after years of service, they were never
committed to the Great Commission in the first place or have sadly forgotten
about it. Eric M. Harless Learning Has Changed
Edwards is fueling the fire that is killing churches across
America. What he is saying is that methods should never change, that we must
live with 1950s church cultures ... and that if we try to adapt to reach people
for Christ we are wrong. Churches die because church members refuse to breakout
of comfort zones... 80% of Christians do not have a relationship with a lost
neighbor or friend. To reach people we must have an outward vision. It’s not about music, but language. D. R. Hendricks of Dallas
Theo. recently said, “We have a generation which thinks with its feelings &
learns with their eyes.” The Mosaic generation (those born since 1974) learns
in a visual method. The public school system shifted 30 years ago from a Greek
form of teaching to an Eastern form of teaching. The truth is that the Bible
was written in an Eastern form of expression: word pictures (parables). This
generation learns naturally the way the Bible was written ... so we must adapt
our method of teaching to connect truth to them. Bruce Porterfield of New Tribes shared with me a couple of years
ago that we must learn the language of those we are trying to reach. Then
translate the gospel into terms which the unchurched can understand. Any one
who has served overseas with unchurched people groups gets this. We no longer
live in a churched culture. We must, if we are to reach them, go where they
are. Our command was go & preach, not build it & they will come. But
pastors build Christian caves where we pull away from the world & avoid
contact with lost people. I take strong offense to this article. It sends a message: give
into the itching ears of our members, give them the soft comfort zones they
desire. Don’t change or adapt to
culture. By the way, no contact info at the end of the article. If you had
it, I would have blasted him directly, instead of troubling you. Pastor Chuck Kieffer |