Awesome Post from Perry

Perry Noble is a pastor of a church in North Carolina. He recently put up a post on his blog site that was very interesting, and very moving. It was called "what about me." Here are some excerpts:

Someone asked me a really great question the other day. They said, “Perry, whenever you cast vision you always speak specifically about the children and then teenagers; however, you don’t really say a lot regarding the adults, why is that?”

Here was my answer…I love adults, especially the senior citizens... The senior adults…and the not so senior adults…should not be ignored and/or neglected; however, I do not believe they need to be the focus of the church, which, unfortunately has happened in many churches in our country.

Come on now, don’t tell me it doesn’t happen. If the youth and children want to do something, go on a mission trip or summer camp then what does the church do? Stick them out in the sun and make them wash cars and sell doughnuts. BUT…in that same church…if the senior adults want to go pick apples then the church completely pays for the trip.

Maybe it’s just me…but I see something SERIOUS that is wrong with that.

I think a part of being a mature adult is getting past yourself enough to understand that everyone does not like things “my way,” and in order to really impact the next generation then I need to be willing to give up my desires.

church attendance among teenagers and twenty something’s is the lowest of any generation in existence. Statistics show that 1 out of 8 churched kids DROP OUT of church before the age of 25. The church needs to wake up and smell the flippin’ coffee!!!! The ONLY way to seriously impact the world that teenagers and children live in is to spend money. Disney spends money! MTV spends money! The cartoon network spends money! The church has GOT to spend money.

I believe one of the reasons so many kids have dropped out of church, or haven’t gone at all, is because the church has been giving them leftovers and telling them they ought to appreciate it…while the world has been spending BILLIONS of dollars telling them, “We’ll take you–come over here!”

It amazes me the number of parents and grandparents that say they would give their own life to save their child or grandchild, yet that same parent or grandparent won’t give up their personal preference when it comes to music in church to reach that same child/grandchild!

I believe in our children! I believe in our youth group! I believe in strong families! I want to see our community changed because moms and dads and kids are all falling in love with Jesus. AND adults–we can do this a lot easier than they can, at least we SHOULD be able to…that is why it is God’s call on our life to continue to do all we can to allow the generation after us stand on our shoulders!

Now I don't agree with everything said here, but I do believe that the man has a point. I am not 100% convinced that church should be a style, because then in 25 years from now, the teen-agers will be in the same place as many of their parents and grand parents, "I like my style of church." We then get in an endless cycle of pleasing generations and ignoring others.

Maybe church should be more about being a place where we can connect with God and people. Maybe we play too much music. Worship is far more than music (which is hard for me to say because I love my style of worship music!) Has anyone ever heard of the sacraments?

As a youth pastor I have been trying to find ways to get students to connect with God in creative hands on kinds of ways. Yes there is music, it is a big part of their life. But I have seen kids dance and sing chorus lines from 50's musicals at school! That is certainly not from their generation. So what has happened? The play was a place of connection and fellowship! Church should be the same, except we add and focus on the connection with God as well. So maybe it is not all about style.

If we create a beast that only likes its own style of church, then we hinder those people later in life in connecting with God and older and younger generations. I am not trying to give generations excuses to be stingy with their style, I am trying to refocus us on God. Maybe we should stop being consumers of worship, and let worship consume us.

Other than that one tiny disagreement, I loved this post, and I love what Perry is doing in NC. I love that he wants to take care of the younger generations.