Category: Missions

Ministering to the Buster Generation

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Broadly defined, Busters were born between 1965 and 1983 and represent about 66 million Americans (roughly ages 25 to 42). They have seen many changes and advances in their lifetime: Roe v. Wade, high technology, video games, television quality and choices, the Challenger disaster, the Berlin Wall came down, peer groups became essential, music had become more cynical, AIDS, the Persian Gulf war, the youthful Clinton administration (his relatively young age and who can forget Monica)…

 

Their characteristics may be described as desiring freedom, non-work-a-holic, into 60’s nostalgia, survival (from AIDS to pollution to over population), feeling neglected (divorced parents, single-parent homes, virtual communities), rejecting the values of the Boomers and even postponing marriage.

 

So, where do they fit in the church? Busters value a true family atmosphere (often coming out of a generation of broken families); get involved in local causes in order to see the results of their efforts, have shorter attention spans (the sound bite generation); want a church to meet their own needs (a pragmatic faith that works for them) and a faith that works for others (becoming involved in social, political and environmental issues)…

 

Let me get to my subject. Gary McIntosh (One Church Four Generations) suggests many ways the church can seek to understand this generation.

  • Define Vision – we must have a clearly defined vision and a commitment to accomplish the task. He says that “to know Christ and make Him known” is too theoretical to be relevant to Busters. Pragmatic busters want to know how the mission will be carried out; how are we going to get to know Christ and to whom is the church trying to make Christ known?
  • Keep Worship Authentic – honest, straightforward, tell-it-like-it-is services are attractive to Busters. They can be short or long, but they cannot be considered a waste of time. They are not so much bored with worship but with services that move slowly. Music is important, so we need to use up-to-date music in a variety of styles, even having busters help plan the services.
  • Focus on local issues – rather than far away places. They will feed the homeless in their own area but seldom will they minister across the country. They want to know that their money is making a difference and do not give because they are asked to give to the regular Boomer channels of missions support. So, experiencing missions is important, even if that experience takes them internationally.
  • Challenge to Short-term Service – the general rule is to recruit for short-term and to renew for long-term. Long-term commitments are not the norm, so experiencing a ministry first helps develop a commitment to it in the long term.
  • Small Groups – Busters love feedback and discussion with people they trust. Step-by-step instructions and accountability are usually needed to move from concepts into action.
  • Answer Questions – since Busters need to sort out various hurts in their lives, the church needs to provide practical messages, classes and groups. They need help with problems they face every day: AIDS, divorce, pornography, immorality, child abuse, drugs and alcohol abuse, STDs. They need honest answers and biblical solutions.
  • Develop Need-Based Ministry – we might call some of these support groups: divorce care, overcoming addictions, surviving abuse.

We have to understand the driving forces behind the group we are trying to reach. This group is the future of the church. What will the church look like after the Builders and Boomers begin to die off? So, what do you think? 

Christianity Has An Image Problem

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There is a fascinating book called, unChristian (Kinnaman and Lyons) that declares Christianity has an image problem. I’ve known it for years but did not really have any research to support it. I often heard stories like:

  1. The church is only after my money
  2. Look at the lifestyles of TV evangelists
  3. Church is boring or irrelevant
  4. Remember Ted Haggard and Jim Bakker?
  5. The church is full of hypocrites
  6. I don’t need to go to church to worship God
  7. Too many priest sex scandals and cover-ups
  8. Christians are too narrow-minded

Once teenagers get their driver’s licenses, it seems participation in church activity is usually the first item scratched off the list. Remember that Christianity is a relationship more than it is a religion. Jesus said that a tree is known by its fruit, so believers not living out what they say they believe is one of the greatest barriers to outsiders giving Jesus a try. Believers in Christ are the church; it’s not the building or an activity we do on Sundays. It seems I read that Gandhi would have become a Christian, but he could not find any of His followers.

So how has the Christian faith portrayed itself to a skeptical generation? What does Christian mean to you? For many, it means very conservative, indoctrinated, anti-gay, anti-choice, angry, violent, judgmental, illogical, hypocritical, too political, building their own empires, trying to convert everyone to their way of thinking, who cannot live at peace with anyone who believes differently than themselves. So, what did I leave out? A lot of this originates from the hurtful past of former believers.

How are Christians to overcome this negative stereotype? Today’s Christians are known more for what they are against than what they really stand for. Its one thing to know about Jesus, it is another to really know Him. Assent to a set of propositions is not what Jesus desires, but that we become His disciples, followers who live out what we believe. We are not alone, there are other authentic pilgrims on this journey.

I heard Greg Stier of Dare2Share Ministries tell a story of when he was a pastor, about being in a coffee shop, studying at a table with all his Jesus books in front of him. As he was leaving to pay, there was a Goth looking kid wearing a Marilyn Manson T-shirt behind him who noticed all his books. “Are you religious?” he asked, “Because I don’t like religious people.” Greg looked at the guy and said, “Me neither, I can’t stand religious people! You know who else didn’t like religious people? Jesus! Eventually those religious people had him killed.”

So, there he was with this kid with the Manson gear, both agreeing that religious people made them sick. But Jesus showed them by rising from the dead! Greg then went on to tell him about Jesus being into relationship rather than religion. In some ways people may be into spirituality or even into Jesus, but they don’t like the church. Sad reality, since believers ARE the church.

Questions I'd Ask Before Following Jesus

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I recently read an article by Gordon MacDonald called “Questions I’d Ask Before Following Jesus” that reminded me of this important issue for someone who is interested in becoming a Christian. Having been a fan of discipleship and Christian growth for three decades, I have seen plenty of people get started in their relationship with Jesus only to give up at some point along the journey. Jesus even told a story that seems to fit well, the parable of the sower and the soils, where the same seed (the Word of God or perhaps the gospel of salvation) is sown freely to four different types of soil. As I talk to people about a relationship with God, I can ask questions that may even turn people away. I sense in the long run, people need to know what they are getting into.

As Jesus chose His disciples, or first followers, I wonder what questions where in their minds when they heard the “follow me” challenge? What issues concerned them? Practical questions? Personal questions? Priority questions? Questions about inadequacy? Anxiety? Compensation? What do we need to know before we leave our beach and join Your movement? 

1. Why do You want me with all my baggage? Jesus knew these guys better than they knew themselves, but Peter was on target when he said, “Go away from me Lord, I am a sinful man.” Since salvation is more than just saying, “yes” to Jesus, our baggage must be dealt with. Our call to discipleship is a call to renunciation. There must be an openness to new disciplines, new thinking, new ways to look at relationships. It’s not overnight, but there must be progress. 

2. What made you invite me? Jesus appears to have started with a bias of the heart rather than with an evaluation of outward performance. These guys were not the respected pillars of society. Jesus was not a talent scout, but a student of the inner person. I believe He sees potential as to what people may become, and He extended the invitation to join Him. 

3. What is the most important attribute of a disciple? When Jesus said, “I will make you fishers of men,” He was making a commitment to the follower, “I will make you…” He would guide the follower who makes the commitment to learning, or to the reshaping of his life. There is an issue of submission and obedience, two concepts that are not easily swallowed in our post-modern western society. I think Jesus is looking for F-A-T followers (Faithful, Available and Teachable). 

4. Where is discipleship likely to take me? Jesus always focuses on the future, seeing the potential in people. Some people think that following Jesus is adhering to old-fashioned teachings in outdated, irrelevant, relic documents. I see a relationship with Christ as the way to become what the Creator intended in the first place. Jesus sent His followers out to accomplish various tasks, like spreading the message to the ends of the earth. Possessing a new mission or sense of purpose cannot be overlooked. 

5. Will I be alone if I follow? No way! Christianity is nothing if it is not a community, which has a way of life, ethics, morality, disciplines and goals. Individualism (figuring this out all on your own) is not encouraged, but interdependence is the key. The disciple must ask, “Am I willing to get along with people who are considerably different from me?” The New Testament uses images of a body, and family and building… all made of various parts to become a whole. 

6. What happens when I fall flat on my face? Will You reject me? The first followers fell quite a bit, so we have the assurance that Jesus will hold on to us as well. People can grow stronger through hard times, discouragement and even failure. The disciple experienced al of these these, but never rejection. 

7. Where will I find the power to be and do what You ask of me? The disciples felt secure and empowered as long as Jesus was with them. He gave the Great Commission and they knew Jesus was not going to be beside them any more. He was sending the Holy Spirit to empower, teach, guide, comfort and remind them of their mission. It was the Spirit that transformed these fearful men of the crucifixion into the courageous leaders of the early church. 

8. What are the risks of following You? I like the story in John 21 where Peter is concerned about the fate of another disciple. Jesus basically tells him, “What is that to you? You follow Me.” The way for Peter would be hard and end in a violent death. But we must ask ourselves, “Do I follow God because it is easy or for what I get out of it (everlasting life) or because it is the right thing to do and He deserves it?”

Missions and Worship

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I was reminded of a fascinating book by John Piper called, Let the Nations Be Glad: The Supremacy of God in Missions. He begins this intriguing book discussing the relationship between missions and worship, two topics very dear to my heart.  

 

Piper says, “Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever. Worship, therefore, is the fuel and goal in missions.” 

He goes on to say that it’s the goal of missions because in missions we simply aim to bring the nations into the enjoyment of God’s glory. The goal of missions is the gladness of the peoples in the greatness of God. (Psalm 67:3-4). 

“But worship is also the fuel of missions. Passion for God in worship precedes the offer of God in preaching. You can’t commend what you don’t cherish. (Psalm 104:34; 9:2). Missions begins and ends in worship.”  

Piper concludes his chapter one introduction with, “Where passion for God is weak, zeal for missions will be weak. Churches that are not centered on the exaltation of the majesty and beauty of God will scarcely kindle a fervent desire to ‘declare his glory among the nations’ (Psalm 96:3). Even outsiders feel the disparity between the boldness of our claim upon the nations and the blandness of our engagement with God.”  

 

I understand his point, but I suppose it is also possible to have little zeal for God in worship and still be a congregation focused on missions, perhaps as a substitute for a dynamic relationship with Jesus. This type of missions may be more helping the less-fortunate than it is bringing the nations and our neighbors to Christ. 

 

In corporate worship, how do we encounter God (how do we even encounter God on a personal level)? Can it be that the modern church in America has settled for a worship service over an authentic worship experience, whereby the congregation is connected with God at the deepest level? When was the last time that you saw God’s people gathered for worship where they were passionate about experiencing God (as opposed to being excited about fellowship with others, love for the music, praise for the preacher, etc.)? If God is truly the audience of our worship, what sort of performance did we put on last Sunday? Was He pleased?