Does the church have to change?

I just read two articles which represent (at least in my clouded mind) two halves of a conversation that isn't happening in the church.

The first is an article that my father forwarded to me (though I would have found it eventually if I could get through the stack of Christian Century magazines that I have on my nightstand....biweekly publications are hard to keep up with!). The article, by hipster alterna-minister Adam Copeland, was titled "Reaching Out to Young Adults Will Screw Up Your Church." The basic premise, one so frequently put forth by the young-ish hip crowd of internet saavy ministers probably funded by the Lily Endowment that I'm surprised it's even news anymore, was that average churches are too stiff to actually welcome young adults given the cultural change such youth would inevitably bring. Rather, such churches love the idea of young adults and the vitality they could contribute, a desire which is not accompanied by a willingness to adapt to their wishes. But it should be, says Copeland.

The other article is an op-ed by NYT genius commentator David Brooks. I had read it when it first came out last year, but it was sent to me again recently by a friend and I was glad to re-read it. Its premise is that we, as a culture, have created a generation of young people for whom self-discovery, individual fulfillment and person satisfaction are at the core of the vocational compass that directs their life. These youngsters are, in a sad way, ill-prepared for entering the world of adulthood which will require of them diligence, interdependence and patience. From Brooks,"Today’s grads enter a cultural climate that preaches the self as the center of a life. But, of course, as they age, they’ll discover that the tasks of a life are at the center. Fulfillment is a byproduct of how people engage their tasks, and can’t be pursued directly."

In a completely non-visionary moment that likely betrays my generation of ministers, I wonder what these two viewpoints have to say to each other. What does it mean, for instance, that the church (and with it Copeland), in response to the exodus of young people from the pews in the last few decades, is desperately trying to get them back by reinforcing the same cultural messages that Brooks claims have ill-prepared them for real life and community, namely, by playing only to their personal needs and preferences?

I work in a church of most elderly folks that in some ways fits the description of Copeland's imagined antagonist.  It is, of course, a church that longs for young people among its number, and that regularly fantasizes about which changes might bring such a windfall about. (Shall we dispense with singing our favorite old hymns? Put up a screen for the song lyrics? Paint the nursery? Rename the craft group? Offer childcare?). In a way, the lack of younger faces here is sad to me because, as their pastor and as a young person, I recognize that they have so much they could offer friends and pew-mates in my generation: wisdom, character, a model of self-sacrificing compassion, and a sense of tradition and decorum that seems sorely lacking in so many of today's social interactions. My question then is, how far away should they stray from who they are in order to placate a (currently) non-existant crowd of young people who may never show up? How much should we ask an older generation to abandon the spiritual traditions that have sustained them in order to meet the demands of a younger one that won't show up unless everything is their way?

This is likely not a very popular viewpoint. And if I click "Publish" on the blogger dashboard above this text, I'll pretty much be assuring that I will never get a book deal* to write a treatise on how to save the church. But the church has existed for 2,000 years believing that it is in community that we decide what God is calling us to do and be. That we each, young and old, have gifts to contribute. Is is possible to develop a more balanced view? Is it possible for the church to say, sure, we'll come to your non-churchy, hipster, coffee shop book group of Atheists and hear what you have to say, but we'd love for you to come by on Sunday, too....we'll teach you some of our favorite old hymns."?



*Lily Endowment, if you are reading this, I am still open to your support. Of course, if this offends you, I didn't mean any of it.