Wine and Spiritual Drift

We live in a world where drifting has become the norm. Young people (I guess we’re calling them “Millennials” now…) drift through middle school, high school, and college. People drift in and out of jobs like they are changing clothes. Statistically speaking, most people will hold between ten and fifteen different jobs in their lifetime. An August 14, 2012 article by Forbes magazine stated that job-hopping is the new norm for Millennials. Millennials (people born between 1977 and 1997) expect to stay in a job no longer than 4.4 years on average. Adults are ineptly raising their kids with little to no moral code. There is a pervasive attitude among a lot of young people that causes them to refuse to commit to much of anything unless they decide that they have nothing better to do. Even among adults, conversations are non-committal. “Can you come to our neighborhood party? Well, let me check and see...” There seems to be an expectation of a lack of stability in life today that is a little frightening. It is almost as if INSTABILITY is where Americans find peace. If life is expected to be transient, then lifestyles will become transient, as well. Digging a layer deeper, can we really expect values such as truth and integrity to remain solid core values if trust and integrity are so transient (am I saying “transient” a lot?). Why hold to a solid set of values? According to today’s common thought, if your values don’t work where you are, that shouldn’t be a problem. Just change what you believe to match your context. Problem solved, right? The default setting for a lot of people today is comfort and not integrity. There is a drift, of sorts, happening in the church today. It isn’t necessarily a drift FROM values, per se, but a drift from the traditional. This drift (which I cleverly call “religious drift”) can be both positive and negative. I think there has been a certain amount of disenfranchisement happening with the younger population regarding spiritual things. The negative drift happens when people just give up on church. The positive drift happens when people decide to find a new context that better fits their personality. In Virginia where I live, there are churches on just about every corner and they represent just about every denomination or flavor of faith you can imagine. Where I live just outside of Richmond, I would say that the older, more traditional church outnumbers the contemporary church, but this is changing. There’s a change in the air around here that is really refreshing. Katy and I resigned our post a few months ago at New Bridge (actually, she resigned about a year ago to reenter the school system as an elementary autism teacher). In these few months of waiting for God to open up an opportunity in the local church for a senior pastor position, we have had an opportunity to visit a number of churches. Some of these churches are church plants. Most of these churches have extremely contemporary elements to include the worship, are COMPLETELY FULL with the young people whom I thought were leaving the church for good, and the fact that the one preaching doesn’t feel compelled to wear a suit is pretty validating for Ol’ Dave. Did you know that it’s possible for a man to deliver the word of God in jeans, Vans, and a collared shirt?! Heresy to some, but merely a change of context to others, but I digress. Here’s my point. At one time, I thought young people were drifting FROM church in general. I think I have realized that young people aren’t drifting FROM church. They are drifting TO a church context that is healthier for them. Even the ones who gave up on “church” for a while seem to be finding what they are looking for. According to some Lifeway research I read, for the first time in what feels like a really long time, the church is starting to gain ground (in 2014 there were about 4,000 church plants as opposed to the 3700 that closed. Maybe not MUCH ground, but at least it’s not much in the right direction!) It isn’t gaining ground in the form of the traditional church doing the same thing it’s always done. Older, more established churches CAN grow and reach young people, but they will not likely do that by not changing the way that they do things. We visited an older church in the area that brought in a new pastor a few years ago. They changed a few things they were doing and they are really killing it on their side of town! New wine in old wineskins or something like that? Where have I read something like that before? Hmm…not really sure…oh, well (psst…over here…that’s in Matthew 9 and Mark 2…go look it up…). So what’s my point? Well, I guess I would say to those who have been feeling marginalized by church that you should take heart. Get out there and look around. There is a church for you. If you’re in a church that has gone way too contemporary for you, there is no shortage of traditional churches. If you’re in a traditional setting that just isn’t speaking to you, DON’T GIVE UP ON THE CHURCH! If you’re thinking of just giving up on the church and not going, I have three words for you: that is stupid. There are a LOT of churches popping up all over the Richmond area, and evidently across the country that are speaking to different contexts. You might find one if you look, but you have to be willing to put yourself out there and be the “new guy” again. Don’t be afraid to visit around. The thing is that there is a church out there just waiting for you! You’ll know it when you find it. If this is you, I can tell you it is an exciting time of spiritual discovery in your life. Get out there and find that new wineskin!