Before I get to my reply, I should briefly mention that I post all of these thoughts and protests with great reservation. In attacking things that I find grievously wrong with the church today I don't mean to imply that I am not a devoted follower of Christ insofar as my conscience and rational mind will allow me to be. In no way am I attempting to call into question the veracity of any of the core Christian tenets as defined in the TOJ charter. I wholeheartedly endorse every point of
TOJ's Profession of Faith. I am simply of the mind that the ways that the church at large are conducting church services and promoting the Christian faith are neither correct, nor effective, nor what the original disciples of Christ intended.
Tek7 said:
Do you agree that the effort to present a "X-TREME t-shirt Christ" to youth groups and a "coffeehouse Christ" to college students is largely--or at least partially--responsible for the drought of dedicated 20-somethings in the modern American church?
I do agree with this idea, but I think the problem is more fundamental than that. It's not in the particular cultures that you mentioned that I find the problem. In my mind the problem is the concept of linking Christianity with a specific culture at all.
Now, I don't believe that coffeehouses are a legitimate culture unto themselves, but that's another topic, and whether or not they are, the types of churches we're discussing treat them as one, so for the sake of argument, assume them to represent one.
In linking Christianity with a particular culture, we implicitly define a "Christian" proper as belonging to that culture alone.
In other words, we turn the Christian walk into a Christian lifestyle (in the marketing sense of the term). In the case of the last church I attended (not Grace, a different one), by consistently playing and promoting one style of music (via the praise and worship in service as well as church-produced CDs sold as a missions fundraiser), they were defining that style of music as the official or approved music for the members of that church, if not the only legitimate style for Christians in general. Those whose listening habits fit in with the culture dictated by the church leaders were enthusiastic and kept attending. Those who didn't fit in (like me) eventually lost interest.
Now, music was not the only deciding factor in my leaving that church (it wasn't even the main reason, for that matter), but it was certainly a part of it. By trying to appeal to a specific group of people, we limit the scope of our faith in a way that it should not be limited.
I believe this problem is rooted psychologically, in a misunderstanding or improper ordering of how we define ourselves in relation to the world, with regards to our faith and our culture.
Few people doubt that proper acceptance of our faith requires that we put Christianity, and by extension God, first in our lives. God belongs at the top of our list of priorities. When we make any decision, God's commandments must come before all other considerations.
But the mistake lies in believing that putting God first requires that we define ourselves as Christians before we apply any further definitions of self. It is my belief that we should apply definitions of self in order of chronological acquisition (or broad-to-narrow) rather than decision-making priority. The church today demands that we say "I am a Christian first, and a human being with unique interests and a personality second. When the nature of the second violates the dictates of the first, I go with the first." In short, the church today attempts to dictate personality, and I find that horrifying.
The way I define myself, I am, first and foremost, a human being, created by God to have unique cultural tastes, interests, personality, and a rational mind by which I can discern the truth and seek God.
Since it is this unique personality which has led me to accept Christianity in the first place, I should not let Christianity dictate any previously-defined portions of my self-identity.
It is for this reason that I have been unable to find a church that I can attend without severe reservations. Most churches "market" to a very specific cultural audience at the expense of all others. I'm not looking for a church that fits my specific cultural audience, I'm looking for a church that doesn't limit itself to a cultural audience. I don't need to have a church where everyone participates in the same cultures that I do. I just need a church that accepts more than one culture as valid (so long as Christian values are compatible with that culture... i.e. "Dogfighting culture" is probably out of the question).
