The Old and the New – Where Do We Fit?

As young adults, we are generally always looked to for something new – a new word, a new way, an understanding of new technology.  In our Western culture, newness is valued highly (as is youthfulness), so many of us have the opportunity to be “the expert” on any number of topics prized by those around us.

Yet, it often seems like a different story when we walk through the doors of the Church.

Sometimes, though the presence of young adults in church life and leadership causes great excitement and celebration, the voices, opinions and ideas of those same young adults aren’t taken seriously.  This is especially the case when a younger leader suggests a course of action that requires change!  Suddenly chants of “we’ve always done it this way!” put us in our place and we are reminded that others built our church, others charted out her trajectory, others mapped out her ministries before we were ever on the scene (even new church starts can fall into this mode after a year or two).

Advertisements

New Year’s Resolutions

Commit to the LORD whatever you do,
and your plans will succeed.
Proverbs 16:3 (NIV)

So did you make a New Year’s resolution at the beginning of this year?  Or maybe you were bold and made more than one resolution.   That’s usually the trap I had found myself falling into.  Then, the constant interruptions and disruptions we call life eventually get to us and our resolutions become distant memories of failed intentions.

Wear Your Faith

Deuteronomy 6: 4-9

⁴Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. ⁵You shall love theLord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. ⁶Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. ⁷Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.⁸Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, ⁹and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (from the New Revised Standard Version)

 

What does it look like to wear your faith?

I have been blessed to find the answer surrounding me. I see young adults that cloth themselves in faith every day.

Hear It! Remember It! Tell It!

Hear It!  Remember It!  Tell It!

Wow.  How time flies.  It seems like only yesterday when many from our denomination gathered in Indianapolis for the 2009 General Assembly.  It definitely does not seem possible that in a few short months many will again be gathering together in Nashville, Tennessee to “Tell it.”

My Story

[T]alk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. … [T]ake care that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

Deuteronomy 6:7b-9, 12 NRSV

There is a colorful plastic key tag dangling amongst my keys and library and gym membership cards. That key tag is to me at the same time a celebration of the Promised Land into which I am being delivered and a reminder of the slavery out of which I have been brought. Hello, my name’s Rob, and I’m an addict. (This is where I pause for the readers to warmly and enthusiastically greet me with a friendly “Hi, Rob!”)

Tell It!!

“4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. 6 Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. 7 Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.” Deuteronomy 6:4-7

For so long we have been the “children” hearing the story. We have been the boys and girls who listened and learned who tried to understand why our parents made us get up on Sunday morning if we didn’t have to go to school. For too long we have continued to listen instead of talking. We are no longer the children who should be listening but the faithful who should be sharing, reciting our story over and over-to our children (or nieces and nephews). We have the words in our hearts- we probably even know a catchy little church camp song based on the text above- we know the story we need to Tell it!

Coming Together to Tell the Story

The theme for General Assembly this year is “Tell It!”, and we are encouraged to tell our own stories.  As both of my parents are pastors and I used to lead the Worship Team for Disciples on Campus at Chapman University, I have an abundance of stories.  So I will tell you the story of one of my favorite church times from this year: the church Christmas play.  I wrote the play as a talk show interviewing the classic characters about their parts of the Christmas story.  I even chose the song that the cast sang, “Go Tell It on the Mountain”, to emphasize how important it is to tell the Christmas story.  We had about a third of the church (over fifty people) of all ages involved in the production, including many of our young adults, and it was an outstanding success.