Do Fundamentalists “push away” twenty-somethings by judgmental, Pharisaical attitudes?
It’s not just the twenty-somethings. An older couple whom I know very well have been encouraged by a young congregation that loves Jesus Christ, actively disciples one another,and who hold to, love and defend sound doctrine. The sad thing is that this older couple’s fundamentalist friends have expressed concern for them because of their new associations.
"Some things are of that nature as to make one's fancy chuckle, while his heart doth ache." John Bunyan
The word “some” is useful here again. Some fundamentalists do that. Some don’t. Some just preach the Word and a % of people of any age don’t value that (require more to stimulate the senses). Others walk away from ministries that are truly unhealthy.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
Pastor Brian Fuller nailed this one. Great article.
[Aaron Blumer]The word “some” is useful here again. Some fundamentalists do that. Some don’t. Some just preach the Word and a % of people of any age don’t value that (require more to stimulate the senses). Others walk away from ministries that are truly unhealthy.
I agree. Thankfully it is “some’. Sadly it is not “a few”,
"Some things are of that nature as to make one's fancy chuckle, while his heart doth ache." John Bunyan
I it more than a few, and it is more than some - many fundamental churches alienate youth over the issues that Pastor Brian Fuller mentioned.
How much of this attitude is self-perpetuating? I mean, how often do folks take this line of conversation (disparaging remarks about dress, music, etc.) not because they personally believe these things are so essential, but because these have become shibboleths of fundamentalism? I heard a preacher recently who was preaching to an older crowd and a lot of his sermon was invested with “not forsaking the old ways” kind of rhetoric, but (for a variety of reasons) I wasn’t completely convinced that this was really what he believed… just what he thought his audience expected of him.
Is it perhaps that some are not really so concerned with young people’s direction as with their own acceptance among a peer group and young people are an easy target?
That certainly is possible, Hannah. The influence of peer pressure is not limited to youth, and it is reasonable that many are less concerned about Scriptural fidelity than about preserving one’s reputation and livelihood.
Discussion