Here’s a fascinating article titled Young Evangelicals Are Getting High that details why many young evangelicals, who grew up in hip non-denominational churches, are joining “high” church services like those offered in Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Catholic services.
Below is a quote from the article:
The kids who leave evangelical Protestantism are looking for something the world can’t give them. The world can give them hotter jeans, better coffee, bands, speakers, and book clubs than a congregation can. What it can’t give them is theology; membership in a group that transcends time, place and race; a historic rootedness; something greater than themselves; ordained men who will be spiritual leaders and not merely listeners and buddies and story-tellers. What the kids leaving generic evangelicalism seem to want is something the world can never give them–a holy Father who demands reverence, a Saviour who requires careful worship, and a Spirit who must be obeyed. They are looking for true, deep, intellectually robust spirituality in their parents’ churches and not finding it.
What do you think?
(ht Larie Marin)
There is a lot to be said for being in a reverent space. Two years ago I had the opportunity to visit some cities in Europe. As a pastor, I love to visit ancient churches. In these old catholic churches, for example, they have no qualms about hushing you if you’re being too noisy. I think that’s pretty cool. It’s nice to have a place where you can be quiet, reverent, and connect with God. Thanks for the thoughts, Mark.
I wonder if it also works the other way., i.e., young High Church members leaving their high church services for hip non-denominational church services?
how about having both hip and high church combined? it seems to me that either extreme gets old after a while.
Yeah, absolutely. I think if you grow up in something it can tend to get old. But there definitely has been a movement with the millenials, against their baby-boomer parent generation are all up on the mega-church non-denim stuff.
How about a “hipster” church that values reverence in worship, praise and hymns, preaches not just stories with biblical morals, but Biblical stories with sound theology, etc.
Adventists are traditionally traditional and we try to do the “hipster” thing it seems fabricated because it doesn’t come natural to us. Many of our youth would like our churches to be like these churches, because they’ve never had it.
I think what Jonathan said is right on. It’s like when someone has straight hair, they want it curly and vice versa 🙂