Where are the Millennials? Part 1

This is the Truth Network welcome to mannitol and brought you by T8 W CM is talking and walking Christian men's ministry were there devoted to breaking down the walls of race and accommodation and challenging and that take their God assigned as our host will Hardy and Roy Jones Junior, a black guy and a white guy, good afternoon and I will Hardy black. Thank you so much for Jordan's today were just in the studio, get married or have a nice visit with Don Jenkins. He is the associate pastor at the Crossing in Kernersville North Carolina. That's right.

Welcome, Don's good heavy with a separate check for little bit left out because I feel like I should say ham down on the mix got both internal red soon.

I am a little buddy.I think I've ever seen you embarrassed as it is so good that I live close.

We will take a little bit of a break tonight with dinner today with shift into talking about millennial's, and she will come back and some of the current social issues we deal with as part of the millennial discussion but one of the biggest pieces missing in our church today is that probably 23 to 38 range, a drink of people and it's a problem across the country for certain US. I'm not sure about what well but for sure in the US is relates to losing that age group out of the body of Christ and will talk some about that today, when you know Roy, just to kick this thing off.

I was looking at some stats and once that I saw was that there there was 8080% of alleles within that age range that you mention don't find church important yet is not an important part of their life and I think I saw that either on the family research journals website or he was either the Washington Post okay good. We know it. One of the things it done before the show started, we would mention just in passing about what's possibly some of those elements are contribute factors mentioned Adonis you one thing that got to my heart is running over.

Today was the absence of the father in the home. I think it's a big piece of that in and look at the last 25 or 30 years that's been basically those raised up during the feel-good generation were now parents so I think that's a big piece of it yet or not I'm I totally agree. And before we talked we were before we got on, we were trying to figure out okay you know what, what's the solution will get to this.

The solution here in a little bit, but you think you're spot on with it with you father something a part of the household. Single parents you know is is is a huge problem. But it's also I think this idea of you got these young people who their whole lives when they were growing up they were told that they can be whatever it is that they want to be right they were. They were almost you know that the parenting style. In some ways over the past years, shifted into hey I'm a parent I'm been a discipline you to now my parent and I'm your best friend right no sanitation right in there and there's no difference between that and so you got it at a generation of kids were growing up who are told hey you're your great year. You are the best person you are special you have all of these important qualities you know you know we talked about a little bit you know what sports teams right right you know sports when I was growing up I would get everybody would get a trophy right so if you are all for you at Boeing nine in a season still got it your opinion you were told you great your special good job that's awesome. And what happened when when those kids grew up when those kids became older and their brain they they thought oh I'm perfect I'm great I'm special. And then they go into the workforce right they may go into society. They go to school at college and they realize very quickly that they're not they realize very quickly that they that are not necessarily special, something awful right but they're just not all that they're cracked up to be like everybody else sitting around right absolutely most part, for the most part, as we all are right right and so because of that was like a culture shock. It's like I'm not as as good as I once thought I was an and I think that that's obviously a huge problem when were trying to reach you know, a generation of people who you know think that their grade in and in all reality you know they're really not.

That's very good point and you know we let down is a big problem these days right units people and how to come out and let down the dominance earlier for government program is self gratification piece which is a whole another component within this thing growing up you the best you the best with a never had to interact and never had to go out and create solid relationships. As a general rule, sure they got a friend that sort of thing but but the telephones in the hands texting communication skills are all time low coming out of high school and college, you they don't much less not spell much less to the sentence together, probably because it's fragmented and then to ask you have one on one conversation face-to-face, especially if it's not a friendly conversation if you got have a difficult conversation. They don't how to handle them enhance I think there goes back to isolation point of brothers sit behind the computer.

I'd rather sit with my phone. I'd rather be home watching Netflix or whatever it is, by myself versus out in society or in back to original point and not going to church because that's a larger community which they may or may not feel comfortable with and if they want brought up being a part of that and they know will is important that in their life and their future. So I'd like to ask Pastor bound together reducing when we get them sincerely really immediately, but when I asked you wet as a pastor at the crossing.

We want to mention crossing crossing for sure. What do you see a little yes the crossings located in current peak on the way right across the street for Cracker Barrel church come visit come visit us at the Crawford Dam at the cross area here on Sunday morning and you can have dinner or lunch.

It at the crack of the redheaded and we were not paid to say thank you for that play, but when as the pastor over the crossing. What you see as sort of like the five reason will go. If you have more reasons why millennial's just don't want to come or decide not to come. What's what's the reasoning behind that juicy. So yes, that's it. That's a tough question just because I think part of what we just talked about is part of the reason you know I think that it's it's number one. It's not a priority.

Because really, I mean kids didn't necessarily grow up in church.

They didn't grow up in church as much as some of the older generations did and I think one of the news look at you.

By the way, will, and a sense of the over dinner and now is okay Braemar so we were so I do think that that's that's part of it. I think, not can answer the question, but I think one of that one of the difficulties is as as the church and and I'm in all of the church right, pastor. I love the church churches church is looking to make things move forward right as all the stuff is going on could point you know church is going to move things forward 100% but there are things I think that the church needs to improve and I think one of them is to to raise up kids in the gospel writer think one of the things that we've missed is we've we focus so much on on games and you know all of these other things to attract the students instead of just making the gospel attractive to students and to young people and so and we see that with what we had just talked about writing with the whole, your great you know you're awesome you know your your great your great person will right now that's what were saying Tolliver kids.

It's like your great your perfect God loves you so so so much. She's absolutely crazy about you and that's the only thing that they're hearing all their hearing is this idea of God being ferociously in love with them, gracious to them. You know he he loves them and and this and that they don't have to do anything as it relates to chasing God's will that I chase back I get in the Scriptures. Learn more.

Build a relationship that what you yes absolutely yeah it's it's like egg you have to do anything God. God is gonna take care of it. He's introducing to do that. They then move over to the college and they realize they've got professors were questioning things and they have nothing to stand on.

To be able to to continue. You know, believing in God and cells are not grounded they're not grounded. Correct.

So getting back to the question. I don't know if there's necessarily five big things, but I think that that is probably the main thing is that young people haven't understood or have taken root and not set a firm foundation in Christianity and then what happens is once they get out of school once they once out of high school was at a great school and they don't know what to do and then like you said, the 80% you know that number that's what's happening yet and so if it's not modeled by the father and blessed absence of the father that was those are in-home but absent in the raising of their children, but also those are missing. So it's both. It's not just one of the other. It's both would got absenteeism fellowship going on fatherhood in the home there but there lock down like we talked about before manners distracted today with two things, one being pornography. Second is the whole and in the others to gaming men.

I should gaming him in grown men with children to raise her in the hours gaming and I just struggled with that every day but you know at what point when I was a youth pastor year with things that make you go there when I when I was a youth pastor many years ago we used to have sit around and you know we just talk things out and generally I was on Saturday morning and there was a plethora of reasons why millennial's didn't want to come to church and one of them was. The sermon is too long.

Right well well here's another one. The sermon is too short really. This sermon isn't deep enough you don't go into, you know, biblical theology, deep biblical theology or to the it's too deep so seek it sounds like adults.

You always going to have that those differences right you always going to have the plus and the minus and it's gonna get a sandwich in between what's right you know so you eat it meant that in the ones that's in the middle.

That's that small percentage in else but you.

You have the greater percentages either on the far right bar left no political mess intent, yeah, you are not greatly overrated. But it but that's that's 100% right because you have to and I think that's that's part of the sea. I'm, I'm more willing to to put the blame on on like us are more willing to put the blame on the church. It's like like this is an only generation that you know feels entitled work, you know feels. You know special whatever you know that these things have happened before in the past so I always like to ask the question. You know, how can we change it what what is it that we can do to change those things because the question to that group yeah yeah you are asking that question to that group of people that age group, yet were asking okay so like what do you want us to do that right. It's like an end. But the problem is is that there's no there's nothing to really to put our foundation and how would they know what they want if they don't know what it should be there anything you don't know what you don't know so they don't know what's missing that they know they are not coming is not necessary anchored that they don't know what's missing because I don't know they don't make sense for the young people that ask him what is it that you want and they got that although they don't know said how the protective work, how they articulate yeah well you know in its case coming up. We're going to talk about that right back all right TA WC MM would love to have you join their community of men for breakfast every first and third Friday of every month and Bible discussions and fellowship after the best breakfast in town meeting location is in their gracious posterior First Christian Church in Kernersville, 1130 N. Main St. encouraged him a hard start at 7 o'clock on a hard stop at 8 o'clock.

First time visitors eat for free. Join your host will Hardy Roy Jones Junior, a black guy in a white guy affordable chiropractic in High Point. As you might tell from their name, affordable chiropractic, even for the cash. Patient Dr. Jeff Ricky has been caring for patients in High Point for 34 years, physical therapy, such as ultrasound and spinal decompression for disc conditions such as herniation conference of care for auto accident injury patients with no out-of-pocket expense. Remember, affordable chiropractic on the W. Lexington Ave. is new in High Point Hall 336-885-1987 welcomed back to man talk radio wave we sit with past Dom from the crossing and you know we were talking about during the break Roy about millennial's and you know the things that there they're asking for that. They're not getting within the church and there was some things that I listed that they said that they value they value transparency. You know the don't adults say one thing and do another.

And that was some of the things that came out in the in the notes that I took from many years ago. You know I I see you living your life this way and the and I see you living your life this way and there's a contradiction.

So hypocrisy exactly the exact and then they said we want to see leadership that has integrity so you know be be a integral part of my life and demonstrate to me, not just missions and activities that live in everything but living in out so when I see you living it out, then that would drive me to do the same right.

That's a direct correlation to go write the epoxy/lack of integrity. So if you say one thing doing another thing you've lost integrity and they see the hypocrisy in the in the way walking out and I think that's that's that's a huge thing right like that's a that's a massive thing is to be transparent.

I think one of the difficult things for the furred young people and I've experienced this myself is there certain things that we want to hear that are true but we don't necessarily want to hear the whole thing right so there's this level of of transparency where you know we we were just got done talking about, you know, millennial's feel as if they're special, and in all that well then if you want transparency in the transparent thing is not as great as you think your meds and let me tell you, that's a hard truth right that's a really, really hard thing but I think it's a good thing. You know I mean if we look at, you know, if we look at the text we look at Scripture, it's clear that that none of us are perfect right and so that's it. That's a good thing, especially for young people to say, hey, maybe not all cracked up to be. However, I can serve a God who allows me to actually have meaning and have some sort of purpose in my life and I think that's the message that's being missed right.

The message is being missed is hey you're not that great. But guess what God is and so because of that, because God is great. You can then be able to serve him and and that in it of itself is attractive right that the gospel story should be enough to be able to bring people back into church. I think the difficulty is we have to be able to to wrap the gospel in a way that it actually engages that that group of people write us us us young people going back to the transparency piece in high level of integrity. If that's a great point. Dominic will stay the church will stay true to the word and not we can down the word to be socially acceptable think that's another thing folks will see through that write to you very point. How do you have you take a young person's okay it says here, do not commit adultery. References do not kill somebody but yet you support killing somebody and we can go down to the whole list of things we know is not supposed to. As followers of Christ.

But if we sit from the pulpit. We cite where it's okay to be an adult or and I'm an adult treasure pastor held house that house that go back to this transparency and integrity peace. It doesn't because these these folks are smart.

These young people got more more thorough access and your fingertips. Learning was that we stepped into the encyclopedia and date myself a little bit, but the encyclopedia to learn these things in it wouldn't win as comprehensive as World Wide Web is so is imminent exactly and when you when you talk about you know issues we can think of all kinds of reasons why young people, you know, that's not even listed here on why they don't want to come to church in a week and we could have just rows and rows and rows and rosaries as many people as many different reasons because we are dealing with imperfect people, as we all are and so or that that encompasses everybody because I don't know anybody else perfect except for Christ sent him to the chart so that encompasses everybody so because when dealing with imperfect people then imperfect people have a tendency to bring in things that does not specifically are not specific to the gospel but it's more social related, for example. For example, one individual who I talked to years and years ago they said why don't you embrace people who just come off the street, or why don't you embrace people who might have certain tendencies that I may not have. And you know what I'm doing.

What I mean when I say those tendency so it's like you. You shun these people instead of embracing them, why, why do you do that. Why do you preach against certain certain things. Well, it's because the Bible says things wrong. Those things are wrong but this is the thing we have to put that as pastor Dom said we have to wrap that and presented in a way, to where it is acceptable to them because, as you stated earlier, they may not know what they want.

So if you can presented in a way that's acceptable to them and they are ready to embrace, think, and I think that's test spot on like a spot on and I think another thing that that word were dealing with is like were you just said millennial's are smart like the smart people like they really really are and have access to so much information it's and it's incredible. I mean you can have anything on anything and what I find fascinating is right now it seems like it's what that's what the Bible said it. It's almost like that's not even good enough right now it's like you gotta go, you gotta go outside of the text to to prove why Christianity is real and why serving God and being a part of the church is important. It's like this isn't it's almost like this isn't enough anymore and that's what's really scary right like it's scary that this book that used to be all authoritative and used to have all of these mean it was a book that made a lot of decisions is now really not as important. So you gotta come up with other arguments and it seems like the older generation have to be even smarter than millennial because her saying hey you never what about this. What about that, what about you know why wired these things wrong and you know how come. Why do I mean the big one. I think the biggest question that plagues a lot of young people is what about things happen to good people right so we gotta be on top of that to say what hears the reasons why here's you know here here's the reasons why this is the way that it is.

And so it's almost like everybody gotta cut a step their game up to be able to to to outsmart, not outsmart, but again present the gospel in a way that you know that people can understand. That's great point Don like this because that's what we talked about before, so shows back is the discipleship piece. It all comes back to discipleship every and we've gotten so accustomed these days to back to the feel-good piece if you will. I'm saved. We talked about standing on the sidelines saved the salvation of the shirt of my salvation within the just they don't little movement through the gum stagnancy don't grow personally not become a Disciples of Christ, and I think if you become a disciple than what's gonna happen.

Go to disciple others is just just intuitively school happen and you may not set out to do that. But God will use you in this relationship so that you be grounded when the questions come up in the challenges come up. You build answer those much more effectively and you know this is why God said and and first John chapter 2 verses 13 to 14 in part, he said, I write unto you, young man because you are strong and you have overcome the wicked one so you can look at those levels because he talks about children. He talks about fathers and he talks about young man so that's almost like levels of maturity.

Spiritual structures delete so he's dealing with the maturity level and we have people who at all three exactly you know in that millennial group and so the question is, is we are now bringing we bring in all of their ideologies because that's what they're bringing because they're hearing this on the outside right and so now they're bringing in the church and then that becomes the question that question is why is why is this why do you know bad things happen to good people. Why does God allow the World Trade Center to come down, you know, couldn't he have stopped that all of these things, you know they are looking at in these generalized questions that they have.

These are the things that they wanted to they want to know the things that's happening now it is happening now give me an answer to how does the gospel relate to me today that you know why is it was not some old fairytale story that you know nobody really knows his old story, you know, you got resident will be working have gone joins next week does not limbs are just as fast as my settings are programming plan but not met back to your point, I think that's I think that's so true. But I've not an argument I think everybody have those habits, questions, and I think I think one thing that that we can probably do more of. Again, I'm on speaking as a pastor is to say it's okay to doubt it's okay to have questions about Christ okay to have current questions about about Christianity about God, about the Holy Spirit.

Those aren't bad things, I think, again, where we run into the problem is, the church has to be on the front lines answering those questions already right. I wanted one of the big things that when I was in when I was in grade school when I was just going to church I grew up in church, but I started going I was in high school, and I mean might my idea of God was so shallow right like I was.

I remember going to a conference and I was at this conference and I was I was that I was an athlete. Growing up as I played soccer and when I was younger I had a bunch of people much scholarships and you know it seem like you had some offers to go play school.

Well all those offer started to go away and I started thinking to myself what's going on and I got to the point where I was in a say like God is if you don't give me a scholarship on like you to believe you and is like. That's how shallow of my understanding of God was instead realizing he was bold to absolutely types of we could have gone back on the expects which program we want to thank you all for joining us. And as always you know when.

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