Throwing Inkwells
Segregated in a Whole New Way
Ageist worship also deprives older parishioners of the opportunity to improve their patience when dealing with rambunctious young families. The older folks at my congregation fret when the toddlers stand on the kneelers at our Communion rail or make too much noise. Including all age groups in congregational life teaches everyone to live together in love and forbearance.
The desire to reach young adults—or any other targeted demographic group—is noble, but we pander to them when we segregate worship. We should avoid such overreactions and trust the gospel as the creator and preserver of faith for all people of all ages.
The fact is that aging, dying, and death itself are realities of life. Jesus Christ has conquered death and the grave for us. This is what we hear at funerals at my church, and this Good News is, as my friend said, cool indeed.
Copyright © 2010 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Related Elsewhere:
Previous columns by Mollie Ziegler Hemingway include:
Sin: The Rest of the Story | What the snark-infested news media just don't seem to understand. (October 26, 2009)
White Flag in the Mommy Wars | The theology that many parents are missing. (September 28, 2009)
'Honor Thy Father' for Grownups | Or, how not to be a deadbeat son or daughter. (July 1, 2009)
Throwing Inkwells
Mollie Ziegler Hemingway
Mollie Ziegler Hemingway is a contributor to GetReligion.org, an editor at Ricochet.com, and a frequent writer for Christianity Today and a number of other outlets. A committed Lutheran, her column ran from 2009 to 2011.
- In Praise of Confidence
- Flunking Pew's Pop Quiz
- The Parent of All Virtues
- Faith Unbound
- Same Sex, Different Marriage
La complejidad hispana: Todo cambió en el 2012
The Latest in Movie News, May 20, 2013
(on articles open to the public, you must at least register for a free account).
RSS
Twitter
Facebook
Newsletters
Google
Comments
Displaying 1–3 of 33 comments
See all comments
Johann
I can see that this article hit a nerve with the type of people who "worship" in movie theatres, storefronts and other places that they arrogantly call "real" church. I've noticed this trend when I visit a Pentecostal church with a friend. You have a pair of married "pastors" in their 40s leading a congregation that is 99% younger than them and mostly in their 20s and teens. These young people hang on the pastors' every word and obey their every whim. The image that always comes to mind is "Pied Piper". There's something seriously wrong with a church, or any institution of society, that is devoid of old people.
David
This view is overly simplistic. We have a generation that learns and listens quite differently than my generation. Though the author is right, we must not pander, the church must learn news ways of communicating the gospel and of demonstrating God's love to all of its members. To fail to do so says that God's call is not dynamic, applicable to all generations. Lastly, the church IS segregated by race, because those of us who are white are largely intolerant of differences. Blacks seem to have no problem worshiping in predominantly white settings. Almost never do you see whites who are willing to sit under black leadership. Could the same be said of ageism where the majority (those who are older) just refuse to accept that which is different?
Vicki Park
Our church has acheived a fairly good balance. We have what we call a blended service. We sing contemporary worship songs and the good old traditional songs. We have a "traditional" service once a month we where follow the traditional service order, rather than the newer service order and yet we still sing one or two contemporary songs. It has been a joy watching the babies grow in the church, and yes they can be distracting when they are dancing in the aisle; but isn't that what worship is about - Joy and I reckon their joy probably pleases God far more that our standing still and not even swaying to the music. The older generation enjoy interacting with the younger ones too. So if your church is not blending for all who attend - why not start to change the culture. Young ones join the teams - we have 20yr old on our Ministry Team and a good mix of ages on the Worship Team. Don't just complain - do somthing about it. It will take time; but it can be acheived. God bless