In 2012, Thomas E. Bergler made a splash with his book (and much-discussed CT cover story) The Juvenilization of American Christianity, arguing that well-intentioned efforts to reach young people had contributed to a crisis of spiritual immaturity. Now, in From Here to Maturity: Overcoming the Juvenilization of American Christianity (Eerdmans), he defends his critique of youth ministry and proposes a new way forward. Leadership Journal managing editor Drew Dyck spoke with Bergler, professor of ministry and missions at Huntington University, about guiding the entire church—from the youngest to the oldest members—into the fullness of Christ.
It’s true that youth ministries are often light on substance. But don’t they do a great job of reaching kids?
Many people drawn to youth ministry have a passion for youth evangelism, which is wonderful. But I would like to see an equal passion and creativity for discipleship.
Just talking about evangelism and valuing it has resulted in effective outreach. The same is true with discipleship. The more we talk about it, think about it, and raise it up as good, the more we start doing it.
For years church leaders have scrutinized everything related to outreach, asking, “Is this contributing to or hindering evangelism? How will a newcomer perceive this?” We also need to ask, “If they keep coming back, what’s going to happen? How will they be transformed?”
You write that many Christians don’t desire spiritual maturity. How can we attain what we don’t even want?
We tend to think that maturity means perfection. But the New Testament clearly teaches that spiritual maturity is different from heavenly perfection. Spiritual maturity is presented (in passages like Heb. 5, Eph. 4, and 1 Cor. 3) as foundational in the Christian life. But our popular theology says things like, “We’re all just sinners saved by grace.” True enough, but that can start to sound like what Dallas Willard called “miserable sinner Christianity”: that no progress can be expected in this life.
Or consider the slogan, “The only difference between Christians and non-Christians is that Christians are forgiven.” Well, that’s simply not biblical. What is the new birth if not something new? We are always tempted to think we can earn salvation, or that God can’t forgive me again. So we need to emphasize salvation by grace, but not at the expense of pursuing maturity. That’s why I love Philippians 3. Paul says we must cling to the free gift of salvation, but goes on to claim that this gift frees and motivates him to run hard after Christ.
How can we foster maturity specifically among young people?
Intergenerational relationships are crucial, as is involving young people in the life of the church. I’d also ask which church programs or activities are truly making disciples. A youth ministry I’ve sent many interns to undertook this kind of evaluation recently. The leaders realized one of the trips that was extremely popular was not helping their young people grow in faith. So they canceled it. That didn’t mean getting rid of everything fun, but this particular trip was not furthering their goals.
We also have to pay attention to the years after high school. More parents and high-school students should strongly consider a Christian college. Today’s culture is almost perfectly designed to disengage emerging adults from church and to put their faith on hold. We should absolutely support ministries at state universities (I worked for one of them). But some students, especially those whose faith is a little shakier, need a Christian college environment.
How can we foster maturity across all age groups?
We need to look at our environments. Sunday morning worship is one. Would someone who went to your church every Sunday learn about spiritual maturity? Why it’s an important part of the Christian life? What about small groups, mission trips, service projects, and even committees?
There’s a growing body of evidence suggesting that adults mature through having intergenerational interactions within a church. Parents and youth leaders are well aware that young people need adults. But it’s equally true that adults need younger people. We need them to draw forth from us the gifts and energies that help us grow as members of the church.
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