Jump directly to the Content

Going Native

Settling for my way tempts pomos, boomers, in fact, every age group. And it's deadly.

A few years ago, in a Los Angeles nightclub, we began a worship celebration designed to reach the west side of our city and the entertainment industry. That ministry grew, incorporating changes along the way to continue reaching new people.

But soon some of the original attenders began to complain that things were getting too "youthy."

"I can't handle it anymore," said one young woman. "All of this new technology is getting in the way of my worship." She was 26.

Someone once asked me, "Why do so many Baby Boomers, who were such advocates of change in the church 20 years ago, resist the changes needed to reach postmoderns?" But as the young lady from the celebration club demonstrated, even postmoderns exhibit resistance to change. Often they'll change the church to fit people "just like me," but no further.

How can we turn a church from being self-absorbed to being relevant to others?

Natives or Conquistadors?

Both modern and postmodern churches are inhabited by "natives." Natives are people ...

April
Support Our Work

Subscribe to CT for less than $4.25/month

Homepage Subscription Panel

Read These Next

Related
Preemptive Peace Strikes
Preemptive Peace Strikes
How to stop unhealthy conflict from sneaking into your ministry.
From the Magazine
What Kind of Man Is This?
What Kind of Man Is This?
We’ve got little information on Jesus’ appearance and personality. But that’s the way God designed it.
Editor's Pick
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
Understanding God and our world needs more than bare reason and experience.
close