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| Earl Gillespie |
John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
God is a spirit. This is one of the reason men should worship God in spirit and in truth. By this it is meant that God is without a body; that he is not material or composed of parts; that he is invisible, in every place, pure and holy. This is one of the first truths of religion, and one of the sublimest ever presented to the mind of man. Almost all nations have had some idea of God as gross or material, but the Bible declares that God is a pure spirit. As he is such a spirit, he dwells not in temples made with hands (Act 7:48), neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things, Matthew 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. Act 17:25. A pure, a holy, a spiritual worship, therefore, is such as he seeks--the offering of the soul rather than the formal offering of the body--the homage of the heart rather than that of the lips.
The seriousness of religion and true worship has been offset by what many members of generation x refer to as play acting. Spiritual emotions have been merged with natural emotions. If we can accept that God is a spirit, we also must accept that man is composed of two natures. There is the natural man and there is the spiritual man. There are two types of emotions, there is the natural emotions and there are the spiritual emotions. It has been said, what God does in the spiritual, the devil mimics in the natural. The devil seeks to control the natural man through his natural emotions and the natural environment, but God deals with man on a spiritual level, he looks at the heart. 1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. The line that separated the natural from the spiritual has been blurred and worship services have taken on all of the elements of natural expressions and natural emotions are are being redefined as the Spirit of God.
There is this picture of a suitcase full of money making its way around the social media. The caption says, "believe and click "like, God will give me the money." Sadly, many people buy into this concept of God. Based upon the successes of giant pyramid schemes and multi-level-marketing scheme is proof that a promise of money sets the stage for indoctrination and manipulation, whether in or out of the church.
Despite having one foot in Generation X, I tend to identify most strongly with the attitudes and the ethos of the millennial generation, and because of this, I am not impressed with the play acting that is taking place in the religious arena. The natural emotions that are displayed and expressed in the entertainment arena such as the nightclubs, the football games and those things that we react to through the five senses are finding their way into the sanctuary. These new ideas are accepted as a new form of worship designed to draw the millennial generation, that lost generation back into the church. The pious elites are praying, but our young people are not rushing to church.
What is the driving force of getting up in the morning and going to work? The driving force behind Christian worship is getting a blessing. Wants and excess have become tools of indoctrination within the Church of God. The emphasis is, God is going to dump wads of money in your lap. This is to sustain a natural belief that a blessing is coming our way. This creates a natural high that will sustain most believers for a whole week, then we rush back to church on Sunday praying for that same blessing. God is a spirit, maybe we should be praying for the fruit of the Spirit. Throughout the week we are praying for money, jobs, cars better working conditions and other natural wants. If we believe in God, what do these things have to do with the Kingdom of God? The indoctrination and the programming of the believers once was effective because we were told, "You can have this, all you got to do is...", and blindly we followed in search of the Gold, then the indoctrination failed and the millennial generation began to walk away from God. Generation X has become guilty of making a play toy out of the God of our Salvation.
There is this picture of a suitcase full of money making its way around the social media. The caption says, "believe and click "like, God will give me the money." Sadly, many people buy into this concept of God. Based upon the successes of giant pyramid schemes and multi-level-marketing scheme is proof that a promise of money sets the stage for indoctrination and manipulation, whether in or out of the church.
Despite having one foot in Generation X, I tend to identify most strongly with the attitudes and the ethos of the millennial generation, and because of this, I am not impressed with the play acting that is taking place in the religious arena. The natural emotions that are displayed and expressed in the entertainment arena such as the nightclubs, the football games and those things that we react to through the five senses are finding their way into the sanctuary. These new ideas are accepted as a new form of worship designed to draw the millennial generation, that lost generation back into the church. The pious elites are praying, but our young people are not rushing to church.
What is the driving force of getting up in the morning and going to work? The driving force behind Christian worship is getting a blessing. Wants and excess have become tools of indoctrination within the Church of God. The emphasis is, God is going to dump wads of money in your lap. This is to sustain a natural belief that a blessing is coming our way. This creates a natural high that will sustain most believers for a whole week, then we rush back to church on Sunday praying for that same blessing. God is a spirit, maybe we should be praying for the fruit of the Spirit. Throughout the week we are praying for money, jobs, cars better working conditions and other natural wants. If we believe in God, what do these things have to do with the Kingdom of God? The indoctrination and the programming of the believers once was effective because we were told, "You can have this, all you got to do is...", and blindly we followed in search of the Gold, then the indoctrination failed and the millennial generation began to walk away from God. Generation X has become guilty of making a play toy out of the God of our Salvation.
The spiritual aspect of Christianity has taken a back seat and the natural desires of humanity are amplified. There is a question that I struggle with from day to day. "Why is God changing." The one thing in life that was supposed to stay the same is changing and many remain in a state of denial as sacred services take on a whole new flair and flavor. The performers and the participants are impressed but there are those lost sheep who are standing outside, they are not impressed.
According to a recent survey, conducted by the Barna group on behalf of the American Bible Society, young adults, between the ages of 18 to 29, (Millennials) are becoming more disrespectful and hostile towards Biblical teachings than ever before.
Is the millennial generation losing its religion? This is a question that is often asked by the media as the attendance drop and the number of church closings skyrocket. The so-called effective pastor now must explore new methods of attracting this new generation who is attracted to the new morality.
The survey showed that while 79% of all adults believe the Bible should be regarded as being sacred, only 64% of Millennials felt the same way and although only 13% of all adults believe that there is no sacred book, more than 19% of Millennials, believe this to be true.
According to a recent survey, conducted by the Barna group on behalf of the American Bible Society, young adults, between the ages of 18 to 29, (Millennials) are becoming more disrespectful and hostile towards Biblical teachings than ever before.
Is the millennial generation losing its religion? This is a question that is often asked by the media as the attendance drop and the number of church closings skyrocket. The so-called effective pastor now must explore new methods of attracting this new generation who is attracted to the new morality.
The survey showed that while 79% of all adults believe the Bible should be regarded as being sacred, only 64% of Millennials felt the same way and although only 13% of all adults believe that there is no sacred book, more than 19% of Millennials, believe this to be true.
Time and again, the assumption among Christian leaders, and evangelical leaders in particular, is that the key to drawing Millennials back to church is to make a few style updates, crossover music with a big beat, more casual services, come as you are, a pastor who wears skinny jeans. But here’s the big thing: Having been advertised to our whole lives, we as members of the Generation X and Millennials group have highly sensitive "BS" meters, and we’re not easily impressed with consumerism or performances.
I would agree and argue that church performances is just one more thing driving many away from the church, and evangelicalism in particular. Many of us, myself included, are finding ourselves increasingly drawn to high church traditions – Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, the Episcopal Church, etc. –Precisely because the ancient forms of worship seem so unpretentious, so unconcerned with being “cool,” and from a spiritual aspect, we find that refreshingly authentic. I mean God is a Spirit.
What Millennials really want from the church is not a change in style, but a change in substance
The indoctrination has failed, our young people are not running to the church, they are leaving in droves
I would agree and argue that church performances is just one more thing driving many away from the church, and evangelicalism in particular. Many of us, myself included, are finding ourselves increasingly drawn to high church traditions – Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, the Episcopal Church, etc. –Precisely because the ancient forms of worship seem so unpretentious, so unconcerned with being “cool,” and from a spiritual aspect, we find that refreshingly authentic. I mean God is a Spirit.
What Millennials really want from the church is not a change in style, but a change in substance
The indoctrination has failed, our young people are not running to the church, they are leaving in droves
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