There are a lot of new churches being planted in the DFW area. Unfortunately, most of them are in the suburbs. That causes me to ask: What about the city? Many American consider themselves to be "city people." A good portion of those urban dwellers are millennials. It is not just Dallas. I recently read a magazine article about the revitalization of downtown Detroit, Michigan. The new spirit in Motown is being led by millennials who want to live close to where they work.
A recent report from the Urban Land Institute profiles where millennials live. It almost an even split between those who consider themselves "city people" (37%) and "suburbanites" (36%). Among minorities, things are a little more skewed in terms of urban living. 51% of Hispanic millennials and 47% of Black millennials consider themselves to be "city people." From my perspective, the urban environment is a ripe mission field. So, why are we not planting more churches in the city.
I will admit a bias when it comes to urban ministry. Barb and I are part of a worship community that bills itself as "being passionate about the city." Our son, Mark, is the lead pastor at the Crossing Church - Dallas. Mark has an inbred love for the city and the "lost souls" who live there. He spent seven years running New Hope Community Center in east Dallas. When that ministry came to an end he felt called to plant a new church. He looked at suburban communities but ended up planting a new Lutheran Church in the City of Dallas. It is a challenge.
Church planting, even in the suburbs, can be difficult, but an urban ministry that focuses on reaching millennials has some unique challenges. Urban dwellers tend to live in apartments or condominiums. That can make it more difficult to connect them. Many millennials consider themselves spiritual but they are not anxious to connect with a church. For the most part, millennials are also not big financial givers. Many are saddled with college debts that limit their financial resources. To make an urban ministry work you need a core group of individuals who are willing to support the church and open to relating to individuals whose lifestyles and value system might be very different than theirs.
I truly believe it is time for the church to renew its commitment to the city. If Jesus grieved over the City of Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37), I truly believe he is saddened at our response to urban ministry today. Suburbanites need Jesus, but so do urban dwellers.
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
A Lesson in Entitlement
I spent the last five days serving as a marshal at the Colonial Golf Tournament. For those not familiar with the role marshals play; we are there to assist the PGA professionals but also handle crowd control. Golf Professionals are really finicky when it comes to noise when they have a club in their hand. We try to insure the gallery is quiet while they are in the tee box and around the greens. I serve on the team that works the 17th fairway and 18th tee box. There can be a lot tension on Friday afternoon when players are contending to make the cut and again on Sunday when the winner is determined.
Most aspects of my duties are enjoyable. I spot drives in the 17th fairway and control the crowd around the green. We also handle the walkway that the players take between the 17th and 18th hole. The duties in the 18th tee box involve controlling the crowd but also signaling the direction of the drives to the marshals down the fairway. There are some aspects that are less enjoyable; dealing with disgruntled caddies is one. Another is rude and unruly patrons. There are corporate hospitality bleachers on 17. Our task can become challenging late in the day when we are dealing with spectator who have been soaking up free booze all day. Still, overall it is an enjoyable experience, and one I look forward to each year.
There is one incident that I still carry with me from this year, and it did not involve a golfer or even an unruly spectator. I was working the area around the 18th tee on Saturday. My job was to control the gallery while the golfers were in the tee box. The routine repeats itself each time a group reaches the tee. "Hold your position. Quiet please." I announce. People normally respect that and respond accordingly. In this case one man did not. He continued to walk toward me. I judged him to be in his mid-forties. He carried himself with a degree of confidence and authority and he was dressed to match. My best guess is that he was one his way to one of the hospitality suites where he was to serve as a host. Whatever his agenda, he was not going to obey my command. He was on a mission. Golfers and their caddies can sense movement behind them and that is where he was headed. I pointed at the man and motioned firmly for him to halt. He finally did, but he was not happy. He did stay motionless until the golfers had teed off, and then he let me have it. "Don't do that to me again.!" he sneered. "Again," I thought. I sure hope I don't have to deal with you again, I thought.
Entitlement: I would define it as the guaranteed right to certain benefits because of your status. In the case of the middle-aged urban professional I encountered, he felt his status allowed him to be above the rules. Like the guest at the banquet (Luke 14:8), he felt he deserved a special place at the banquet because of who he was.
Two of the traits that many millennials disdain in Christians is a perceived arrogance and hypocrisy. To them we can appear to have a sense of entitlement. That is not a good thing when we have a Savior who preaches and models humility. I am not sure of the faith status of the arrogant man on the 18th tee, but I know what God expects of me, and I would hope it applies to you as well.
Most aspects of my duties are enjoyable. I spot drives in the 17th fairway and control the crowd around the green. We also handle the walkway that the players take between the 17th and 18th hole. The duties in the 18th tee box involve controlling the crowd but also signaling the direction of the drives to the marshals down the fairway. There are some aspects that are less enjoyable; dealing with disgruntled caddies is one. Another is rude and unruly patrons. There are corporate hospitality bleachers on 17. Our task can become challenging late in the day when we are dealing with spectator who have been soaking up free booze all day. Still, overall it is an enjoyable experience, and one I look forward to each year.
There is one incident that I still carry with me from this year, and it did not involve a golfer or even an unruly spectator. I was working the area around the 18th tee on Saturday. My job was to control the gallery while the golfers were in the tee box. The routine repeats itself each time a group reaches the tee. "Hold your position. Quiet please." I announce. People normally respect that and respond accordingly. In this case one man did not. He continued to walk toward me. I judged him to be in his mid-forties. He carried himself with a degree of confidence and authority and he was dressed to match. My best guess is that he was one his way to one of the hospitality suites where he was to serve as a host. Whatever his agenda, he was not going to obey my command. He was on a mission. Golfers and their caddies can sense movement behind them and that is where he was headed. I pointed at the man and motioned firmly for him to halt. He finally did, but he was not happy. He did stay motionless until the golfers had teed off, and then he let me have it. "Don't do that to me again.!" he sneered. "Again," I thought. I sure hope I don't have to deal with you again, I thought.
Entitlement: I would define it as the guaranteed right to certain benefits because of your status. In the case of the middle-aged urban professional I encountered, he felt his status allowed him to be above the rules. Like the guest at the banquet (Luke 14:8), he felt he deserved a special place at the banquet because of who he was.
Two of the traits that many millennials disdain in Christians is a perceived arrogance and hypocrisy. To them we can appear to have a sense of entitlement. That is not a good thing when we have a Savior who preaches and models humility. I am not sure of the faith status of the arrogant man on the 18th tee, but I know what God expects of me, and I would hope it applies to you as well.
Monday, May 18, 2015
Millennials and a Global Vision
I made an early morning trip to DFW Airport today. Our daughter, Katie Seale, and husband John left before 7:00 AM to begin a seventeen day odyssey. They are flying to Kosovo to visit John's sister Connie who is a missionary-teacher. There adventure will not end there;they will then head to Kenya. John has a connection with that African nation having been part of Ndoto, a ministry to the children there. Katie and John continue to sponsor one of those children. John, by the way, serves as director of operations of LINC-North Texas, a non-profit that, among other things, mentors academically at risk students in area public schools.
Later this week our daughter-in-law, Kristen Seals, will leave for three months in Zambia. Kristen works for Family Legacy, a non-profit that is committed to the orphans of Zambia. Family Legacy operates a Christian academy but also conducts a summer camp. Our son, Mark, will join Kristen for ten days in July. This will be Mark's second trip and he has a faith connection with the ten boys he has arranged sponsorship for. Mark spent seven years operating New Hope, a community center in east Dallas. In his current role, as lead pastor at The Crossing Church-Dallas, Mark continues to have a contagious passion for the lost in the city.
Mark, Kristen, Katie and John are all millennials. Unlike many of their peers they are spiritually connected. One characteristic they do share with others their age is a desire to make a difference. It is no coincidence that millennials lead the way when it comes to being entrepreneurs. Many of those ventures involve non-profits that seek to make a difference. We can write them off as being idealistic, but there is no denying that they are much less materially focused than baby boomers and members of generation X. Many of them prefer to live in urban environments, rather than the suburbs. Some would rather take public transportation and use Uber than own a car.
Millennials have grown up in a very different world. They have never experience life without a commuter, and probably have no idea what a set of encyclopedias look like. The world is a mouse-click away, and they can relate to friends around the world via skype. Katie made arrangements beso that she can text us from wherever she is on this trip. Travel is easy and even affordable. There is almost no part of the world that cannot be reached out of DFW Airport. Unlike many members of my generation who love to travel for leisure, or to see historic sights, millennials want to travel to make a difference. Maybe, just maybe, we could learn something from them.
Later this week our daughter-in-law, Kristen Seals, will leave for three months in Zambia. Kristen works for Family Legacy, a non-profit that is committed to the orphans of Zambia. Family Legacy operates a Christian academy but also conducts a summer camp. Our son, Mark, will join Kristen for ten days in July. This will be Mark's second trip and he has a faith connection with the ten boys he has arranged sponsorship for. Mark spent seven years operating New Hope, a community center in east Dallas. In his current role, as lead pastor at The Crossing Church-Dallas, Mark continues to have a contagious passion for the lost in the city.
Mark, Kristen, Katie and John are all millennials. Unlike many of their peers they are spiritually connected. One characteristic they do share with others their age is a desire to make a difference. It is no coincidence that millennials lead the way when it comes to being entrepreneurs. Many of those ventures involve non-profits that seek to make a difference. We can write them off as being idealistic, but there is no denying that they are much less materially focused than baby boomers and members of generation X. Many of them prefer to live in urban environments, rather than the suburbs. Some would rather take public transportation and use Uber than own a car.
Millennials have grown up in a very different world. They have never experience life without a commuter, and probably have no idea what a set of encyclopedias look like. The world is a mouse-click away, and they can relate to friends around the world via skype. Katie made arrangements beso that she can text us from wherever she is on this trip. Travel is easy and even affordable. There is almost no part of the world that cannot be reached out of DFW Airport. Unlike many members of my generation who love to travel for leisure, or to see historic sights, millennials want to travel to make a difference. Maybe, just maybe, we could learn something from them.
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
The State of Christianity in America
The state of the church in America was front page news today. Pew Research released their most recent study on our nation's religious landscape. The data compared church affiliation in 2007 with 2014. It was a very comprehensive study; 35,000 American were polled. Christianity is still the predominant faith, with 70.6% of those polled claiming they were Christian, but that is a almost an 8% drop since 2007. Protestant denominations had the greatest drop, almost 5%. That translates to about 5 million adults walking away from the church over the last seven years. We might want to credit some of the decline to people leaving for other non-Christian faiths, but that is not the case. The percent of people claiming Hinduism and Buddhism as their faith remained consistent. There was a .5% increase in the percentage of Muslims, but they still make up less than 1% of the population. Where was the increase? The percentage of people claiming to be Atheist doubled to 3.1%. Agnosticism also grew from 2.4% to 4%. The biggest increase was among the people claiming no faith in particular, 15.8% compared with 12.1% in 2007. Pew Research labeled these individuals as "nones." When you consider the way millennials are leaving the church, and the reality that the number of elders and baby boomers will continue to decline, there is no reason to think the trend will reverse.
It is easy to grieve over these statistics, but then the reality that Christianity is losing ground is nothing new. If you take a count of the number of young people, roughly ages 18-34, in church on an average Sunday, the truth sets in. But I, for one, believe the trend can be reversed. It does mean changing our focus. For too long many churches have been inwardly focused. In the mind of many millennials, mainline churches are viewed more as social clubs. Members enjoy the fellowship aspect of membership. In my opinion, the solution requires a change in focus. Dissolve the senior adult ministry and encourage the older adults to seek relationship with young people. Turn the woman's mission society into an outreach ministry to millennials. Initiate a mentoring program, linking older adults with teens and college students. We cannot do it alone, but through the power of the Holy Spirit hearts can be changed and the trend reversed.
It is easy to grieve over these statistics, but then the reality that Christianity is losing ground is nothing new. If you take a count of the number of young people, roughly ages 18-34, in church on an average Sunday, the truth sets in. But I, for one, believe the trend can be reversed. It does mean changing our focus. For too long many churches have been inwardly focused. In the mind of many millennials, mainline churches are viewed more as social clubs. Members enjoy the fellowship aspect of membership. In my opinion, the solution requires a change in focus. Dissolve the senior adult ministry and encourage the older adults to seek relationship with young people. Turn the woman's mission society into an outreach ministry to millennials. Initiate a mentoring program, linking older adults with teens and college students. We cannot do it alone, but through the power of the Holy Spirit hearts can be changed and the trend reversed.
Monday, May 4, 2015
Processing the Baltimore Riots
Earlier this year it was Ferguson, Missouri but this past week the nations eye's were focused on Baltimore. Once again it was triggered by an alleged incident of police brutality that led to the death of a black man. Much has been made about the reason behind the violence and destruction brought about by the unruly mob. In the midst of that one human interest story drew our attention. Toya Graham, a mom who observed her son among the rioters, went to the streets to retrieve her son. The tape of her dragging him home by the collar caused many to ask; where were the other parents? If moms and dads held their kids accountable we would not have this problem, they reason. Others have blamed it on pure "lawlessness" and kids just using Freddie Gray's death as an excuse.
I would like to purpose another theory. The urban environment has taken its toll on individuals to the point were they see no hope and no future for themselves. The "pull yourself up by the boot straps" message does not work for those on the edge of despair. The problem is that nobody seems to listen to their cry for help, or even show they care. Unfortunately the church, who should be Jesus in the City, is usually no where to be found. In the case of Baltimore, like many other urban cities, the churches fled to the suburbs long ago. My home town of Detroit might be the ultimate example. I recently took a window tour of Motown with my brother. We drove by dozens of abandoned churches and cathedrals. When the churches abandoned the city they left behind hopelessness and despair. Those who live in the midst of urban poverty as left to ask, "Does no one care?"
I learned an important lesson during my years working with teenagers. If there was anger or frustration it could usually be resolved if someone listened. Once the individuals or group knew their concerns were heard, the level of angst diminished. It was the first step toward resolving the issue. In the case of urban unrest, the church should be taking the lead in showing compassion for those living in despair. In many cases the church, and the presence of Christ, is missing. It starts by just listening to their voices.
I would like to purpose another theory. The urban environment has taken its toll on individuals to the point were they see no hope and no future for themselves. The "pull yourself up by the boot straps" message does not work for those on the edge of despair. The problem is that nobody seems to listen to their cry for help, or even show they care. Unfortunately the church, who should be Jesus in the City, is usually no where to be found. In the case of Baltimore, like many other urban cities, the churches fled to the suburbs long ago. My home town of Detroit might be the ultimate example. I recently took a window tour of Motown with my brother. We drove by dozens of abandoned churches and cathedrals. When the churches abandoned the city they left behind hopelessness and despair. Those who live in the midst of urban poverty as left to ask, "Does no one care?"
I learned an important lesson during my years working with teenagers. If there was anger or frustration it could usually be resolved if someone listened. Once the individuals or group knew their concerns were heard, the level of angst diminished. It was the first step toward resolving the issue. In the case of urban unrest, the church should be taking the lead in showing compassion for those living in despair. In many cases the church, and the presence of Christ, is missing. It starts by just listening to their voices.
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