If you hadn’t already heard, millennials are leaving the church in droves leaving many church leaders scratching their heads as to what to do about it. Rachel Held Evans came out with a piece on CNN.com stepping into the gap to explain why they are leaving Apparently it struck a nerve; it was shared over 170,000 times. Speaking as the voice of a generation, she raised issues like our exhaustion with the culture wars, poor handling of teaching on sexuality, gay marriage, science and religion, and putative weakness on social justice. Instead, millennials want, and need, a deeper encounter with Jesus.
Of course, as the college and young adult guy at my church, as well as a millennial myself (freshly 27), I read her piece and the follow-up with great interest. I saw a number of those 170,000 shares in my Facebook feed, with loud cries of “Amen!” and some disgruntled nay-saying. I probably uttered both as I read it. While there were a number of insightful, reassuringly critical, and helpful interactions with her piece, addressed to the churches and readers in general, I wanted to briefly address myself more directly to my fellow millennials here.
You can read the rest of my piece at Christ and Pop Culture.
Reformedish 
Really enjoyed this bro. Anything that is about building up and supporting the church i am all in for. Your advice to Millenials is great and i think needs to be heard widely. It reminds me of something Lewis said once about actually following Christ’s command to pray for your enemies. He too found that in actually praying for someone you hate (and not just that God would drop a piano on them) it transformed the way he both looked at them and interacted with them. Same principle here i think. Instead of throwing up your hands and saying, “to hell with it!”, praying for that thing which frustrates you (in this case the church) and involving yourself in serving her, i know will have big wins on both sides of the equation.
Lewis always comes through.
James K A Smith – who apparently has the uncanny ability to read my mind, find the ideas I wish I had, and write them out with more sophistication than I could ever muster – answered this sort of thing back in May.
http://forsclavigera.blogspot.ca/2012/05/generational-blackmail.html
Very short, very apt, and well worth a gander.
I remember that post. Loved it.
I’ve often wondered why there are so few in our generation that actually have faith and a relationship with God. I think that pop culture dictates that faith and religion aren’t “cool” so most younger people shy away from the church. It’s interesting that as we get older and more of life’s hurdles and problems present themselves, that more and more people seem to find their way back to God, realizing that they really do need His help and influence in their lives.