Non-Denominational? Yeah, right!

[barnhart]

How are you measuring what the congregation is getting from the messages?
Do you have any opinions on why the congregations is getting better fed from poorly thought preaching by a young man that from preaching by a more spiritually seasoned, more mature older man?

I think part of preaching is testimonial and people respond to that aspect just as much as to the theological content.

Do the young men have a more vibrant testimony than the old men?

Sometimes. Youth has its advantages.

[barnhart]

Do you do anything to mentor them over time?

Yes.

Such as?

About a month out the person from the leadership team who is helping meets with them starts talking about the passage. Each week the questions progress, what is the main idea in this passage? What supporting details do you see? Can you think of stories or other illustrations? And so on...

[ken_sylvania]

I think part of preaching is testimonial and people respond to that aspect just as much as to the theological content.

Do the young men have a more vibrant testimony than the old men?

Sometimes. Youth has its advantages.

I think it unfortunate if spiritual life consistently deteriorates as young men move toward middle age or old age.

[Anthony]

Do the young men have a more vibrant testimony than the old men?

Sometimes. Youth has its advantages.

I think it unfortunate if spiritual life consistently deteriorates as young men move toward middle age or old age.

I thought about this for a bit, my experience with Eastern Orthodoxy is the opposite, where mature men who have lived a Christian life for decades are looked to as examples to follow and the youth are seen as spiritual babes In christ.
Seems like liberal groups that emphasize testimony and passion would valorize youth over old age.

In my CA church, the older men speak in Sunday school and devotionals alot more than the youth. Maybe there's something here with how different denominations view age.

As I've been a Christian for a few years, I have felt my zeal transform into a more subdued maturity, but I'd interpret that as advancing in the spiritual life, not a loss.

[ohio jones]

[JohnL]

I thought about this for a bit, my experience with Eastern Orthodoxy is the opposite, where mature men who have lived a Christian life for decades are looked to as examples to follow and the youth are seen as spiritual babes In christ.
Seems like liberal groups that emphasize testimony and passion would valorize youth over old age.

In my CA church, the older men speak in Sunday school and devotionals alot more than the youth. Maybe there's something here with how different denominations view age.

As I've been a Christian for a few years, I have felt my zeal transform into a more subdued maturity, but I'd interpret that as advancing in the spiritual life, not a loss.

Wow Eastern Orthodoxy. I didn’t know they had churches here in the USA. I like your point about valuing old and young. In the days before tv took over life in our holler we were taught to respect our elders and if we didn’t we got a trip outside to the woodpile. Nowadays there’s a lot more tendency to sass in the younger. I also see some churches copying Sunday programs on tv now. Ours doesn’t but the bigger ones do. Technology doesn’t always teach important lessons. Most of it is just a plain distraction. People need that real time interaction too.

[JohnH]

Wow Eastern Orthodoxy. I didn’t know they had churches here in the USA. I like your point about valuing old and young. In the days before tv took over life in our holler

Were those before or after you watched A Space Odyssey: 2001?

we were taught to respect our elders and if we didn’t we got a trip outside to the woodpile. Nowadays there’s a lot more tendency to sass in the younger. I also see some churches copying Sunday programs on tv now. Ours doesn’t but the bigger ones do. Technology doesn’t always teach important lessons. Most of it is just a plain distraction. People need that real time interaction too.

My grandma spent her entire life in various hollers, and like everyone else there she watched a great deal of TV, particularly televangelists who came in vogue in the 70s. Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye was a favourite. Later on, Kenneth Copeland.

As a child my exposure to tv was primarily during family trips to the “holler”, complete with the poor reception other than the one close section, the antenna rotator, the additional black and white tube set in the kitchen, etc.

[Thomas_muntzer]

To make matters more interesting some church names like "Journey Church" are actually Assembly of God. It is just rebranding.

I’m thinking that’s right. I thought the video was really interesting and he made some good points.

I noticed that not many churches call themselves Holiness Pentecostals or even just Pentecostals anymore. They change their names or put the Pentecostal in small print. It’s still the same group of people just calling themselves a different name. I guess they’re trying to distance themselves from those PBS programs that showed people flopping on floors and handling snakes.
Every now and then I come across younger folks who don’t want guitars and drums in church anymore. They want preaching from the Bible but they don’t want the fire and brimstone shouting preachers. They want sermons seasoned with reason as I’ve heard them say.

Many young people want a much more solemn service, and that's why traditional Catholicism (Latin Mass) and the Orthodox Church have experienced enormous growth in the last decade, although in total numbers they continue to lose members, but not to other denominations in my opinion, but unfortunately towards atheism and secularism.

[JohnH]

Many young people want a much more solemn service, and that's why traditional Catholicism (Latin Mass) and the Orthodox Church have experienced enormous growth in the last decade, although in total numbers they continue to lose members, but not to other denominations in my opinion, but unfortunately towards atheism and secularism.

It's safe to say that young people don't want this:

[Valerie]

Many young people want a much more solemn service, and that's why traditional Catholicism (Latin Mass) and the Orthodox Church have experienced enormous growth in the last decade, although in total numbers they continue to lose members, but not to other denominations in my opinion, but unfortunately towards atheism and secularism.

It's safe to say that young people don't want this:

Do you know what church this is?