Authenticity
Even before Covid, reported statistics relating to young people attending church showed a rapid downward trajectory. After Covid, the reality of this ‘missing generation’ seems to be even more keenly felt.
This month, Mel Lacey, director of Growing Young Disciples, presents a sobering account of the situation. She is clear that “we need to radically review our practice” when it comes to ministry for our young people, bluntly saying: “…the modern ministry methodology…has proven insufficient to either retain or disciple young people.” She claims that many of the programmes or strategies adopted by churches only produce young adults who have been “veneered in biblical Christianity”, without the depth of a real and lasting personal faith.
It is therefore very significant that the recent occurrence at Asbury University in Kentucky, a movement and outpouring of the Holy Spirit, happened with young people. David Legge, an itinerant Bible teacher from Portadown, was in Asbury and experienced the movement first-hand. He offers his thoughts on what he witnessed and makes some fascinating points, specifically in relation to the young people there. He says, “They were looking for raw, authentic Christianity without the frills and the fuss. That generation is crying out for authenticity.”
David noticed that these students, representing a generation that has grown up surrounded by all manner of screens, was worshipping God and singing, without even a screen for words. He says, “It was primitive – getting back to what really matters”.
It is interesting that Asbury occurred at a time when the world of technology has recently taken another step forward. ChatGPT has created the latest buzz of excitement within the area of artificial intelligence (AI). Stephen Williams and Colin Burcombe discuss the pros and cons of this latest advancement, which can easily write sermons for ministers, essays for students and even articles for the Herald! (It produced the cover for this edition.) While the pros seem obvious, Stephen and Colin express caution for how “AI can erode our capacity to remember facts and think critically.”
The events at Asbury give us all pause for thought as we think about how we live our lives and even how we conduct our church services. We tend to fill our days with constant distraction, often linked to technology or screens, and we tend to fill our services with a well-constructed order of service. David Legge says, “The truth is we don’t really know how to linger. We don’t know how to wait on God.” Perhaps if we allowed ourselves to embrace space, we would experience God in a fresh and authentic way and our lives would be transformed.
The Presbyterian Herald is the official magazine of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. It provides a forum for debate and discussion on a wide range of topics and aims to challenge and encourage Presbyterians, as well as inform them about what the wider Church is involved in. It has a readership in excess of 25,000 and is distributed throughout Ireland.
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