The First Church of Boomers and Millennials

I had lunch yesterday with a pastor, an attorney who is an influential church leader, and a Christian college professor with a PhD from Oxford. They all love Jesus, but none of them are having a satisfactory church experience. The professor is on disability, the church leader can no longer stomach his church, and the pastor is tired of Christians and can’t wait to retire in three months. None of them are very hopeful about where the church in America is going. What’s wrong with this picture? You could say I just had an unfortunate group of people who are all having individual struggles for some reason, but Barna’s research would say I had lunch with a typical cross-section of Christians in America. All of them agree on one thing: The boomers have it; the millennials are looking for it; and most everybody in between doesn’t know what it is.

I couldn’t help but wonder what is going to happen here. The millennials don’t go to church, the boomers are becoming disillusioned with church, most of those in-between are too busy with their lives to care. I can’t help but think that if we could somehow get the boomers and the millennials together, we would have something. They are the ones who care the most. But how do you start the First Church of Boomers and Millennials?

I walked away from that meeting both frustrated and excited — frustrated, because it seems impossible to do, but excited to realize that we may be sitting on one of the answers right here at the Catch. Where else can we get these two distant groups together except for the internet? In fact — wake up — this is who we are right now. These two groups are our primary audience. We may have the key that can unlock the potential of both groups together.

The more we can focus on Jesus and the unifying truth of the gospel, the more we can come together. The less time we spend on social issues and Christian culture, the better. Forget trying to save America (whatever that means), forget trying to create a Christian culture in society, forget trying to infuse Christian values into the structures of our social fabric, forget the culture wars, put out a white flag and seek the Kingdom of God in the marketplace. Get out there and love people. Love God, and love our neighbors. What else is there?

Love God, and love your neighbor. Jesus said this sums up all the law and the prophets. Love God, and love your neighbor and you will fit right in at the First Church of Boomers and Millennials.