In response to my recent post on youth fleeing the church Universal Trouble in American Churches I was contacted by someone that took offense at the examples that I used to illustrate youth not continuing with church attendance once they reach adulthood.
Part of the response read, “How dare you sit on your high horse and write about me…or those others that you know who aren’t living the way you think they should. Look in the mirror before you judge others.”
My response to this individual was:
My point is how does someone transmit their faith to the next generation? My other point is nobody in our culture seems very successful at it. No matter their denomination. Sorry you took offense….It grieves me that so many are forsaking the Lord for whatever reason. …I’m concerned about many people. I named no one in my examples but remember them in my prayers. I hope that people will return to their faith in later life but the statistics aren’t supporting that idea. God’s Law is the standard not me on a high horse and by that measure, we all fall short.
When my wife got home from work last night, I asked her to read the post on Universal Trouble and then showed her the response that I had received. She couldn’t see the connection to anything I had written and the person’s reaction. I told her which example in the article was related to the response and the wife’s reaction was one of surprise. We agreed that I should do an edit (which I did) and fix some grammatical errors while I was at it.
I used four examples in my blog post and previously wrote about a two others about a year ago. Of these six examples of youth that left the church, I have been in contact with four after their departure. On the subject of leaving the faith, to a man, every one played the “don’t you dare judge me” card.
This is my dilemma; do you tell folks heading off the proverbial cliff to have a nice trip or do you try to warn them that going the way they are will end in disaster? I’m not advocating being a “busybody” but as I live my life I occasionally have a chance to nudge someone in what I hope will be a better direction. Truthfully I expect more of people that have believed the gospel and then fall short of the light they have been given.
This is the nature of my disagreement with George and Aaron Park, Sue Blake, and a host of others in the political world. They claim to be good, church going folks but their faith does not make a difference in how they treat others. Their friends are treated one way and all others like something they accidentally stepped on in the doggie park. Power politics is their focus instead of Christ.
Those that have left the church are legion and it breaks my heart to witness this phenomenon. I know that it is the result of divine judgement that men’s hearts are hardened. Conversely I know it is divine grace when men are given a heart of flesh. God grieves over those that have forsaken Him and so do I.
This brings us back to Keith Green’s comments:
You see, God is the most hurt and dishonored being in the universe. He could stop all this mess, all the perversion and crime and corruption any time He wishes, but He doesn’t! Why? Because He waits for the souls of men and women. “Regard the patience of our Lord to be salvation,” Peter said. (II Peter 3:15) But the Church, which doesn’t have one millionth of the compassion that God has, has turned around and created a god in its own image and likeness. A carefree, cheerful, above-it-all God. And then the Church has conveniently removed from the “gospel” it presents all reference to the pain and sorrow in God’s heart. The Church doesn’t want a God who’s grieved with sin, because then this God would be grieved with them… (and He is!)
What’s Wrong With the Gospel? Section 1: “The Missing Parts”
To the person who complained about my pervious post, what I stated is true. You left the faith and it has always bothered me. If my wife doesn’t even know who I was referring to then why be angry? I never used your name or anyone else’s. If your conscience is bothering you then your problem is really not with me, it’s with God. Please go to Him, he’s a better friend to you than I’ll ever be.