Gods Geeks

In my previous post, I discussed the alarming trend of the exodus of young people from the church. The statistics lead us to the 2 questions that we have a responsibility to ask. Why? And what can we do to fix it?

To address the first question, I talked to a number of my friends, some who are still involved in the church, most who are not. When I asked them why they think that the numbers show this trend, initially they replied in a variety of ways. It is not relevant to me. I’m too busy. It doesn’t meet my needs. Each of these answers, as well as the others that I received, appear to be very different. But by digging deeper and seeking clarification an interesting trend began to develop. The true root of most of the disengagement from the organized Church was disillusionment with the church. See the big c little c difference there again?

While nearly all admit that one should look to Christ as the model for true Christianity, they also state that a examples of unchristian like behavior in the church(little c) effect their spiritual standing. 3 areas came up again and again, so I thought I would share them.

The first is Integrity. The definition of integrity speaks volumes.

in·teg·ri·ty /ɪnˈtɛgrɪti/ Pronunciation Key – Show Spelled Pronunciation[in-teg-ri-tee] –noun

1.	adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.

2.	the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished: to preserve the integrity of the empire.

- Dictionary.com

One of the challenges of having a common moral standard, is that it is just that common. The structure of that moral standard outlined in the bible is open and available to anyone who is willing to pick it up and to have it shared with them. Thus observers have a certain expectation of those who claim to be Christians. This is not an unreasonable expectation, as the very name Christian means that living according to the teachings of Christ and thus we are examples of Christ.

The motivation behind our actions often become very clear very quickly to an outside observer. Are we acting in genuine Christian love and concern for our fellow man? Or are we letting our selfish agendas dictate how we behave. The disparity in the stated values by taking the name Christians, and the values that we demonstrate by our behavior are what frequently call our integrity into question.

Now, don’t get me wrong the church is a place sinners, just as the hospital is a place for sick people. But this observation is only a piece of the foundation of disengagement problem. Part 3 coming soon.