Slice recently posted this short article

This USA Today article says that young adult protestants, mainline and evangelical, are dropping from churches in “sobering” numbers. Is it possible that Cirque du Soleil-style worship and church sponsored hookah bars are not enough to hold young people these days?

I don’t mean to be overly cynical, but I don’t think that hymns and man-made tradition are what the 18 – 30 year-old crowd is looking for either. I recently was meeting with a group of leaders from a dying church that was trying to transition to a more modern method of ministry. Of course they upgraded to some more modern sounding music and redid some of the outdated furniture. One lady I spoke with said “My son just got out of prison, and has actually really been enjoying the church services here. He is not a believer and seems to have been connecting really well here.” her next line shocked me. She said, “But we are leaving because I really miss my hymns.”

Now, I really could care less if a church sang How Great Thou Art every week or worshiped to Heavy metal. The symptoms go far deeper than music with this issue. It is a selfishness in the church, and an unwillingness to change and do what it takes to reach a generation that is leaving the church in droves. It is an unwillingness to connect with the powerful Spirit of God and ask what HE wants to do with and in this generation, not what have WE always done with our generation. Call me crazy, but I think the problem is not found in “Cirque du Soleil-style worship and church sponsored hookah bars”