The Exodus Papers
I recently stumbled acros The Exodus Papers on Josh Brown's blog. In it, eight twenty-somethings tell about their struggles with traditional models of church. Here are a few quotes that resonated with me:
"I have always had more questions than answers about Christianity. So until recently I thought this was a bad thing. I felt like I needed to get my act together. What I have come to realize is that the answers I have always been given do not work for me anymore. The answer, “Christ will live in your heart” does not work for me anymore. Really what in world does that mean??? And please do not try to answer that question." -Leslie
"I think my generation needs smaller close-knit groups. Book clubs, coffee house meetings, pub studies - small groups, not as a program but as the church size."
"Most of our churches don’t inspire wonder anymore. I get wonder when I walk into a coffee house or bar and it is bustling, everyone is talking, laughing, and being themselves. When most people enter a church building they change themselves into what they feel the building represents - stuffy, religious, and conservative." -Nicholas
"It was a sad day the day I realized I wasn’t a change agent at all. I was a quota that was being met. I was “one of the young people.” The figurehead innovators. I served no real purpose other than to make the large Christian organization I worked for look like they were young and hip. With a finger on culture. Up and coming. Doing everything it took to reach the next generation." -Anna
"I don’t find much hope in the modern church. Of course if your definition of hope is a large crowd of people who are generally happy and comfortable, then there is a ton of hope in the modern church. But hope for me is that we are going to make the world a better place for my generation and those to come. When I walk into a church I don’t feel like we are making any sort of real impact on social change, environmental issues, etc. I want a community that is more focused on changing the world, than on being right." -Tank
"I have always had more questions than answers about Christianity. So until recently I thought this was a bad thing. I felt like I needed to get my act together. What I have come to realize is that the answers I have always been given do not work for me anymore. The answer, “Christ will live in your heart” does not work for me anymore. Really what in world does that mean??? And please do not try to answer that question." -Leslie
"I think my generation needs smaller close-knit groups. Book clubs, coffee house meetings, pub studies - small groups, not as a program but as the church size."
"Most of our churches don’t inspire wonder anymore. I get wonder when I walk into a coffee house or bar and it is bustling, everyone is talking, laughing, and being themselves. When most people enter a church building they change themselves into what they feel the building represents - stuffy, religious, and conservative." -Nicholas
"It was a sad day the day I realized I wasn’t a change agent at all. I was a quota that was being met. I was “one of the young people.” The figurehead innovators. I served no real purpose other than to make the large Christian organization I worked for look like they were young and hip. With a finger on culture. Up and coming. Doing everything it took to reach the next generation." -Anna
"I don’t find much hope in the modern church. Of course if your definition of hope is a large crowd of people who are generally happy and comfortable, then there is a ton of hope in the modern church. But hope for me is that we are going to make the world a better place for my generation and those to come. When I walk into a church I don’t feel like we are making any sort of real impact on social change, environmental issues, etc. I want a community that is more focused on changing the world, than on being right." -Tank