We shouldn’t complain when a newer competing program is more effective than an older one. Sometimes the only way to see that you’re riding a dead horse is to have a living horse next to it.
What are the new needs and how are we meeting them as a vehicle to the truth? what are the needs of the past that we are trying to meet (that are no longer needs). Many times tradition is answering needs that no longer exist.
Everyone has an obstinate child in them that rebels against rules. The Church in the past has been great to answer the what (Bible knowledge) and that was just fine *(they were okay with “God says it, that settles it”). The church is doing better with the how (application). But the younger generation is more pragmatic and less tied to the church and scripture as authority. They need to first be approached with the why. If we don’t answer the why, they will not care about the what and will not practice the how.
Older men and women in the church should not fear that new ideas and methods will relegate them to obscurity; but should realize that their roles have shifted, according to scripture, as mentors to the young. They play a crucial role in the growth of the church. It has been said that children are the future of the church. I would contend that the elderly and thier response to change and their shifting roles determine the future of the church.
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