Written\u00a0By: Ryan and Amy Linkous<\/p>\n
The mega-church pastor stood close by, ready to share secrets for multi-generational ministry. I was a young pastor taking mental notes. \u201cYou have to sing hymns to keep the old people happy because they\u2019re the ones with all the money.\u201d Duly noted. I heard him loud and clear \u2013 do whatever you have to do to appease the people with money. I caught his humor that day, but I also caught the blunt reality. His words left me with questions \u2013 Really? Is the end of my job to be as stylish as possible for younger people while making sure I do just enough to keep the older benefactors happy? Dear God, I hope not.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Years later, I\u2019m wiser concerning his words. Granted, most Boomers I know have money, and most Millennials have a five-dollar macchiato in hand and no money. Those are cultural realities; however, manipulation is a poor way to touch generations. As churches set out to reflect the Kingdom of Christ, we need the Holy Spirit to reveal our blind spots regarding the heart of God for the generations around us. I hear Him calling us out of three dangerous camps: \u00a0the Cult of Cool<\/em>, the Cult of Comfort<\/em>, and the Cult of Me<\/em>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n THE CULT OF COOL \u2013<\/p>\n In the Cult of Cool<\/em>, style is enthroned. We try to perfect looks, marketing techniques, and target audiences. Then we deem generations who don\u2019t serve our style worthless. Form wins over obedience. We span from the ultra-modern concepts with the bearded, skinny-jeans pastor with coordinating lights and guitars, to the conservative service with suited ministers and accompanying hymns or liturgy. At either end of the spectrum, we create packages, and people love the people who make their packages attractive. However, we contrive religious reasons to reject the people and generations who fail to align with our packages.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When \u201ccool\u201d rules, God\u2019s Kingdom is thwarted. In Luke 18, the disciples were keen to the religious style, and some of the greatest and brightest were beginning to pay attention. So, when people approached Jesus with kids in tow, the disciples protested. There was no way they were going to let runny-nosed toddlers mess up their super cool ministry vibe. Jesus himself spoke to this. He brought the children to Himself. Forever reminding us if we are too religious to bring the kids along, we are missing the Kingdom of God.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n THE CULT OF COMFORT \u2013<\/p>\n Personal pleasure is adored in The Cult of Comfort<\/em>. Humanity craves comfort. It is possible to become collectively deceived that we deserve to be completely satisfied. Other generations lose value when they challenge our levels of personal comfort and the overall church experience we envision.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The story of the good Samaritan shows a pattern of how we treat those of other generations who cause us to feel uncomfortable. The younger generation walks quickly down the road, headphones in place, acting like they don\u2019t hear the needs of the older generation. Because it will require a pause, some stretching, and other uncomfortable adjustments. And the older generation, exhibiting pride masquerading as maturity, refuses to hear the cries of the younger crowd because they will have to grow, hurt, and sweat. At the end of our lives, if we have chased comfort, we only earn personal pleasure, not His Kingdom. Not Jesus.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n THE CULT OF ME \u2013<\/p>\n When our desires and way of thinking are the objects of our devotion, the Cult of Me <\/em>is present. People love themselves and want to recreate themselves in the coming generation. In the Cult of Me<\/em>, self is absolute. At some point, our hearts decayed, no longer looking for the reflection of Christ in ourselves or others, we start looking for our own reflection. Like Narcissus, we love our reflection and love to see our image in other generations. Other generations are only valuable if they affirm us. If they don\u2019t bear our image, they don\u2019t deserve our time.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I remember well the Sunday night service over a decade ago. The young, loud worship band was invited to minister, and there was a passion for Jesus evidenced. There was a big problem, though. They were untidy, and they didn\u2019t take the \u201chow to please the older generation \u2013 101\u201d class. They played, they sang, and they lifted up Jesus, but it was unclear how the older crowd in the little church would react. However, I would soon learn a serious generational lesson. I watched as one of the stalwarts of the older generation made his way to the leader of the band at the end of service. The general of the Baby Boomers began, \u201cYour music is not my style, and your music is louder than I would like.\u201d I braced for the uncomfortable comments and prepared to swoop in to protect the young worshippers, but what I heard was different. \u201cBut I see Jesus in your ministry, and I love Jesus. I am for Jesus, and because you are lifting up Jesus then I am for you. You did a great job.\u201d This strong man, looking for Jesus, reached beyond his generation, and exalted Christ. And, in one fell swoop, the Cult of Me<\/em> crumbled as two generations rallied around the Name of Jesus.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I\u2019m tired of our image. And, I\u2019m tired of looking for ourselves in others. Narcissus died looking at his own reflection, and we will die if that\u2019s what we do. Let\u2019s look for Christ and the glory of His image in the generations around us. When we meet a person who doesn\u2019t look like us, look for Jesus. And, when we see Jesus, let\u2019s celebrate. Christ in the older, aging faces will bring rejoicing in the Camp; Christ in the younger hearts, will bring dancing in our midst. Let\u2019s chase the image of Christ in every generation we encounter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":3904,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[757,4,1],"tags":[749,704,879,16,878],"class_list":{"0":"post-3903","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-allgenerations","8":"category-discipleship-ministries","9":"category-general","10":"tag-749","11":"tag-all-generations","12":"tag-amy-linkous","13":"tag-discipleship","14":"tag-ryan-linkous","15":"entry"},"title_es":"Es hora de dejar el culto de lo cool","content_es":"Escrito por: Ryan y Amy Linkous El pastor de la mega iglesia estaba cerca, listo para compartir secretos para el ministerio multigeneracional. Yo era un pastor joven tomando notas mentales. \"Tienes que cantar himnos para mantener contentos a los viejos porque son ellos quienes tienen todo el dinero\". Duly se\u00f1al\u00f3. Lo escuch\u00e9 alto y claro: haga lo que tenga que hacer para apaciguar a la gente con dinero. Ese d\u00eda capt\u00e9 su humor, pero tambi\u00e9n capt\u00e9 la franca realidad. Sus palabras me dejaron con preguntas - \u00bfDe verdad? \u00bfEs el final de mi trabajo lo m\u00e1s elegante posible para los m\u00e1s j\u00f3venes mientras me aseguro de hacer lo suficiente para mantener contentos a los benefactores m\u00e1s viejos? Dios querido, espero que no. A\u00f1os m\u00e1s tarde, soy m\u00e1s prudente en cuanto a sus palabras. De acuerdo, la mayor\u00eda de los Boomers que conozco tienen dinero, y la mayor\u00eda de los Millennials tienen un Macchiato de cinco d\u00f3lares en la mano y no tienen dinero. Esas son realidades culturales; sin embargo, la manipulaci\u00f3n es una manera pobre de tocar generaciones. Cuando las iglesias se disponen a reflejar el Reino de Cristo, necesitamos que el Esp\u00edritu Santo revele nuestros puntos ciegos con respecto al coraz\u00f3n de Dios para las generaciones que nos rodean. Escucho que nos llama a salir de tres peligrosos campamentos: el culto al fr\u00edo<\/em> , el culto a la comodidad<\/em> y el culto a m\u00ed<\/em> . EL CULTO DE FR\u00cdO - En el culto a lo cool<\/em> , el estilo est\u00e1 entronizado. Intentamos perfeccionar el aspecto, las t\u00e9cnicas de marketing y el p\u00fablico objetivo. Entonces consideramos que las generaciones que no sirven a nuestro estilo no tienen valor. La forma gana por encima de la obediencia. Abarcamos desde los conceptos ultramodernos con el pastor con barba y jeans ajustados con luces y guitarras coordinadas, hasta el servicio conservador con ministros adecuados e himnos o liturgia acompa\u00f1antes. En ambos extremos del espectro, creamos paquetes, y las personas aman a las personas que hacen que sus paquetes sean atractivos. Sin embargo, ideamos razones religiosas para rechazar a las personas y las generaciones que no se alinean con nuestros paquetes. Cuando las reglas son \"geniales\", el Reino de Dios se frustra. En Lucas 18, los disc\u00edpulos estaban interesados \u200b\u200ben el estilo religioso, y algunos de los m\u00e1s grandes y m\u00e1s brillantes estaban comenzando a prestar atenci\u00f3n. Entonces, cuando las personas se acercaban a Jes\u00fas con sus hijos a cuestas, los disc\u00edpulos protestaban. No hab\u00eda forma de que fueran a dejar que los ni\u00f1os de nariz l\u00edquida arruinasen su ambiente s\u00faper genial del ministerio. Jes\u00fas mismo habl\u00f3 a esto. \u00c9l trajo a los ni\u00f1os a S\u00ed mismo. Siempre record\u00e1ndonos si somos demasiado religiosos para llevar a los ni\u00f1os, nos falta el Reino de Dios. EL CULTO DE LA COMODIDAD - El placer personal es adorado en The Cult of Comfort<\/em> . La humanidad anhela la comodidad. Es posible enga\u00f1arse colectivamente que merecemos estar completamente satisfechos. Otras generaciones pierden valor cuando desaf\u00edan nuestros niveles de comodidad personal y la experiencia general de la iglesia que imaginamos. La historia del buen samaritano muestra un patr\u00f3n de c\u00f3mo tratamos a los de otras generaciones que nos hacen sentir inc\u00f3modos. La generaci\u00f3n m\u00e1s joven camina r\u00e1pidamente por el camino, los auriculares en su lugar, actuando como si no escucharan las necesidades de la generaci\u00f3n anterior. Porque requerir\u00e1 una pausa, algunos estiramientos y otros ajustes inc\u00f3modos. Y la generaci\u00f3n anterior, que exhibe orgullo disfrazado de madurez, se niega a escuchar los gritos de la gente m\u00e1s joven porque tendr\u00e1n que crecer, lastimarse y sudar. Al final de nuestras vidas, si hemos perseguido la comodidad, solo ganamos placer personal, no Su Reino. No Jes\u00fas EL CULTO DE M\u00cd - Cuando nuestros deseos y nuestra forma de pensar son los objetos de nuestra devoci\u00f3n , el Culto a M\u00ed<\/em> est\u00e1 presente. La gente se ama a s\u00ed misma y quiere recrearse en la pr\u00f3xima generaci\u00f3n. En el Culto de M\u00ed<\/em> , el yo es absoluto. En alg\u00fan momento, nuestros corazones se pudrieron, ya no buscamos el reflejo de Cristo en nosotros mismos o en los dem\u00e1s, comenzamos a buscar nuestro propio reflejo. Al igual que Narciso, amamos nuestro reflejo y nos encanta ver nuestra imagen en otras generaciones. Otras generaciones solo son valiosas si nos afirman. Si no tienen nuestra imagen, no merecen nuestro tiempo. Recuerdo bien el servicio del domingo por la noche hace m\u00e1s de una d\u00e9cada. La joven y ruidosa banda de adoraci\u00f3n fue invitada a ministrar, y hubo una pasi\u00f3n por Jes\u00fas evidenciada. Aunque hubo un gran problema. Estaban desordenados, y no tomaron la clase \"c\u00f3mo complacer a la generaci\u00f3n anterior - 101\". Jugaron, cantaron y levantaron a Jes\u00fas, pero no estaba claro c\u00f3mo reaccionar\u00eda la gente mayor de la peque\u00f1a iglesia. Sin embargo, pronto aprender\u00eda una seria lecci\u00f3n generacional. Vi como uno de los incondicionales de la generaci\u00f3n anterior se dirigi\u00f3 al l\u00edder de la banda al final del servicio. El general de los Baby Boomers comenz\u00f3: \"Tu m\u00fasica no es mi estilo, y tu m\u00fasica es m\u00e1s fuerte de lo que quisiera\". Me prepar\u00e9 para los comentarios inc\u00f3modos y me prepar\u00e9 para atacar a los j\u00f3venes devotos, pero lo que escuch\u00e9 fue diferente. . \"Pero veo a Jes\u00fas en su ministerio, y yo amo a Jes\u00fas. Estoy a favor de Jes\u00fas, y porque t\u00fa est\u00e1s levantando a Jes\u00fas, entonces estoy a favor de ti. Hiciste un gran trabajo \". Este hombre fuerte, buscando a Jes\u00fas, lleg\u00f3 m\u00e1s all\u00e1 de su generaci\u00f3n y exalt\u00f3 a Cristo. Y, de un solo golpe, el Culto de M\u00ed se<\/em> derrumb\u00f3 cuando dos generaciones se unieron alrededor del Nombre de Jes\u00fas. Estoy cansado de nuestra imagen. Y, estoy cansado de buscarnos en otros. Narciso muri\u00f3 mirando su propio reflejo, y moriremos si eso es lo que hacemos. Busquemos a Cristo y la gloria de su imagen en las generaciones que nos rodean. Cuando conocemos a una persona que no se parece a nosotros, busca a Jes\u00fas. Y, cuando veamos a Jes\u00fas, celebremos. Cristo en los rostros m\u00e1s viejos y envejecidos traer\u00e1 regocijo en el campamento; Cristo en los corazones m\u00e1s j\u00f3venes, traer\u00e1 baile en medio de nosotros. Busquemos la imagen de Cristo en cada generaci\u00f3n que encontramos.","author_name":"","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/07\/The-Cult-Of-Cool.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4T9u2-10X","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3903\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}