Hi Family and Friends!
I’m writing to you from a favorite spot in Bonaire (see above). For the last four years, we’ve come to this Caribbean island off the coast of Venezuela with our friends, Bruce and Jean—my second son, Tim’s, in-laws, to scuba-dive. And I’m here at the Hangout at Jibe City, a colorful spot that overlooks Lac Bay where you can learn to wind surf.
Family & Travel: It’s been a busy summer with lots of fun visits with kids and our grandson, a wedding (my oldest son, Matthew’s wife, Kylie’s, sister), house projects (not always fun but we’re making progress!), a visit to the Rocky’s and Denver for Pam and me for the Evangelical Presbyterian Church’s General Assembly.
Speaking and Care Net: Over the summer I’ve been speaking at various churches approximately twice a month (see here) and I just got back from a week in St. Louis for Care Net’s Annual Conference. As usual, it was an inspiring experience with about 1300 in attendance. Speakers included Roland Warren, Bob Goff, Angela Minter, Randy Newman, and David Eaton. My role at Care Net has grown and we now have two full-time, two-part-time, and nine volunteer Making Life Disciple’s Regional Coordinators under the Church Initiative area. We are beginning to see the fruit of stronger bridges between pregnancy centers and churches and you can read about some of that here.
Book: Although I continue to make tweaks, it’s done and I was able to send an un-agented proposal to InterVarsity Press (IVP). IVP was a first choice and one of the few more influential publishers that accepts un-agented manuscripts from pastors. While waiting on a response from IVP, I have also gotten the names of a couple good agents and my next step is to consult with them.
Here is my latest pitch: How I Became a Christian Despite the Church is a compelling story about how I found God despite growing up in particularly destructive and harmful church. Although the book is a roadmap of healing and growth for all, it’s especially written for those who have been victims of, or been turned off by, the abuses of the Church. Whether you’re searching for better answers or are just curious to see how bad it could be, this book is for you.
Small Group: Pam and I have decided to start a small group at our home this fall and are studying a new book called Not What You Think: Why the Bible Might Be Nothing We Expected and Everything We Need. I highly recommend it, as well as a trip to the Museum of the Bible. I plan to take our small group there this fall. I would normally be cynical about a “Christian” museum—especially those with a fear-abased and anti-mainstream science bias like the Creation Museum. (I have written about this previously here.) The Museum of the Bible, however, is a first-rate and desperately needed experience in our day encouraging biblical literacy. Further, it’s connected with world class scholarship and shows the good, the bad, and the ugly of how the Bible has been used.
What I’m Thinking About: As I go into the fall, I’m reading about and talking to a lot of millennials, those born approximately between 1980 and 2000. This fascinating generation will comprise 75% of our workforce by 2025. Do Boomers and Gen Xers know and appreciate how they view the world? Are we building into and discipling them? Why are they apostatizing from the Christian faith, and how can we identify with them and help change that?
These stats in particular have been compelling:
- The number of Americans ages 18-29 who have no religious affiliation has nearly quadrupled in the last 30 years[1] and 59% of millennials raised in a church have dropped out.[2]
- Yet, even though they are not big on church, millennial non-Christians are twice as likely to express interest in Christianity than all older non-Christians.[3] “
- 35 million youth raised in families that call themselves Christians will say that they are not by 2050. The good news? If we can return the church’s retention and evangelism back to Gen X rates, we will see 16 million more youth begin or continue a life with Jesus.”[4]
I will be writing on some of these themes over the next year and developing a seminar to help individuals, families, and churches understand and address millennial apostasy.
Blog: It now has a topical index on the menu bar to make finding and sharing individual posts easier. Check it out here!
Prayer: Please pray that:
- I will secure an excellent publisher for the book.
- God would keep my heart faithful and pure; that he would give me wit, wisdom, and will to give my best answer to this question: Who am I and what am I going to do about it?
You: That last question is one all young adults ask, but it’s also one we all continue to ask and answer as we grow older. In fact, I ask you today:
Who are you and what are you going to do about it? In answering and discussing this question with someone you love, remember not just who you are but Whose you are…
“Now to him who is able to do
immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at
work within us…” (Ephesians 3:20, NIV)
[1] https://religionnews.com/2018/06/26/why-millennials-are-really-leaving-religion-its-not-just-politics-folks/
[2] https://faithit.com/12-reasons-millennials-over-church-sam-eaton/
[3] https://www.barna.com/research/millennial-spiritual-curiosity/
[4] “The Great Opportunity: The American Church in 2050” ©2018 Pinetops Foundation 125 www.greatopportunity.org