still searching
I said a few posts ago that a post was coming on where young adults should go from here in the UMC, I haven't gotten a good grip on it all, partly because I'm feeling pretty disillusioned from the church right now.
One thing that might be good is the new young adult network website that launched today. I talked with a couple of people who think it might be on the right track, but I am caught wondering, what does this do for the young adults who are not connected? I've seen these kind of websites spring up time and time again and they don't ever seem to reach their target audience. Some of my favorite alternative Christian websites get a lot of hateful posts from Christians who think it is their duty to call these more alternative streams of Christian living un-Christian. What are we doing when we are fighting amongst ourselves except for discourage others and show others that we are not a loving community of people who want to make the world change?
I can't get beyond that idea, it irks me when people throw around racial slurs (as it should), it hurts me deeply when someone is excluded because of things they choose or don't choose to have be in their lifestyle. We are shaped by the things inside of us and outside of us and it is never easy to fight those battles that cause division. I know I sound like a broken record, but I guess the thing I think needs to change most is that we need to be loving each other. I know that I long for a place that I fit in, I long for community, I want a world where pulitzer prize winning photos are not based on tragedy but are based on hope and new life. Those are the things I want to see young people embrace. That shift from inward focus to outward focus has to be one that is motivated by love and love alone. We cannot stay locked up in our churches and expect the world to conform to us. It just isn't happening. We have to get out there and love.
I could go on and on and on about all of this, but I think it is important to not sit and watch the world continue to deteriorate because we have stopped knowing how to love.
I'm off to go see Beck, but I thought I'd get this post up because who knows where the night will take me and I probably won't want to post tonight when I get back. I'll be back in on Monday to share about my concert experience I'm sure. Tonight is just another reminder of how blessed I am to have great friends here in Albuquerque. Seems to be a theme running through this week. :-D
One thing that might be good is the new young adult network website that launched today. I talked with a couple of people who think it might be on the right track, but I am caught wondering, what does this do for the young adults who are not connected? I've seen these kind of websites spring up time and time again and they don't ever seem to reach their target audience. Some of my favorite alternative Christian websites get a lot of hateful posts from Christians who think it is their duty to call these more alternative streams of Christian living un-Christian. What are we doing when we are fighting amongst ourselves except for discourage others and show others that we are not a loving community of people who want to make the world change?
I can't get beyond that idea, it irks me when people throw around racial slurs (as it should), it hurts me deeply when someone is excluded because of things they choose or don't choose to have be in their lifestyle. We are shaped by the things inside of us and outside of us and it is never easy to fight those battles that cause division. I know I sound like a broken record, but I guess the thing I think needs to change most is that we need to be loving each other. I know that I long for a place that I fit in, I long for community, I want a world where pulitzer prize winning photos are not based on tragedy but are based on hope and new life. Those are the things I want to see young people embrace. That shift from inward focus to outward focus has to be one that is motivated by love and love alone. We cannot stay locked up in our churches and expect the world to conform to us. It just isn't happening. We have to get out there and love.
I could go on and on and on about all of this, but I think it is important to not sit and watch the world continue to deteriorate because we have stopped knowing how to love.
I'm off to go see Beck, but I thought I'd get this post up because who knows where the night will take me and I probably won't want to post tonight when I get back. I'll be back in on Monday to share about my concert experience I'm sure. Tonight is just another reminder of how blessed I am to have great friends here in Albuquerque. Seems to be a theme running through this week. :-D
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on Friday, June 23, 2006 at 5:42 PM.
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