Newsflash…Young adults are leaving the church. Ok, it’s not really news to anyone familiar with church attendance trends. For generations we have seen young people raised within the church depart during their later teens and twenties. But most returned once they married and had children. It’s sometimes called the “driver’s license to marriage license hiatus.”

What is new is the mountain of recent research by respected groups like Barna, Lifeway, and Pew indicating young people who leave are no longer returning. The hiatus has become an exodus. Why? David Kinnaman at Barna outlines six reasons in his research. And others have pointed out that young people are waiting much longer to get married than in the past, thereby delaying the felt-need to return to church. (Al…

…I was on a train heading into downtown Chicago to visit a friend when my wife called. She was in the hospital. Something was wrong with the baby and they were prepping her for surgery. It was seven weeks before her due date, but they hoped everything would be alright. I got off the train and jumped on the next one back to Wheaton.

That night our son was born. We named him Isaac. It seemed appropriate because his birth came as a surprise just as Abraham and Sarah were joyfully surprised by the birth of their son in Genesis 21. So they named him laughter…Isaac.

Our Isaac was only four pounds, but strong and breathing well. But our joy was soon mixed with worry as his…

I hate shopping for clothes. I hate taking my kids shopping for clothes. And as my oldest daughter gets closer to becoming a “tween” I hate it even more (which is why I’m thankful that my wife takes the lead on such tasks). What amazes me are the, ahem, mature fashions now seen as acceptable for young girls. Yes, I’m one of those parents who would prefer childhood last more than the five minutes our culture seems to allow.

I’m not the only one. There has been a growing movement, by both religious and non-religious groups, to champion the value of modesty. Some push modesty as a means of protecting their children from the dangers of a sexually super-charged culture. Others hope to aid their daughters in developing…

Read part 1.

What I find most interesting about Tony Jones’ thesis is the way it can explain far more than just the Emerging Church Movement. I think contemporary youth ministry may also help us understand the rise of the megachurch movement in the late 1970s and 80s (and probably other movements as well). The number of megachurches exploded in that time from just 10 in 1970 to over 500 by 1990…most started by baby-boomers with youth ministry backgrounds.

Remember that the whole notion of a youth culture really emerged after World War II. Television, rock ‘n roll, and the economic boom after the war resulted in a generation of young people with disposable income and the opportunity to express themselves in ways foreign to their Depression-generation parents.…

Back in college my professor of American religion gave us an interesting assignment. We had to visit a number of local churches, sit in their sanctuaries, and write down our observations of the spaces. Based on these observations, we were to deduce the theological beliefs of each congregation. How were the seats arranged? What was the visual focus of the space? Why did the Presbyterian church have a soaring pulpit? Why did the Episcopal church have a baptismal font at the entrance? (The most intriguing churches were ones where their explicit theology did not conform to the implicit theology communicated by their space.)

Because of this assignment I was intrigued (and rather proud) when I discovered my 9-year-old daughter conducting a similar exercise. Zoe has joined me at…

Episode VII: Halloween 2009It is a night of sibling war. Rebel kids, striking from a hidden fort, have won their first victory against the evil Parental Empire.

During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Parent’s ultimate weapon, the CANDY BOWL, an impenetrable receptacle placed high enough in the kitchen to thwart the greedy hands of any child.

Pursued by the Parent’s sinister agents, Princess Leia races back to her bedroom aboard her starship, custodian of the stolen plans that can save her sugar-addicted brother and ankle-biting sister and restore freedom to the household….

Barack Obama has changed everything. No, I’m not talking about the economy, foreign relations, or the health care system. President Obama has rewritten the assumptions about names and success. Honestly, who would have believed just a few years ago that a man named Barack Hussain Obama could be elected President of the United States?

Politico has an interesting story about the growing popularity of uncommon names among elected officials. The article states:

Having a unique name used to be a political liability. But election records suggest out of the ordinary increasingly appeals to voters. The names of incoming freshmen have grown more unusual over the years, thanks in part to a combination of the nation’s increasing diversity and, in the age of Barack Obama, a rising generation of

…

While we’re talking about having children, here’s an illuminating excerpt from Rodney Clapp about the way consumerism impacts our society’s view of children. Right now we are working on the summer issue of Leadership Journal on the theme of “Generations.” At least part of that will explore the possible shortcomings of segmenting the church by age, and the impact of viewing children as a separate, rather than core, part of the church community. I believe consumerism, as Clapp explains, is part of the reason.

This comes from his 1996 article “Why the Devil Takes VISA.” I highly recommend reading the entire (but lengthy) piece.  It was immensely helpful in my research while writing The Divine Commodity.

The excerpt:

Another sign that consumption is our…

In my last post I discussed the belief that singleness is leading to a decline in church attendance. Traditional marriage defendants like Al Mohler believe that if more Christians would marry at a younger age they would not only “grow up” faster, but they’d also realize how important the local church is for their lives.Let’s take that logic one (big) step further. Today NPR featured a piece on the Quiverfull movement. These are conservative Christians who do not practice any form of birth control. They find biblical justification in Psalm 127:

“Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.”

The belief that children are a blessing from God is…