Leadingchurch.com

Being articulate and disillusioned about the church is popular. There is a lot of angst over a generation of people raised in the church who feel they were sold a bill of goods and are not afraid to talk about it. Many more drift away quietly.

Sarah Cunningham begins her book this way.

Dear Readers, I used to believe that the church was the most powerful source of hope on the planet. That is, until I got old enough to notice its defects.

Once in adult land, I quickly stumbled upon a list of religious flaws and a side of the church that was far from hopeful.

Unfortunately, I am not the only one who lost some admiration for the church along the way. Many of my fellow twenty-somethings ended up less than impressed with the church as well. And sadly, as my peers dropped out of local congregations, they were promptly welcomed into a multigenerational group of ex-church attenders.

Cunningham, Sarah Raymond (2009-08-30). Dear Church: Letters from a Disillusioned Generation (p. 10). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

Some will jettison the church but try to continue to “believe in God” or something. Others will become anti-Christian or anti-religious. Some will hunt after other religions and beliefs that seem to give them what they were looking for.

Mere Cynicism?

Many of these authors are young and as time goes by they like all of us continue to learn. The author of the above book just recently also wrote an article for a Christian blog entitled “I’ve grown Cynical of Cynicism” where she notes this:

In my 20s, you could have found me sitting cross-legged in a coffee shop, reading a real made-from-paper book with a dramatic title about economic inequality. Occasionally, I might’ve looked up at you to make clever, droll remarks about how the institutional church—and much of society—was missing the mark. Other days, I might’ve delivered a half-philosophical-diatribe, half stand-up comedy routine about the weaknesses of organized religion. And if you happened to jump in by highlighting your own list of social or religious flaws, we would’ve bantered back and forth like ESPN commentators until the coffee shop kicked us out at closing.

Add in the fact I was writing a book called Dear Church: Letters From a Disillusioned Generation, and I was pretty much the poster child for cynics toward religious institutions. It’s probably no surprise to you that this first book sold better than my second one, even though the later one was warmer and more positive and better crafted. It’s a testament to the preferences of our culture perhaps.

Let’s face it. Cynicism is sexy.

Not So Fast

Most of this stuff like this that crosses my screens comes from thoroughly comfortable, educated, middle class westerners. Given the amount of life and death suffering that happens in this world we shouldn’t be surprised that others wrestle with the question of God’s presence and the dependability of his promises. If you live long enough in the age of decay you will taste fear and loss and the question of God and his presence will be something that will be far from academic. Continue reading →