Friday, May 23, 2008

twenty-somethings

a Biblical thought...
I know there are some among you who are so full of themselves they never listen to anyone, let alone me. They don't think I'll ever show up in person. But I'll be there sooner than you think, God willing, and then we'll see if they're full of anything but hot air. God's Way is not a matter of mere talk; it's an empowered life. (1 Cor 4:18-20)

a Book thought...
Part of Christian belief is to find out what's true about Jesus and let that challenge our culture. (p122 Wright)
a Dave thought...
Recently I heard a speaker address the challenges facing our society in regards to the twenty-somethings. His thinking is that they have decided to put back the four markers of adulthood 10 years. Those being - choosing a career, getting married, taking on a mortgage, and having kids. I know personally that I had decided on a career at 21, married at 22, mortgage at 24 but waited till I was 31 to have my first child.

Today things are different for most, as you will well know there is now no rush to decide on a career as you can take gap years, go overseas, do multiple degrees, and take your time, most not settling down till their late 20's. When it comes to marriage many now live together and find no need to seal the deal till into their thirties, and this also means not settling on a property till that stage. Many are now opting not to buy at all not just because of soaring house prices, but as they want flexibility and not commitment. And when it comes to children they are becoming an optional extra in your life and most start a family as late as possible in their mid to late 30's.

It is fascinating how quickly life is being put back and in many ways I think the Church has yet to figure out how to cater for these extra 10 years the twenty-somethings have created. They live life to the full but don't want to jump into commitment unless they are really convinced. If we want to engage with this group maybe church for the twenty-somethings has to be flexible, interactive, exploratory, intellectual, and worth turning up to.

Just a thought.

4 comments:

james said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
james said...

whoops... i deleted my comment...

i reckon we cant see church as the meeting rather weneed to see it as a lifestyle. then it wont matter where they are or what they're doing, they can still be church... ive got a couple of ideas but i wont go into them just now...

Anonymous said...

Right on James. I was going to post: "why think of church as something to turn up to?" but you beat me to it.

Grace,

Aaron

Anonymous said...

The Church is "people" not a building. However, having said that it is also a good thing to meet with and have the fellowship of others as a means of encouraging and building each other up and that goes for not only the 20somethings but everyone.