I often find myself in the position of being the youngest person in the room. Being 22 in Mainline Protestantism in the Bible Belt, that is no surprise. I hope you won't be offended if I break the news to you that you’re not cool. (For the record, I’m not cool either, but I do know some cool people and I know what’s cool, so I’m qualified enough to judge.) It is a great temptation for the church to do everything it can to stay relevant, to conform to the surrounding culture.
The trouble with that little-L law ‘Thou shalt be relevant,’ is that in pursuing relevance or coolness, the church often loses its soul. Even if it does find the world and bring in numbers, those numbers often are not translated into true disciples. Coming to a concert in an auditorium where the five letters J-E-S-U-S are on the sign or are said from the microphone is not the same thing as being brought into a sanctuary, falling on one’s knees at the altar, and receiving Christ.
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