The Older Saints

I recently preached at an evening church service in which there were few members in attendance.  Of the folks that were there, the majority appeared to be over 50 years old with quite a few appearing to be over 65 and one whom I know to be 87 years old.  While there is significant reason to be disappointed that younger folks were noticeably absent, I personally find a great deal of encouragement in the faithfulness of these older saints.  I just read a good blog post by Les Puryear about The Lack of Respect for Older Saints by some younger pastors.  He did a good job of presenting a biblical perspective of how Christians from different generations should interact with one another.  This is something that has been on my mind for quite some time.  It has been personally discouraging to me to see a distinct disconnection of the older members from younger members in the congregations with which I’ve been familiar.  We need more communities where the older Christians are connected with the younger, especially in passing on their wisdom.  I don’t believe that our churches are lacking in this area because the older folks are unwilling.  I believe the younger generations are largely to blame for the generational divide.  The attitude of Gen Xers (my generation) and Gen Yers is that we know and can do better than our parents and grandparents.  That attitude seems to have transferred over to the church, guiding our worship services and programs.  It seems to have alienated many of the older saints in the process.  As a result, many of these older saints have taken a place on the sidelines.  If you’ll permit me to continue with a sports metaphor - many of these saints haven’t dropped completely out, but have become spectators in the church, with a few of the more vocal assuming the role of a “referee” to cry “foul” when the younger ones get out of line.  What a wonderful experience the church could be if we could breach this divide with the younger generation showing humility by allowing these older saints to move from the sidelines and assume the role of coaches where they belong.  I pray that we all will respect the value of these dear brothers and sisters in Christ.Technorati Tags: Older Saints, Generation X, Generation Y, Humility, Church, Respect

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Earlier tonight, I attended a meeting of the Triangle J Critical Incident Stress Management Team. One of our discussion topics for the meeting focused on how to address team members who have consistently failed to attend meetings. This becomes a liability concern for our team when deciding whether to use these team members to provide CISM services. We have no way of being assured that a non-attending member will perform services in accordance with team protocols and at a level of expected proficiency. As we discussed these issues, I thought about how they directly correlate with problems with church membership. Just as our CISM team does not want an inactive member to potentially harm the team’s reputation, neither should the church desire for inactive members to damage the church’s reputation in the community. So, what should we do about inactive membership? It was interesting to hear our members’ responses to this question. One response in particular caught my attention - a team member recounted his experience with another organization’s creative means of addressing inactive membership. He said that, when he became a member of this particular organization, they presented him with several form letters to sign. Each of these letters was addressed to himself and signed by himself. A couple of them were letters noting recent absences at their regular meetings and reminding him of the commitment that he made when he joined the organization. A final letter was a notice that he was being removed from the membership due to his inactivity. He said that he thought that this was highly unusual when he signed the letters. He didn’t understand the significance of the letters until he began neglecting attendance at meetings and received one of the letters in the mail - addressed to him and signed by himself! I like the creativity of this means of addressing the problem of inactive membership. Imagine how it would feel to receive an admonishing letter from yourself after neglecting church fellowship. While this is probably not the answer for our inactive church members, it does highlight the need for greater expectations in church membership. Baptist Press has an interesting article on the resolution “On Regenerate Church Membership and Church Member Restoration” passed at the 2008 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting. Read it here. This is a hot topic that desperately needs addressing in many of our churches.

You can find an extensive list of resources on Church Discipline and Regenerate Church Membership Here

Thabiti Anyabwile has written an excellent book explaining healthy church membership. Read Jay Collier’s book review at Heritage Booktalk. Purchase the book below.

Technorati Tags: Regenerate Church Membership, Church Discipline, Inactive Members

Few things are more heartbreaking than the sexual or physical abuse of a child. Unfortunately, children are being victimized with alarming frequency across our country. No longer do we just have to worry about the scary stranger. Our news media is flooded with reports of children being abused by parents, teachers, family friends and neighbors. We would hope that our churches are safe havens for our children, but this isn’t always the case. In fact,just as there are those that gravitate toward activities such as local recreation league sports to find their victims, there are also those who volunteer with children’s and youth ministries to perpetrate on their victims. Every time I hear a news story about a child being victimized while in the care of a church, I wonder what, if any, safeguards were in place. It is imperative that churches develop policies and procedures to protect children in the care of the church. This is vitally important for several theological and practical reasons.

• Children Were a Priority for Jesus - Most are familiar with the account of Jesus’ interaction with children and his sharp rebuke of his disciples as he says “Allow the little children to come unto me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven. ” (Matt. 9:14 MKJV) This paints a vivid picture of our Savior’s tender heart for the innocence and simplicity of children. As the church of Jesus Christ, carefully guarded ministry to children should be a priority.

• The Abuse Of Children Angers God - In a vivid example found in Matthew 18:6, Mark 9:42, and Luke 17:2, Jesus states that it would be better for a perpetrator against children to be drowned in the sea with a millstone hung around his neck. To have one’s very life taken is preferable to the coming wrath of God incurred for offending against a child.

• The Reputation Of Christ Is At Stake - In Proverbs 22:1, we are told that “A good name is rather to be had than great riches.” When wealth is lost, it can be easily restored. No matter how good a name is, it can be destroyed in moments and possibly never recovered. As the representatives of Christ in the community, churches should take special care to guard against the possibility that Jesus’ name might be blemished through their negligence.

• The Church Will Be Held Accountable - There is no excuse for failure to implement measures to protect children. The belief that “it won’t happen here” demonstrates a complete denial of the reality in which we live. There are bad people who prey on children and they are in our churches. To fail to acknowledge this and take action is to open the church to tremendous civil liability. Churches can be sued, not only for what they have done, but for what they have failed to do. It is my belief that God will also hold leadership accountable for willfully failing to protect children under their care.

• Visitors To Your Church Will Decide Whether To Return Based On Their Perception Of The Safety Of Their Child - When my wife and I were looking for a church home, we visited a thriving local church led by a dynamic, doctrinally sound pastor. After our first visit, it was easy to see why this church was quickly growing. We returned for a second visit and then a third with the possibility that we may have found our church home. It was on our third visit that we became alarmed so greatly that we never returned to this church. When we took our daughter to the nursery, we were informed that, as third time visitors with children, we were being added to the nursery worker list. I wanted to grab my child up in my arms and run from the building shouting the absurdity of what I had heard! To allow strangers to, not only access, but care for children opens the door for all kinds of abuse. Churches should be making it especially difficult for offenders to victimize, not easier. The parents that visit your church will make a decision about whether to return based on their perception of the safety of their child.

These are only a few good reasons to develop a plan to prevent child abuse in the church. There are many more reasons than can be listed here.

Here are three of the most important things that a church can do to help prevent abuse

• Know your workers - Paid staff and volunteer workers should be screened. With resources such as sex offender registries and commercial databases, background checks are affordable and easily accessible. There is no excuse for not utilizing these resources.

• Supervise your workers - There are few reasons an adult should be alone with a child, especially a child of the opposite sex.

• Develop written policies regarding child safety and follow them - This protects children, the church and the workers. You don’t have to blaze a new path in this area, there are many churches that have excellent written policies from which you can borrow ideas. Many denominations have standard policies for their churches to use as templates.

While abuse can occur anywhere, even without warning signs, there are plenty of resources out there to help limit an offender’s opportunity. Here are a few links:

The National Sex Offender Public Registry

U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services’ Manual- Preventing Child Sexual Abuse in Youth-Serving Organizations: Getting Started on Policies and Procedures

10 Steps to Prevent Child Abuse in the Church

Youth and Children’s Ministry Safety Resources from Guideone Center for Risk Management

Safe Kids: Policies & Procedures for Protecting Children in the Church By Blake Caldwell / LifeStream Resources Child abuse scandals in the church shake our faith in our fellow neighbors, and sometimes even our faith in God. We cannot afford to ignore the issue, content to hope and pray that our children will be safe. Rather than waiting until something drastic happens and lamenting about it, churches can take active steps to put safeguards in place for their ministry. This is a manual designed to help churches structure the safest possible environment for their children’s ministry. This manual provides: Forms and procedures to screen volunteers Ideas for structuring the church building to keep nurseries and Sunday school classrooms safe Instructions for training children’s workers Information you must know to identify potential predators Policies for reporting suspected child abuse

Church Administration: Creating Efficiency for Effective Ministry By Robert Welch / B & H Publishing Group Your “business” is ministry and your talents are teaching and preaching—but you cannot avoid the administrative tasks required to run your church or religious nonprofit organization. Train your leadership and motivate your staff with this practical guide. Chapters discuss documentation; personnel, financial, and physical resources; risk management; and more. 400 pages, hardcover from B&H.

Technorati Tags: Church Administration, Risk Management, Child Abuse, Sex Abuse, Scandal, Child Safety, Predators, Pedophiles