Who raised these millennials anyway
A very well put together article that corresponds to the CNN post about why millennials are leaving the church…. and as for what the church means to me read…..
And for my opinion on Millennials and why they are the way they are….
Look at those citations/links they are awesome!!!
Your a millennial pastor, how do you get millennial’s to come to church?
You don’t, you go out and meet them where they are and love them and serve them
But how do we get them here?
::Sigh::
Its like asking an expert for advice and then ignoring it…..
‘You know those moments when you are fully aware of God? That nanosecond-to-a-second fullness of time where you and the universe in it are connected and the beauty of the divine exists? Since we are only human we can only take in that immenseness for a moment in time, but that is part of why we are in a community of faith instead of just living as individual believers!’
A Pastor Katy Theological Apostrophe hehehe
Smee “I think I’ve had an Apostrophe”
Hook “I think you mean an Epiphany”
Smee “LIghting, just struck my brain”
Hook “That must have hurt”
Yesterday’s Lectionary Text, when Jesus quiets the storm, is one of my favorites. What happens is there is a big storm going on, the disciples start to storm with it. And Jesus tells everyone *not just the storm, but the disciples too* to sit down and shut up–and to focus on the right things (ie don’t panic about the storm, look to God to walk with you during it). This is why the best thing to do during an argument is to stop everything and pray so we are less focused on our opinions and more focussed on God.
Mark 4: 35-41
Picture a pastor–chances are you didn’t picture someone like me…now picture church–nope that’s not how I do that either… 🙂
You keep saying that word, I don’t think it means what you think it is
I believe there is a church out there for everyone, and that hunting for a church is a lot of work.
Things I wish I had time/space to do in church
paint stuff
cartwheels
color
pray using arts and crafts
do more stuff with flowing water (which is totally Biblical)
make a mess…without worrying about it….
read fantasy
leave the doors unlocked
encourage kids to dance… in the aisles
have a quiet place to pray
have a noisy place to pray
grow things in gardens
do theater on a very regular basis….
have an open toyroom for kids to play whenever they want
do real and interesting things on fb, twitter, etc.
and that’s all I can think of for now
Church is not a building, a faith or a people–it is nothing more or less than urge for humans to meet together, discuss the theological ramifications of human life and to offer support. Therefore church can happen in all manner of times and places
“This is a general service Announcements reminding everybody that the best treatment for dementors is CHOCOLATE…in light of the sad events in Boston, in my professional and pastoral opinion I recommend CHOCOLATE for everybody” (Should you be someone who is unable to do chocolate, Cookies may be substituted). Chocolate may not fix our sadness, but it reminds us of the good that does exist in the world and encourages to act out of love not fear.
PS Check out today’s Lectionary Reading from the Bible–remember the opposite of love is not hate but fear, hate grows out of fear
“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved us. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.”
1st John
Sermons are art, sometimes they rock, and sometimes they don’t. Its less of a quotient of how many hours you put in, and tends to be where you are emotionally, are you feeling creative, is your imagination engaged, can you connect to your audience, is it relevant and yet provoking.
I’ve always said, I wish every sermon was a masterpiece, but since its art, it doesn’t work that way. There are practices and disciplines that help you to be a better artist, but never any guarantees.
This brings me to Presbyterian Today their articles about arts in the church (Shout out to Katie Douglass who pursued arts even while she did her doctorate at PTS)
Arts and Church 
and considering popular culture (ie arts) and religion (cough, cough Science Fiction/Fantasy and Religion anyone? Read about Faith and Dr Who & Star Trek here)
and Whether Sermons are becoming Obsolete…(well depends what you mean by sermons)
If we aren’t approaching Sermons as an art, but instead only as a form of communication or education, then we are not encouraging creation, we are merely communicating about it. And I really think that is missing God’s point. If its art, then the format is far more open then are first and second definitions of sermon imply!!!!
katyandtheword 