I was recently informed about a brand new documentary film that just been released called “Divided.” (www.dividedthemovie.com) The movie is produced by a young man who investigates some hard questions about the practice of segregated church ministries and the impact they’ve had, especially on the youth. He himself was on a quest to discover a better and more Biblical perspective for doing church, and his conclusions are worth considering.
Pastors, Youth Pastors, Theologians, Church Historians, and even youth themselves are interviewed in an attempt to answer the haunting question that plagues us all, “Why are so many young people leaving the church after high school?” Some statistics reveal that up to 88% of all young people that are raised in the church will walk away by the time they’re adults. Many people challenge this percentage, saying that the numbers are a little inflated. But what if the numbers are only 75%, or even as low as 66%? This trend is staggering by anyone’s best estimates!
Could it be that because of the practice of dividing the sheep into age-segmented groups, and particularly by giving the teenagers their own special, “hip” kind of church, we’ve unwittingly created a faithless generation? These are the kinds of questions that this young film-maker is asking. And all of us who are church leaders need to pay very close attention. Some of you may not agree with the conclusions, but you have to appreciate the concerns!
The documentary brings out the history of age-segmented practices in the church, citing the Sunday School movement of the late 18th and early 19th century as its beginning. It also reveals that the church, although critical at first, began to adopt worldly methods of education which has become accepted as the norm today. As a result, the responsibility of raising the children (and teaching them about the things of God) has been taken out of the hands of the parents and put into the hands of the so-called experts. And this has happened with the parents blessing!
Almost everywhere we go and in everything we do we remove children from their parents. When children are born, we make a show of dedicating them to the Lord but then we give them to child-care facilities to nurture them. When they become school-age children, we give them over to the state so that they can indoctrinate them into budding secularists. And even in the church, we would rather put them into a class with someone else who will babysit them for a couple of hours rather than take the responsibility upon ourselves. By the time they reach adolescence, they don’t feel any connection with the church at all, nor with the parents who have delegated these crucial, formative opportunities to someone else all their lives.
I feel like I’m becoming a stronger advocate than ever for the importance of families. This is because I can’t imagine any callling more important in this life than to shepherd my family in the faith. I think it’s time that we begin to examine some of our age-old practices in the church in light of the testimony of Scripture.
You can watch this movie online for free for a limited time. It’s about 55 minutes long and is worth every minute. If nothing else, you’ll get a glimpse of the church from a young person’s perspective. You’ll have to ask yourself whether or not the church has lost its relevance for an entire generation. Here’s the link: www.dividedthemovie.com