Older People and Church
A couple of things have been said to me in the last few months that truly sadden me. They are related, in that they grow out of the same kind of thinking that is infecting our churches. Here are two examples. Just the other day someone very close to me was telling me that her church has begun to cater to the young folks, in worship songs specifically. She bemoaned the fact that her church almost never sings hymns any longer, but primarily the more contemporary songs. Then she sadly said, “Well, I guess that’s ok, because the younger folks are the church’s future.” A second event was a phone call about 2 months ago. An elderly man (80ish) called after reading the article in the paper about our recent purchase of the church building. He asked several questions about our church, and then toward the end of our phone conversation he asked, apprehensively, mournfully, “You accept old people, don’t you?” I almost cried. After the shock wore off, I did tell him "Yes." Though bo...