Tradition. A convoluted practice that connects and tears people apart. It’s something the Adventist church is immersed in; therefore it is something that the church should discuss. Our church services revolve around a pastor preaching the Word of God, gathering tithe, singing hymns and telling children’s stories. This in itself sounds wonderful. After all, it involves experiencing God, praising Jesus’ life and giving back to the congregation. Yet there is an entire generation within the church that is not being ministered to: the young adults.
This group is the foundation of the church’s future, yet they are the least represented age group in the congregation. This is deeply concerning for continuing the ministry of Christ and will eventually lead to the downfall of the Adventist church if no measures are taken to solve this. Why do many adults find the church services so appealing and therefore see no need to change how it has always been? This is easily explained by the fact that the services are geared towards their lives and experiences.
The Valuegenesis Europe study looked into the issue of youth involvement and concluded that those who feel like the sermons are meaningful for their lives are 450% more likely to stay in the church . It is interesting, then, that the youth leave the church in such high numbers even after they are offered the opportunity to sing during praise worship. When the church offers small opportunities like singing on stage as a solution for lack of engagement with youth, it feels like slapping a bandaid on a gaping wound.
Oftentimes, youth are thought to be too confrontational and just in a phase that makes them question the world around them. But if adults continue to “wait out” the youths’ “questioning phase,” they are going to wait out an entire generation of the church and have no one to continue the ministry. Oftentimes the church likes to declare a specific time and space where controversial questions can be asked on topics like queer pastorship, Black Lives Matter, women’s ordination and Adventist education.
I would argue that though this creation of space is a helpful tool to use in educating and discussing important topics, it has been overused and misused. These conversations occur between elders of the church, theologians and scholars alike, all of whom are very important members of the church, but they are not the whole church.
Youths' voices and opinions are either too strong or unheard because they are not immediately lining up with the church doctrines. At first glance, the youth may seem like they are attacking the church, but in reality, they are simply passionate about the experiences of marginalized groups who live among them and identify as them. These big discussions have the potential to be very beneficial, but only if they start to include the voice of all its church members, not just a specific age group and a specific mindset.
Different issues with the same weight as the ones listed above were raised to Jesus and He answered all questions thrown his way without counsel or a designated meeting time. Some may say that this is because He is God; He knows all. I would say that it is because He knows and understands all the perspectives of the church. He did not need to meet with others to discuss questions asked of Him, because He already had the perspective that included everyone’s concerns.
I believe that as a church, this is what we should strive for, an understanding of everyone and not just the perspective we want to be broadcast to the world. Youth don’t have as much of a problem with raising questions that deal with topics like these. If God did not want these questions to be debated and considered why are there so many examples in scripture which call us to be more childlike. Examples can be found in passages like Matthew 18:2-4, Luke 18:7 and Matthew 19:14. Having childlike faith is not limited to just believing what you are told, it is asking the hard questions and seeking God in them.
The church needs to become more childlike and embrace the questions of the youth. They also need to accept that they do not have all the answers; even the answers that they have now are not the fullest picture. Jesus is the only one who can make a final determination on the solutions to the questions we have. Therefore, the church saying that it has enough of an understanding of Scripture to be able to make judgment calls is bypassing Christ. As Ellen White says in “Counsels to Writers and Editors,”
"There is no excuse for anyone taking the position that there is no more truth to be revealed, and that all our expositions of Scripture are without an error. The fact that certain doctrines have been held as truth for many years by our people, is not a proof that our ideas are infallible. Age will not make error into truth, and truth can afford to be fair. No true doctrine will lose anything by close investigation…”
How, then, can the church engage with its youth? I propose they have open discussions, not just decisions passed down from the General Conference to the rest of the church. Discussions about racism, LGBTQ+, women’s ordination, church structure, marriage, and any other topic the church has avoided discussing with the youth. I believe the church is afraid that if it discusses these issues then it will lose legitimacy, but this is hiding, which is not the will of God. In fact, having these discussions will strengthen the legitimacy of the church. If they address the specific points being made on both sides and actively listen to those they may at first disagree with, then they are truly trying to be like Christ.
These discussions need to go both ways; it is not one person laying down the rules. This is an investigation into the truth of God which involves understanding both sides. It allows for the youth to point out the flaws they see in the church and the older generations to point out the flaws of the youth. Both sides are contributing to each other's understanding by sharing experience and knowledge. Only by continually seeking God through relationships between all members of the church will a semblance of truth be made visible. I call the Adventist Church to start these discussions to engage with the youth in a meaningful way that does not condemn them for having questions in the first place, or make them feel unworthy of having their voice heard in church. With these changes, the church might just survive.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.