May 16, 2022

I Corinthians 9: 22 (NIV)

To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.

A persistent temptation is to make the means of a thing the end and to have the end forgotten in the glow of satisfaction from having used the right means.*

I recently read an article in a Christian publication about attracting “Millennials” (ages 18 to 34) to the church. According to one pastor quoted in the story, “The Millennials are the least churched generation.” It was also reported that this pastor’s congregation had “changed its traditional church service to one incorporating laser lights and smoke machines.” Really? I wrote in my journal after reading the article: “Maybe I need an attitude adjustment but it seems wrong to be trying to ‘attract’ Millennials with shiny stuff. Shouldn’t we be attracting them to Jesus?”

The very next day, I got my attitude adjustment. I heard a young man share his story about how he and his family came to know the Lord. When he and his siblings were small, he said, his parents were having a hard time financially. One night they took the family to an event at a church just so they could all have free hot dogs to eat. Fast-forward to today: that young man is a Christian college graduate and is heading up a church plant in a very “unchurched” area of the United States. Thanks to a church that attracted people through their stomachs, hundreds of people are going to be reached through their souls. 

Yes, God purified my attitude but I am still left with a fundamental problem. While we may need to become all things to win Millennials, let’s not forget that there are Baby Boomers (51 to 69) out there who need Jesus, too. Have we forgotten their needs in our enthusiasm to win a younger generation? What about the parents of those Baby Boomers – what is the church doing for them? 

As we try to follow Paul’s example, let’s remember that Paul is talking about winning the lost – not entertaining the masses. And while Paul was willing to adapt himself to win the person, he didn’t adapt the message and never meant that we should. As someone has pointed out, “Paul is speaking more about giving up rights to make inroads for the gospel, not about exercising those rights.”*

As engaging as he was, the people who heard him were never merely entertained.*