Relevance

This was recently posted on CCN:

Why is it that when everyone says to you, "Go to church, and listen to the pastor", when you can't even stay awake during the sermon...my basic point is, the elders of the church tell us that we need to go to church but when we do it's boring??? Answer: the people of the church do not accept change, we have this thing called Youth Sunday at our church every year and it's to show the elders that we do go to church and stuff like that, but they hate it...why do they insist we go if they won't let us connect with the message, I think that we should try to connect with the youth rather than please the elders because we are the "future" and we can change the world...so who wouldn't want to try and connect us to Christ???

My answer is: What's all the hype about change? Why, in this day and age, do we feel a need to change what has been tested by time, and not found lacking? This person is complaining about not being "connected to the message." In many modern churches, that could very well be true. I don't think the problem is lack of change, however; I think that the problem is trying too hard to be relevant. We try so hard to reach everybody, that we get completely caught up in reaching them, and forget about reaching Christ.

Second problem with this mentality. "I think that we should try to connect with the youth rather than please the elders." These elders have seen more than we have. They (in most cases) know what they are talking about. Are we to presume, that in all our 15 (or 20, or 30) years of life, we have learned more than they have?

Finally, yes, the youth are the future. I must say, at this point, the future is looking bleak. Why must we throw out the fullness of Church tradition and knowledge in a faulty attempt to be cool and relevant? The Divine Liturgy is not primarily a place to connect with the youth. That is what youth groups are for, if you must have them. If the service is all about connecting with the ever-changing culture of today, why do I need church? I am looking for a solid rock to stand on, not a boat that will toss me through the storms of life. The problem here is not the church. The problem is our mentality.

(And if you've gotten this far, I commend you. =p)