Evangelicalism Really is Divided

The year was 1950, and evangelicalism was at a crossroads. For the previous 50 years evangelicals had fought to create an identity. Having separated from the main-line denominations, evangelicals now were an mish-mashed group lacking identity. The former generation of evangelicals was tired, having fought battles for the purity and proliferation of the movement. Feeling that the gospel’s integrity was at stake, they had worked to raise up a younger generation of like-minded evangelicals.

This new generation realized that their movement lacked identity. They also noticed that the previous generation had fought battles, some of which appeared to be little more than shadow-boxing as the former enemies had receded for the time being. As this new generation looked across the evangelical landscape, they saw a blank canvass. This new generation labored to create an identity for their group. Ian Murray, in Evangelicalism Divided, shows the struggles that ensued during the battle for the identity of this second generation.

This is one of those books that every American Christian needs to read. In fact, I bet many readers of our blog have already read it, and the rest probably own it. If you have not cracked it, then dust it off and break it out. Before I moved to Viriginia, the elders at Grace Church spent much of the year reading this book together. It was stunning how much of Murray’s details related directly to present controversy in evangelicalism.   Continue at Jesse Johnson

Divided, the Movie: a Review, Part Two

This is a continuation of a review of the movie Divided. See the first part here.

The main issue in regards to youth leaving the church is an abandonment of the Gospel and true Christianity in our homes. Fathers are not teaching their children in the ways of God because they do not know God themselves. The producers of this movie are overtly concerned about what happens at our church gatherings, and they should be much more concerned about the homes of our youth. Age segregation for Sunday school will be like a drop in the bucket compared to the outpouring of teaching and love from a true, biblical father. I do not see the dismantling of age segregated teaching during church meetings as the cure-all for getting kids to "stick with" the church. Fathers will not automatically start teaching their kids in the manner that they should. The producers of the film do say that youth ministers may not necessarily go away if you follow their plan. Their role would simply shift from teachers to equippers, giving fathers the support, training, and encouragement needed to be the teachers they are called to be. I believe this a good thing. But, once again, they are setting the argument up as an either/or proposition. 

Next, if the segregated teaching of the youth in a church leads them away from the influence of their fathers and brings them into worldliness, then you have a fundamental problem in the church itself. The problem is not necessarily youth groups; the problem is youth groups in the hands of heretical men who parade themselves as ministers of God. It's not that they do youth ministry, it's that they do it in the name of God whom they do not know. Looking at the American landscape, one would have to say that the majority of our churches are really not churches anyway. They are populated and led by those who are unconverted. They have a form of Godliness . . . well, actually, most do not. They just use His name. So the problem is not the youth group itself. There is a root of evil that must be addressed.  The producers show and talk about the worst of the worst in youth ministry, but they don't address Sunday school teachers and youth leaders who are teaching solid, Biblical principles. What if a father teaches their children all week long, and for two hours a week another teacher gives them solid teaching as well? Isn't that a reinforcement, not a tearing away?   Keep Reading...

Divided, the Movie: a Review, Part One

I noticed the movie Divided popping up all over the place this past week. It is free online, and many people I know were passing it around and recommending it. So last night, I took some time to see what it is all about.

First, the movie is a platform to advocate family integrated churches. It was produced by the National Center for Family Integrated Churches. So you know going in that there is no neutrality on the topic. They are arguing for family integration, and this movie presents their case. That is neither good nor bad, but it something worth noting when you sit down to watch the movie.

If you are not familiar with family integrated churches, let me give you a short primer. Over the last decade or more, there has been a mass exodus of youth from local church bodies. The statistics are overwhelming. Most youth, by the time they've reached middle school or high school, have mentally checked out. When they reach college age, they check out all together and do not return. In looking at the problem, some pastors and church leaders began targeting the modern idea of youth groups as the culprit. According to the family integrated movement, youth groups are non-biblical and a main cause of children leaving. They assert that parents have abdicated their responsibilities to teach their children biblical principles and handed it over to youth pastors and leaders. In an effort to restore parental authority, the movement advocates that churches cease age segregating classes (i.e. Sunday school) and move back to doing church as family units.    Keep Reading...

Divided the Movie

Your church is heavily influenced by evolutionary thinking. It is founded on principles created by pagans and for pagans. You have succumbed to hellish thinking and imposed it upon your church. At least this is the case if your church has a nursery or a Sunday school or any other kind of program that involves dividing people by age. That is the rather audacious claim of Divided, a documentary that is being heavily promoted by the National Center for Family Integrated Churches (NCFIC). Divided is a film about youth ministry. Kind of. At its heart it is a movie that promotes Family Integrated Church (FIC).

Divided follows a young filmmaker named Philip Leclerc as he seeks to find answers to the tricky question of why young people are abandoning the Christian faith. This journey quickly leads him to the leaders of the FIC where he learns that age segregation is at the very heart of our problems while family integration is the key to rebuilding the church and recapturing the next generation. Keep Reading...

See Also: Tim Challies' Harsh Review of Divided the Movie