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...

My Thoughts on Youth Ministry and Vacation Bible School

Let’s be honest: The very foundation of most VBS and youth ministries is nothing more than pragmatic, unbiblical, man-centered, entertainment-style programs designed to lure youth into church, baiting the hook with promises of fun and excitement with the purpose of switching from fun and frivolity to deep matters that aren’t so fun and amusing; subjects like sin, death, judgment, Hell, eternal torment, and a bloody and battered Savior hanging from a rugged Roman cross in order to take on our sins (and absorb God’s wrath) while imputing His own righteousness to an undeserving people. How one can effectively make the transition from amusement and frivolity to the grim realities of the gospel to a group of kids hyped up on Mountain Dew and pizza provided by the church is beyond me (this is presuming, of course, that there are still some churches out there that are even attempting to present the gospel in such an unadulterated fashion). Read the rest HERE