Love and Truth

Truth and Love

Series in 1, 2 & 3 John

As presented by Rev. Jonathan Mills. Pastor, Kanata Baptist Church

Subject: Generations—especially focused on the 20-somethings (Generation Y) and how the church can/should interact with them. The priority is to listen, to engage and to celebrate when anyone continues to walk in the Truth (even when that walking seems very different from how we understand walking in the Truth—not a compromise of 'belief' but a recognition that each generation expresses their faith in new ways).

Scriptures:

All Scripture readings, unless otherwise noted are taken from the Holy Bible, Today's New International Version (TNIV) Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

The complete text of Today's New International Version of the Bible can be found at www.biblegateway.com . Other translations of the Bible are also available at www.studylight.org and www.crosswalk.com along with other helpful study tools and resources.

2 John

 1 The elder,

    To the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth— 2 because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:

    3 Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, will be with us in truth and love.

    4 It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. 5 And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. 6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

    7 Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch out that you do not lose what we ^[a] have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. 9 Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. 11 Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work.

    12 I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.

    13 The children of your sister, who is chosen by God, send their greetings.

scripture

Feeling Young – Feeling Old

Note: this message was delivered in a different manner than usual. The images (underlined in the text) formed the basis for the discussion which followed. It will help if you can imagine the pictures in your mind.

Barack Obama: Chris Chelios

On election night in the United States, I was feeling pretty good.

Not so much about Obama winning the election, but more about what the commentators were saying: “Oh, that Obama. He's so young! A fresh new voice. The voice of a younger generation of Americans.”

Obama is the first post-Baby Boomer president. that is a very significant change in the leadership of our neighbours to the south.

// He's 47 ... and I'm just 46. So, if Obama's young then that would make me ... young.

It's all relative, isn't it?

That's politics. where a 72 year old can run for a new Job in the white house.

In hockey it's another story.

Chris Chelios. the venerable old man of hockey. He's a year younger than me and ... well ... he's washed up. His best days are behind him.

Well, that's the ambiguity of my age.

The Elder

Our scripture today is from 2 John.

It is a very short letter, written by “The Elder.”

What does that mean? The Elder. Well simply stated, it means that the writer was elderly.

War Vet Henry Allingham

Here's Mr. Henry Allingham – the oldest man in England at 112.

I guess you can safely say that that constitutes “old” by anyone's standards. He is one of a handful of 1^st world war veterans. He's the only living member from the beginning of the RAF. He's seen it all.

John is writing this letter and he only identifies himself as “the Elder.”

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Clearly, he is respected within the church – he is an eyewitness of Christ – and he continues to be the moral and spiritual guide for the church.

Not “elder” as in a position in the church, aka Church Elders.

but simply ... an older person.

(makes you wonder how we manage to recruit anyone to become an elder in the church – when you have a title that makes you sound old).

He is not just an authority, he is the authority. As we saw in our study of 1 John – he had been with Jesus. Walked with him, listened to him, prayed with him, ....

...he was reclining at the table with Jesus at the last supper – and was among the disciples when the Holy Spirit came at pentecost.

John had been there. and he spoke with authority...

the Lady and Her children

Woman, fancy with parasol

Elect Lady.

Who is the elect lady?

It's almost certainly not a lady at all – at least, not a person.

The word translated “lady” is the feminine form of Kurios, which is the title given to Jesus: “Jesus is Kurios” (Jesus is Lord).

It is widely believed that the proper understanding is that the Chosen Lady is another way of saying “the church.”

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John, the elder, is writing to the Church – and addressing the children ... the people of God, whom he loves.

And you can sense there is a lot of love that this man has in his heart for the people he is writing to.

Next Generation

Alpha / Bob

Two things are happening this fall that have begun a new dialog.

1. First, there's Bob.

Bob is away at the young adult Alpha this weekend ... so I can talk about him without him finding out about it ...

We knew he had a special ability to relate to younger adults—that came through in the interviews we had with him. And, he's showing that this is a natural gift ...

2. The other important thing is the Post-High School Alpha group.

Mark Croisier was the one who originally came up with the idea of holding an Alpha group for 18 to 25's ... young adults. They are a group of people in the life of our church who are here ... and I think they would admit that they are trying to find out where they fit.

It's not that they're standing on the sidelines and wondering about involvement in the life of the church. Quite the contrary – they're involved in everything from Faithwalk; to the sound board; to playing in the Worship team; to Leading Worship (this is the 3^rd week in a row led by someone in that age group).

So, Mark's original idea to have this Alpha was enthusiastically embraced by 10 or so young adults. By kick off time this September, there were over 20 signed up. As of last Monday, we had well over 30 showing up for Alpha videos and discussion.

Something excellent is happening.

Generations

Child's Hand in Adult Hand

A woman was searching around her house for her cordless phone. After several minutes ... and with rising frustration levels ... her daughter said; “You know what they should invent? A phone that stays connected to its base station so it never gets lost.”

Generations.

As much as we may hate to admit it, we all reflect the generation we grow up in. Despite our uniqueness as human beings, there are some generalizations that can be made about the larger group based on our generation.

The generation before the Baby Boomers is sometimes called “the Builders”

the builders were people who placed their trust in government and in institutions. They were savers – paying for things in cash, but preferring to save. They were pioneers and they build our nation at great personal cost. And they lived through some very hard times.

World War 1

World War 1,

The Dust Bowl

the dust bowl and the Great Depression

WW 2.

And world war 2.

These are just a few of the important events which shaped the perspectives and ideals of the Builder generation.

The Baby Boomers

Here's an iconic memory from my generation...

Commercial: Albert

There are volumes written about the Baby Boomers but here are a few comments.

Yellow Submarine; Protest

Their world was shaped by rock music, and war protests, the sexual revolution, and the credit card.

Moon

They grew up in an age of prosperity and in an era of unparalleled scientific and economic growth.

And something happened with the Baby Boomers ...

Catholic Church

They left the church.

Adams, a researcher for Environics whote a book about changing social values in Canada. He tells about his work as a researcher and how he measures values through surveys, and what the results of his surveys have been over the years.

But as one who measures things, he dedicates a whole chapter on a phenomenon which he thinks is astounding: how Canada left the church. Basically one generation, and we have gone from a church-going nation, to a non-churchgoing nation.

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Baby boomers have dominated the world for the past 30 years or so. Many predict that as they retire, which has already started, there will be great shortages in many professions; doctors, nurses and teachers in particular. We'll see.

While the general attitude of Baby Boomers is to abandon the church – with their mistrust of institutions of any kind – the church actually learned to talk the language of Baby Boomers. It took some time, but we learned the language.

Contempoarary worship. small group bible studies. more flexible governance structures, informal clothing. that's all part of the baby boomer influence.

Oh, one more Baby Boomer reference:

Blues Brothers

“We're on a mission from God.”

Net Gen World

Girl on Computer

Millennials grew up in a wired world. They have never known a time without the Internet. They grew up playing educational games on the computer, and could use a mouse when they were in diapers.

Young Adults

They are very connected to their peers – even more than their parents.

[Note: Yes, I know we skipped the generation – the Generation X, or the Busters born 61- 81]

I've used the name “Millennials” but they have lots of possible names ... Millennials; Gen Y; Net Gen; and my favorite: “Trophy Kids” (they always got a trophy for participating in organized sports regardless of whether they won or lost).

Connectivity and Technology.

Cell Phone, Games,

Cell Phones. Video Games.

There are even Massive Multi-Player Online games like Eve, WOW and Second Life.

They're incredibly tech-savvy. In a recent survey, 97% had a computer; 97% download music and 94% have a cell phone. 15% instant message all the time (they're never offline).

Connected or Disconnected?

But people of my generation wonder about the Millennial generation.

Man in Mini phone booth

this is a picture of one person's idea of the personal, private telephone booth.

But this seems to capture the essence of the critique that my generation would make – that the connection is a kind of isolated connection.

If you've got 500 Facebook friends, are they really friends?

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A man who has teenagers was telling me about his daughters and their constant use of MSN. One summer afternoon ...

Criticisms

Don't Walk

I've just done what I hope we will not do.

From the perspective of one generation, it is easy to criticize another.

It may even be justified – but that doesn't mean it's okay.

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I don't know if you noticed, but this morning's message is a little different. It's my Sunday Morning Mashup.

I'm speaking to the generations who are here – in a style that I think is a little more geared to the generation that's away on retreat this morning.

And, for those 20 somethings who are here today—I'm trying really hard, but the connections from one point to the next are ... well they're just too ... logical. Sorry about that. I'm trying to make them more disconnected from one to the next, but all connected through a single overall theme.

I'm trying to learn.

Walking in the Truth

Walk : Scripture

So, the Elder, sends a letter to the church:

4 It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. 5 And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. 6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

This is all about walking.

Vs 4. Walking in the truth.

Vs 6. Walk in love.

One scholar writes; “Walking in the truth (vs 4) is walking in Jesus' commandments (vs. 6) or walking as Jesus walked.”

Walking is a metaphor all through the Bible. It means to live it out actively day to day.

Isa 2:5 5 Come, house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the LORD.

Micah 4:22 Many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.”

Prov. 8:20 I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice...

The Elder is glad when people are walking in the truth.

His fatherly care makes him want what is best for those under his care. And he is glad that they are walking in the truth.

Extinction

Dodo

Europeans landed on the island of Mauritious in 1598.

this was the home of the dodo bird. (Portugese for simpleton).

They were hunted by humans, but the real problem for the Dodo was the introduction of dogs on the island. Since they were flightless birds, their eggs and young were easy targets.

80 years later, there were no more Dodos.

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The church is one generation from extinction.

We have to miss only one generation, and it's game over.

Exegesis

Greek Text

1. Exegesis is the word that Pastors use to describe the work that we invest in preparing for a sermon. It is the most important first step – to understand the Biblical text.

Exegesis requires a careful reading of the text in order to get at the core meaning of it-- in order to preach the actual message of the Bible without changing it.

Not only does it involve reading the text, but it also involves undertanding the time it was written, the cultural context, the author and audience, the occasion for its writing, and so on.

Exegesis of the text is the cornerstone of good preaching.

But there's always a second step that's also important for Pastors – exegeting the community. It's just as important for a Pastor to know the people he will be speaking to—so he can speak into their hopes and fears; their triumphs and failures; their understanding of self, and their understanding of God.

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Millennials are a generation we need to exegete.

In fact, as a church, our mission will come screeching to a hault if we don't figure this out.

It's fine to send mission teams to Mexico.

I think it's fantastic that we're about to send teams to Kenya.

Starbucks

But our ministry would be a dismal failure if our mission didn't also send out people to Starbucks and Dollarama and Good Life Fitness and Future Shop.

there are conversations happening there.

Relationships that can be built. The relationships are happening, actually, and they're taking place around subjects such as “life, the universe and everything” [sorry, another Baby Boomer reference]; around topics like “spirituality” ... but not the kind of spirituality the church talks about.

There are people over there who need to hear the good news – that Jesus Christ has loved them with a love that conquered death and sin ... and that offers life, and light and hope.

You know what? Millennials will listen ... if you listen to them. If you engage in dialog. If you learn how they speak—where and when they engage—and the way they view the world.

But we're going to need to connect – and we will probably need some coaching and help from the young adults who are already active in the life of the church.

And we're going to have to learn to be open and understanding.

Nice Hat

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An Anglican Priest was greeting people at the door after church one Sunday, and he was feeling very good. Their outreach to the community was starting to bear fruit and today there were 3 or 4 young adults in attendance, some who were in church for the first time in their lives.

But he was abruptly pulled out of his euphoria by a paritioner who stormed up and said; “Father Smith, I can't believe what I saw today—those young people had no respect for the church! They were wearing their hats in church – I think that's disgraceful!!”

The Priest was upset by the man's comments and replied; “Look, our mission is to reach people like that and we're not going to let their hats stand in the way of welcoming them.

Besides, every month the Bishop visits our church, and I have'nt once heard you complain about him, even though his hat looks way more ridiculous than theirs!”

What are we willing to do for the young adults in our church?

Are we willing to let them wear hats? Are we willing to let them experiment with new forms of worship and liturgy? Are we willing to change the way we communicate, so that they can hear the message of the Gospel in ways that resonate with their way of listening and interacting?

Are we willing to “do church” in Starbucks? Get real. Get wired and interactive and networked ...

Conclusion: Walking in the Truth

the Elder reduced it to this very simple statement; walking in the truth.

He wanted to see people committed to Christ, and living out their faith consistently with the love of Jesus.

///

I want to say thank you to everyone who has reached across generational lines and expressed welcome and appreciation and love to the Millennials at KBC.

We are well blessed to have a group like these young adults.

They can teach us a lot ... if we're willing to listen.

Of course the same goes for Generation X. You know how to speak to your generation—and you have so much that we need to learn ... and we are exceedingly glad that you have stuck it out and that you're “in the game.”

Generation X and Generation Y;

Busters and Millennials;

Whatever you call them – those of us who are previous generations are most happy that you are walking in the truth! That means more to us than anything ...

I trust that previous generations are willing to accept that the church must engage and learn if we are to move forward and have a lasting impact.

I look forward to the adventure of mission that lies ahead of us.