young adults and community

I'm a member of Woodland Presbyterian Church - there's been a lot of conversation in the last few years about what church is for and what it means to be a part of it. In the last year or so, it's had some major communication/community problems with younger folk trying to lead the charge towards a more "missional" attitude and activity of the body while the old gaurd (including some younger folk) have been standing their ground asking what was wrong with what was already being done by the body.

I think this is an important question - I'm fundamentally wondering if this is a communication problem, just more energy on the part of younger people, a values difference - really, what is causing this disconnect?

So - here's an article on folk who are 18-34 and their relationship to "the church" http://www.lifeway.com/lwc/article_main_page/0%2C1703%2CA%25253D164481%252526M%25253D200906%2C00.html

Lifeway is a Southern Baptist group and this is one of their research articles.

It talks about the desire on the part of "young adults" to come together in honest community - one that does not appreciate spoonfed truth but longs to be a part of social action. It emphasizes the need both for peer relationships and intergenerational relationships.

What's the problem? Why is it so hard for churches to do this?

I may be crazy, but I highly doubt that it is just our generation that has this problem - every 'movement' in the last hundred years has come from those in the ages of 18-34 (I think)...it's just that a lot of times in the past there have been wars that had drafts.

Come to think of it - if my dad's generation had Vietnam and my grandpa's generation had WWII...how long has it been since the majority of a generation of young adults has not been occupied with fighting a war?

So here we are - most of our young people are still at home - we have plenty of free time compared to our married/famlied older brothers and sisters, a desire to be united over a meaningful cause and the church feels boring and inactive.

Rick Warren wrote a book called The Purpose Driven Life which has since become a comercial boom - I reacted horribly to it...mostly due to packaging. I've come to think however, that there may be little to no difference between what is advocated in that book and what is being advocated by people like this: http://www.emergentvillage.com/ whose mission (in Philly) is:
We are about cultivating an environment where kingdom values, spiritual formation, justice and missional living are taking place, especially in the Philadelphia Area (http://www.phillyemergent.com/about/). What church doesn't want those things to happen?

So then, is it packaging? On a related site (http://www.meremission.org/) a post (http://meremission.org/blog/ten-things-you-should-not-expect-from-missional-churches/) details 10 things we should not expect from a missional church:

1.) Should not expect to regularly come to church for just one hour, get what you need for your own personal growth and development, and your kid’s needs, and then leave til next Sunday. Expect mission to change your life. Expect however a richer life than you could have ever imagined.

2.) Should not expect that Jesus will fit in with every consumerist capitalist assumption, lifestyle, schedule or accoutrement you may have adopted before coming here. Expect to be freed from a lot of crap you will find out you never needed.

3.) Should not expect to be anonymous, unknown or be able to disappear in this church Body. Expect to be known and loved, supported in a glorious journey.

4.) Should not expect production style excellence all the time on Sunday worship gatherings. Expect organic, simple and authentic beauty.

5.) Should not expect a raucous “light out” youth program that entertains the teenagers, puts on a show that gets the kids “pumped up,” all without parental involvement. Instead as the years go by, with our children as part of our life, worship and mission (and when the light shows dim and the cool youth pastor with the spiked hair burns out) expect our youth to have an authentic relationship with God thru Christ that carries them through a lifetime of journey with God.

6.) Should not expect to always “feel good,”or ecstatic on Sunday mornings. Expect that there will ALSO be times of confession, lament, self-examination and just plain silence.

7.) Should not expect a lot of sermons that promise you God will prosper you with “the life you’ve always wanted” if you’ll just believe Him and step out on faith and give some more money for a bigger sanctuary. Expect sustenance for the journey.

8.) Should not expect rapid growth whereby we grow this church from 10 to a thousand in three years. Expect slower organic inefficient growth that engages people’s lives where they are at and sees troubled people who would have nothing to do with the gospel marvelously saved.

9.) Should not expect all the meetings to happen in a church building. Expect a lot of the gatherings will be in homes, or sites of mission.

10.) Should not expect arguments over style of music, color of carpet, or even doctrinal outlier issues like dispensationalism. Expect mission to drive the conversation.

Are they saying that everybody else got distracted while we were all on the journey towards the same things?

Another of my questions is - what about churches like Spirit and Truth, which aren't emergent in language but certainly have the "missional" part down - but still have issues integrating the affluent young adults that flock to them because they have a defined mission? Their young adult problem is different, but soooo real! Are the young adults from the neighborhood experiencing the same needs and desires that the commuter young adults feel?

Anyway my post is too long - but hey - any thoughts?