Forgetting Those Who Have Gone Before

Forgetting those who have gone before<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
 
King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had served his father Solomon while he was still alive, saying, "How do you counsel me to answer this people." .  .  .  But he forsook the counsel of the elders which they had given him, and consulted with the young men who grew up with him and served him.  1 Kings 12:6-8
 
There is an epidemic of egotistic youthfulness in our culture; I know, I'm part of it.  It's sad, really.  We're young; yet we act as if we're distinguished.  We're stupid (sorry youth, but we are); yet we think our opinions deserve first priority.  We're generally uneducated in all things political; yet we love to talk about theories of peace and prosperity, freedom and equality (as if we had any idea how those ideals are to be found).  We're ignorant of all things ancient (that is, pre-Beatles); yet we quote great thinkers and world leaders of the past as if we had an idea about what they were really saying.  We talk and say nothing, we see by touching, and we listen by seeing.  To say that we ignore our elders would be a compliment, since it implies some sort of recognition that they are there in the first place.
What's far worse, however, is that an eerily similar disease has been festering in the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />church of Jesus Christ for quite some time; much to our shame as a people of God, we have begun to set aside our elders.  Unfortunately, far too many new churches that are composed of young pastors and younger congregations do not see a need to include baby boomers in their ministry.  One popular reason given by those in this movement is that the church needs to become more relevant to today's society, and since our society has turned its focus toward what is new and "improved," then the church ought to reach out to these same groups.  Well, that's all fine.  But when the elders are set aside, let's be very clear about what is being sacrificed. 
 
1.         Orthodoxy.  Now, let me state at the forefront there to be many fine young people with scripturally grounded theology, and there are many elder preachers who the apostle Paul would advise to be taken to the spiritual woodshed (Gal. 1:8-9).  This, however, tends to be the exception; for there is a very real correlation between churches lacking elder statesmen and churches in the midst of heresy (or what is very near heresy).  We tend to forget that it takes a lifetime to even begin to come to grips with the teachings and implications of what is taught in Scripture.  Consider the disciples; if they followed in the steps of Christ for three years and still didn't understand the full ramifications of what He taught, why do we rush spiritual infants into positions of authority in the church?
There are many tough issues in scripture, to which elders tend to be much more contemplative.  To the contrary, the young tend to abandon many of the "tough" Biblical truths for the sake of what they feel.  We teach people to ignore the bad and encourage the good, because calling someone a sinner just isn't kind.  Instead, we talk about how each person's life is missing something, and though everyone is generally a good person, Jesus can help to make them better.  Talking about Hell scares people, and its really not a loving doctrine, so that whole aspect of "weeping and gnashing of teeth" is either ignored or completely reinterpreted; all the while disregarding 2 millennia of Christian doctrine.
 
2.         Spiritual Training.  One thing that comes through the book of Proverbs is that learning to be wise is a lifetime journey.  This is why Solomon says, "The honor of old men is their gray hair" (Prov. 20:29).  Gray hair in this context carries the connotation of wisdom, discernment, and temperance.  But without the elder men and women in our church (or without their influence directly upon the affairs of the church), who is going to teach Christian boys how to become men of God? girls to become women of God?  One of the greatest thrills that I have had in my life was being able to turn to numerous men, much older than I, and seek guidance regarding the finer points in Scripture that can only be learned through years of trial, failure, and ultimate victory.  But this is absent in so many churches where not a hair over the age of 40 is to be found.  There are so many questions of the spiritual life (how to become wise, how to flee immorality, how to strengthen the soul in times of desperation) that can only be answered by those who have lived it for many, many years.  Without the elders to guide, the church drives blindly toward a canyon without a bridge. 
 
3.         The Church and His Lordship.  One stark reality that has arisen in this Christian youth movement is the sudden disdain for all things "churchy."  In fact, the church in most up and coming congregations is now a fellowship, or gathering; we've managed to turn coming together for worship into a social event. "Come to the Generation-X Gathering, where the music is great, the people are friendly, and the coffee is always hot!" 
We are told that the word Church offends people.  Never mind the fact that Scripture clearly tells us that Christ is the head of the .  .  . church; that Christ died for the .  .  . church; that Christ is going to return for his .  .  . church; or that the bride of Christ is the .  .  . (wait for it) .  .  . church!  How have we developed such near hatred for that which our Lord loves?  Like it or not, the church, along with its oft-defective members, is the chosen vessel through which God will reach the world. 
Perhaps the idea of a church is too stringent, because it carries with it certain responsibilities not just to God and one's self, but also to others who are considered part of one body.  We like to personalize the Scriptures, but to our peril we ignore the essential communal aspect of the Christian walk.
Another essential long forgotten is that Jesus Christ is our Lord.  For those of us still brown and blonde, it is exceedingly uncomfortable to think of someone being our Lord.  Lord implies ruler-ship, servitude, and the requirement to follow all of his teachings.  So instead of calling Him our Lord, we refer to Jesus as our Leader (sadly, I've even heard one very prominent defender of the faith and his underling state this very thing), or our friend (as a quite popular worship song states).  Yes, Jesus is our friend, and he calls us "brother," but lets not reduce Him to that. 
For what does Scripture say? "If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9).  We were not called to follow Christ because He's our leader; as if He's the CEO of our lives.  We were not called to follow Him because He is our friend; as if He were our pool hall pal with whom we shoot the breeze on Saturday afternoons.  And we were not called to follow Christ because he makes our life so much better and gives us comfort when we're down.  To be sure, he is all of those things; but He is infinitely more as well.  He is the Lord of Glory, the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us, and our only hope for salvation from this wicked flesh.  Philippians 2:11 says that one day, everyone will bow and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord; so it might be a good idea to get used to the idea now.
 
            I really do pity those attending a gathering where the eldest member was born after Vietnam.  There is strength, wisdom, discernment, experience, knowledge, and temperance in that gray hair that those of us fresh out of spiritual diapers desperately need.  As the saying goes, those who forget history, are doomed to repeat it.  How much greater will our peril be if we never acknowledge that history to begin with.  Let's not make the mistake of neglecting the words and lives of those who have gone before us, lest we turn the church into Rehoboam's kingdom.  If that doesn't bother you, then read verse thirteen of that very same chapter to see what happened as a result of Rehoboam's neglecting his elders in favor of his young friends.  "So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day." 

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