Much has been said and written in the last decade concerning the troubling trend of Millennials leaving the church. Those that were born between 1980 and 2000 have been the subject of much speculation as they walk out of the church doors and appear to abandon their faith. The alarm has been sounded so loudly that it has reshaped the landscape of the American church as young pastors and seasoned veterans of ministry seek to retain the Millennials they have and reach the ones down the street.

A recent article titled “5 Possible Reasons Young Americans are Leaving Church and Christianity Behind” explores this topic with analysis gained from the vast resources of groups like Focus on the Family and the Barna Resource Group. It’s an interesting read.

While several of these reasons are suspect, to me, at least two of the stated reasons were easy to guess; and I would have been surprised if they were not on the list. The two are: Politics in the Pulpit and Sex.

It seems with every list of reasons why younger generations are upset with the church or leaving their faith that politics and sex are among the most frequently cited. This fact is something I find intriguing and troubling.

First let’s be clear about what exactly is meant by “politics in the pulpit.” Groups such as Alliance Defending Freedom routinely call on pastors to preach sermons that are “political” in nature as part of their Pulpit Freedom Sunday initiative. If it’s these sermons that Millennials find bothersome, fine. I disagree, but what do I know, I was born in 1979.

However, if it is sermons on life, marriage, and religious freedom, I think we have an altogether different story on our hands. The life v. abortion debate has been hijacked by abortion activists and advocates and politicized to the point of tremendous tension. Despite this fact it remains true that the issue of life is not a political issue but a biblical, moral issue. God is the Creator of life and the only One that gets to decide when life ends. For this reason life must be defended from conception to natural death. That’s not political, it’s biblical.

God also defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Until God decides to redefine marriage no one else has the right to brazenly usurp God’s authority and seek to redefine what He has defined. And since God established sex to be between one man and one woman within the confines of marriage, pre-marital sex, adultery, pornography, and co-habitation are unbiblical and morally wrong. None of this is political, it’s biblical.

If these are the truths being taught in sermons that Millennials find so unpleasant that they are walking away from the church then we have bigger problems than a mere difference of opinion. The problem is a biblical illiteracy that results in young people espousing obviously unbiblical views dictated by culture rather than Scripture.

While abortion seems to be an issue that mostly unites Christians rather than divide, those advocating for marriage redefinition have spun emotional narratives that have ensnared Millennials. These young believers are looking around at their friends and co-workers and can’t bear to tell them their lifestyle is wrong or that God doesn’t approve of their “marriage.” So when a pastor or church comes along and teaches biblical truth on the subject to that same effect, the young believers are angered.

But biblical truth is not rooted in emotions, cultural trends, or opinions. The truth of Scripture is rooted in the immutable, transcendent truth of God Himself. His words rise above emotions and culture. This means those who adhere to biblical doctrine regarding marriage are no more hateful or bigoted than God Himself. Ironically, while Millennials have no trouble calling pastors or church leaders bigoted and hateful they don’t see God that way. Perhaps our delivery is in question.

The article goes on to list several things Millennials really want churches to help them with. They are:

Encourage relationship-building,
Teach them how to understand, interact and be present in the culture,
Allow young people to take leadership roles and help them develop their skills,
Help Millennials apply the Bible to their career and life mission, and
Help them build an intimate relationship with God.

I see nothing here that any church should not be doing regularly. We were created to live the Christian life in community so relationship building is important. Being wise within our culture is needed in order to reach the lost. Encouraging the young to get active and involved in the church is important. Applying the Bible to everyday life is both practical essential to completing the race God has given to each of us. Enjoying an intimate relationship with God should be the goal of every believer.

But, let’s be clear about one thing; an intimate relationship with God is only possible for the person yielding his or her life and submitting to God’s authority in his or her life. This means laying down opinions and feelings in favor of the clear truth of Scripture. The one who refuses to accept and live by the truth of Scripture has no chance of enjoying intimacy with God. This is where Millennials may be missing the mark. They want to decide which parts of Scripture they will and will not live by but still enjoy intimacy with God. Sorry, that’s not how it works.

Jesus said it best, “If you love Me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) You can’t dictate to God which commandments you will and will not keep and still claim to love Christ.

I’ve been saying for quite some time that churches need to spend greater time teaching on the subject of sexuality and marriage. Thankfully, I’m not alone. Louder voices than mine are explaining the critical need for the church to be a competing voice in the current marriage debate not merely for the purpose of politics, but for the purpose of the Gospel. An article at The Gospel Coalition explains how the definition of marriage will in fact affect the church if changed:

“When the church declines to speak the truth about marriage, it invites competing and false views to rob marriage’s purpose. Were the church to “get out of the marriage business” as some are tempted to demand, two mistakes will follow. First, the church will allow a false understanding of marriage to dominate the public square. Second, the church will become a secularized version of itself. Christians long ago insisted that a culture of no-fault divorce would not affect Christian marriages. But today, we’re all too familiar with the testimonies of scarred Christians who have endured divorce. The reality of divorce within the church bears out this truth: If the church is not holding fast to the truth of marriage, it will bend and accommodate itself to the dominant marriage ideology of the public square.”

This gives a worthy answer to the question “How does same-sex ‘Marriage’ hurt/affect you?” Simply put, if the church fails to stand firmly and boldly for the truth of Scripture regarding the definition of marriage, we can be sure that over time the breakdown of marriage and family will creep into the church with disastrous consequences.

It’s not surprising that Millennials would complain about politics and sex regarding the church. But rather than show a glaring weakness in need of change for the church I think instead it shows a glaring weakness in need of change for Millennials. The Bible is clear on these issues, far more clear that skeptics and false teachers make the Bible out to be. Jesus made it clear that being His disciple was hard and required sacrifice, not to mention following His commands. Do we expect it to get easier as our culture runs farther from anything remotely biblical?

Millennials are a generation that has been characterized as spoiled and entitled; a generation that wants everything their way and is quick to leave when they don’t get it. It seems to me it would be a mistake for the church to change doctrine and centuries of church history and polity in order to suit this generation.

Maybe what they need is a good spanking, er, I mean time out.