Barnabas File

In a recent blog , Shane Raynor addressed millennial myths and the real reasons that people leave the church.  He argues that millennials are not a homogeneous group, and their decisions to disengage from the church vary greatly.  Some are reasons that lead people of all ages to leave the church.  He suggests five reasons that millennials leave.  I don’t agree with all of them, but he does suggest one with which I resonate—“They don’t feel challenged”—but I see it in a slightly different way. Raynor says, “Some of us have tried so hard to meet people where they are that we’ve made church too accessible.  Most people want to grow spiritually, and it’s hard to do that in churches that spend an inordinate amount of time catering to the spiritual lowest common denominator. . . .People who don’t feel they have opportunities to move forward spiritually may leave church simply because they’re bored.” I would suggest that challenge comes in many forms.  ...