Living in the Future

By Judy Romero

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     When I was a teenager sitting in a pew, I can recall the preachers who proclaimed loudly, "You young people are the church of the future." I suspect their real aim was to get our attention and stop the note-swapping and gum-chewing for a few minutes. We paid scant attention. We had already learned that the slightest suggestion of change in the ancient routines resulted in cold disapproval.

     Now we are watching our own children growing up. Already I have heard the same remarks from friends, that our children are the future church. We've seen hopeful signs of progress in the church, but our children need to be more free than we have been to make the church what it should be--unified in love, reaching a dying world.

     Perhaps we do not realize how much we can determine what will happen to the future church. While our children are still malleable should we not consider how we are molding them? It matters little what we tell them, but it mat-

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ters tremendously what we show them in our day-t0-day living. In many cases, the personalities of our children becomes little mirrors of our own. The "chip off the old block" is more than a proverb. It is a fact! If this causes you to cringe a little, it is a good sign you realize there is room for improvement. You are not alone in feeling that way. There are quite a few of us cringing when we think of the little images of ourselves walking around.

     Let us take a look at some of the attitudes we want to see changed in the church and discuss what we can do about them now.

     Our very terminology can teach division to children. We speak of "faithful churches," "liberal churches," "instrumental churches," "anti churches," "worldly churches," "holiness churches," "college" or "tongues" churches. It gets to be such a habit we don't even realize we do it. If we really believe in unity we will drop our labels. We'll love all believers in fellowship, and spend our time telling non-believers about our Lord. When this is done our children will do the same thing naturally and without effort. If we hang on to our labels the next generation may grow up as frozen-minded as we have been.

     Even after the labels are dropped, bitterness can prevent unity. There is no denying that many of us have suffered much for the sake of truth in this generation. There has been coldness, hatred, ostracism, unjust and unscriptural disfellowship, loss of church positions and loss of friends. It is difficult to forget such traumatic situations. Yet it must be done or these hurt feelings and bitterness will be carried into the next generation. Church feuds lasting for generations have been started by hurt feelings. Learn to love the people who hurt you, genuinely and openly. Then your children will grow up loving them and the unity of the church will not be defeated.

     Discrimination and segregation in the church must be abolished now, or it may continue for generations. If you are waiting for the whole church to stop discrimination before you take a personal stand against it, you are taking the cowardly way. Everyone ends up waiting for everyone else, and nothing is accomplished. Prejudice and discrimination have no place in the Lord's body. We are all one man in Christ. There is no difference between Jew and Greek (or white or brown or black), bond or free (rich or poor, "nice people" or "those dirty hippies"), male or female (Galatians 3:28). You may have prejudice ground into your being from early childhood, and further strengthened by the social circle around you. But if you are in Christ you are to be a new creature, leaving the filth of prejudice behind with your old nature. Unity can never be achieved as long as we believe ourselves to be superior to any other person in the family of God. If you were raised in prejudice why not give your children a better chance than you had?

     We must use every opportunity to teach our children to love. When children fight teach them that only love can change the other person, not a punch in

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the nose. Do you really believe this? If your neighbor punches you in the nose, either physically or verbally, what is your reaction? Do you do good to him or automatically strike back? Worse still, do you say you forgive him, and then go around mean-mouthing him all week? You may think this does you no harm, but what is it doing to your child? Do you want him to grow up into the kind of Christian who goes around with a sourpuss, a chip on his shoulder, and a fist ready to smash in the other guy's face? This is the kind of person who can sour the church's future. You cannot hide from your child what is in you. It slips between your words, darkens your eyes, and seeps out of your very pores.

     Books, stories, television, all can offer endless opportunities for teaching love. Putting down the villain with fists or a six-shooter may be the good old American tradition, but it is not the life or teaching of Jesus. Children who are taught that all people who make mistakes are "bad," will eventually turn upon their imperfect parents and brand them as "bad." Teach them to look for good in everyone, to love and do good to all people, and they will learn to love their brethren in spite of their faults. Again, this must be carried out in example, else the words will mean nothing.

     If your children are teenagers it may be too late for you to change them now. The only thing you can do is to pray God to send someone else to whom they may listen. But if your children are still young, as mine are, let us get down upon our knees and ask God for wisdom to live the future church for our children.

(Judy Romero may be addressed at Box 251, Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico 87557. She will be pleased to hear from you).