“Recovering”: Meet the Millennials from KJV Churches
Over the last few years there has been a significant movement to rethink “fundamentalism,” a term often applied to churches that would qualify to be listed in our database here at KJV Churches. Largely driven by younger believers, mostly Millennials, this movement has questioned many of the positions and attitudes held by a number of prominent figures who purport to hold to “Old Time Religion” or the “Old Paths,” and without a doubt there are many valid questions and rebukes necessary in many sectors of “fundamental” Christianity.
In this series, we intend to deal with a number of the real issues that should be addressed with regard to the supposed “Old Time Religion” and “fundamentalism,” but at the same time it is our desire to inspect the attitudes displayed by the “Recovering Fundamentalist” movement. As with most things, there are ditches on both sides of the road, and while a strong argument can be made against the traditional model that frequently covers up sin, overlooks abuse, and welcomes “fallen” men while ignoring and blaming the victims, we must be careful not to allow a knee-jerk reaction that will result in the same rotten attitudes, ungodly spirit, and combative approach that is many times the fruit of the “fundamentalists.”
Meddling Millennials
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The generational divide between the majority of the church leadership, made up of Generation X and Baby Boomers (of disrespectful “OK, Boomer” fame), and the up-and-coming Millennials, the generation to which this author belongs, has been the cause for a lot of conflict. We Millennials have a very different approach to certain things which makes us appear to be a threat to many people, especially those who appreciate their authoritative positions and perceive any question as a threat or assume that any disagreement is an attack. The older generations must understand that a person presenting a question is not necessarily seeking to supplant whoever is in authority. Often it is done in a spirit of reconciliation, hoping to correct a wrong, perceived or real, and to restore respect for whoever was in error. Simply put, most Millennials aren’t interested in sweeping things under the rug, regardless of the consequences.
My generation experienced the Internet as young people, so we remember the days before instant, worldwide communication was possible even though many of us met our spouses and best friends online. We’re the pre-Internet generation that has in a very real sense shaped the Internet as it exists today. Our unique experiences have created a group of people, from 25-40 years old, that believe that respect is earned and can be lost, authority does not automatically deserve respect, and that age does not automatically mean wisdom (Job 32:9) when it departs from the word of God. As a result, our generational perspective does not automatically follow that of our predecessors. We are more likely to investigate a man’s character and testimony, and not just assume that he was a great man because he was a “great soul winner”. We’ve seen too many “great men” go to prison to assume that large numbers of “conversions” or a big Bible College are the marks of spirituality.
