So many of my peers who might consider themselves “Christian” have discerned that the institutional church isn\u2019t something that they are willing to invest their energy or resources into any longer. We have often experienced church as a community that doesn\u2019t live out the things it claims to believe in. When we\u2019ve sought out a community of belonging that nourishes us and compels us to live our lives for the sake of the neighbor, we oftentimes found instead a place that intentionally or unintentionally perpetuates harm and exclusion, a place that continues to sustain white supremacy as the status quo, a community that prioritizes the privileged, and tokenizes people perceived as \u201cother.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n There\u2019s often a really loud narrative about decline, death, and dying. This narrative is one that comes out of a scarcity mindset, rather than abundance. And in the conversation about young adults and church, it often feels like the anxiety around scarcity gets aimed at young adults, seeing them as people who could become new members, and help lessen their anxiety about impending death, they could help lower the average age, and increase the monthly giving. And that is objectifying. It turns wonderful, gifted, wise humans into a \u201cbutt and bucks\u201d . I, and my young adult peers, are so much more than that, and we\u2019re seeking so much more than that out of a faith community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Realistically, we\u2019re not going to save the church, quite frankly many of us don\u2019t want to. There are parts of the church that I think should die, especially the parts that are interwoven with white supremacy, and perpetuating an oppressive, harmful status quo.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For the last couple of years, I\u2019ve had the opportunity work alongside faith communities that are chasing after what it could look like to be part of God’s redemptive work in our world, here and now, and wondering about and practicing a way of life together that brings flourishing and life to everyone.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Background](\"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/ccv\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/17\/2022\/07\/yA-blog-post-1.png\")
<\/a>There are definitely churches and communities that are practicing their beliefs, and are committed to dismantling the systems of oppression, and living into God\u2019s promises. And yet there are so many more that so badly want people to join them, and haven\u2019t quite figured out how to let go of a way of life that\u2019s no longer serving them, and not in alignment with God\u2019s vision.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n