Already Gone
ALREADY GONE
By
Ken Ham & Britt Beemer
…six out of ten 20-somethings who were involved in a church during their teen years are already gone. (p. 23)
We’ve always been trying to prepare our kids for college (and I still think that’s a critical thing to do, of course), but it turns out that only 11 percent of those who have left the Church did so during the college years. Almost 90 percent of them were lost in middle school and high school. (p. 31)
Those who no longer believe that all of the accounts and stories in the Bible are true: 39.8% first had doubts in middle school; 43.7% first had their doubts in high school; 10.6% had their first doubts during college. (p. 32)
Again, if you look around in your church today, two-thirds of those who are sitting among us have already left in their hearts, it will only take a couple years before their bodies are absent as well. (p. 33)
Part of the concern is that the mere existence of youth ministry and Sunday school allows parents to shrug off their responsibilities as the primary teachers, mentors, and pastors to their family. (p. 47)
It’s one thing to tell students what to believe, it’s another thing to teach and communicate that in a convincing and gripping way. (p. 48)
The secularists are teaching our children how to defend the secular faith, and connecting it to the real world – and here we are in churches teaching wonderful Bible stories and reinforcing in their minds that they can believe the secularists and that the Bible is not really connected to the real world. (p. 49)
When asked what they miss about church, they report that they miss the pastor’s teaching. What they object to, however, is hypocrisy, legalism, and self-righteousness. The Bible is relevant to them, but the church is not. (p. 65)
When it came to science, the Church gave in to human notions. It was now acceptable to use man’s ideas to re-interpret the Bible, rather than to use the Bible to judge man’s ideas. At times, the Church has tried to introduce hybrid theories that accommodate both secular science’s interpretations and biblical accounts. The day-age theory and the gap theory are two examples. Unfortunately, they hold true to neither the scientific evidence nor the Bible! (p. 76)
What really happened to the Church in the United Kingdom and Europe, and America – in fact, across the Western world – was that the Church basically disconnected the Bible from the real world. (p. 78)
Recently a person was giving me an obvious dig at the ministry of AIG. He said, “The gospel doesn’t rise or fall on the days of creation.” My answer was, “That’s true – it doesn’t. But does the gospel rise or fall on the authority of Scripture? And does the authority of Scripture rise or fall on the days of creation?”(p. 81)
Compromising Genesis has contributed to the loss of biblical authority in our nation and helped open the door to the secularization of the culture. (p. 81)
This is why you have the day age theory, why you have the gap theory, why you have progressive creation. Each of these compromise positions on Genesis (as well as others) that are widely held in the Church, have one factor in common – supposedly fitting the millions of years in some way into the Bible’s account of origins. (p. 83)
In the Western world of today, the crusade approach just doesn’t shake a city like it used to. Our culture today is much more like Athens. Yes, there is a remnant of understanding and respect for the Bible throughout this country, but in many ways, when you share the gospel with someone who is more like the “Greeks” and a lot less like the “Jews.” The basic foundation of the Judeo-Christian heritage in this country no longer exists. It’s already gone. (p. 87)
We now known which lies are causing elementary, middle school, and high school kids to doubt the most:
· The Bible was written by men
· The writers made mistakes.
· It was not translated correctly
· The Bible contradicts itself
· The Bible has errors
· Evolution proves that the Bible is wrong
· The Bible is wrong about the young age for the earth. (p 114)
???Church can be defined many ways. It could be simply defined as a group of individuals that prioritize the sharing of the Word of God and live by the principles of the Word of God. (p. 129)
If you are not using the Internet to conduct real ministry, then you don’t exist to the current generation of seekers – two million daily! (p. 132)
Around the country, many conventional churches are beginning to realize they need to use the Bible as their primary “operator’s manual” for church. (p. 134)
We also pray that committed believers will have the freedom to leave, if necessary, to find a group of individuals that prioritizes the sharing of the Word of God, teaching how to defend the Christian faith and uphold the authority of the Word in today’s world, and lives by the principles of the Word of God. (p. 134)
Christianity is contagious, but children won’t catch it unless the parents are infected. (p. 144)
Far too often, faithful Christian educators are trying to feed their students when their own plate is empty. (p. 148)
Youth Pastor:That’s probably something you don’t get a chance to think aobut much. Many of you are fresh out of college and are thrust into churches that expect you to implement a “get them to come no matter what” approach. You’re being paid to bring kids in and to keep them occupied. Fun, music, and entertainment can quickly become the focus of your creativity. (Defending the Word and living the Word become secondary priorities.) (p. 153)
Youth Pastor:Work in conjunction with your Christian educators so that you can raise up an army of parents who can disciple and train their own kids from the cradle to graduation. (p. 154)
Pastor:After all the churches that he has surveyed, Britt believes that, if you’re lucky, 20 percent of your congregation walks away feeling spiritually uplifted on a given Sunday morning. (p. 156)