At Granger Community Church we're committed to meeting people where they are. We've discovered that most people who are unchurched aren't too concerned with Levitical law, Jewish ceremonial cleansing rites, or how to parse a Greek verb. Most people are trying to navigate challenges related to parenting, a flailing sense of self worth, how to make a living, and even personal sexuality. So, that's where we want to meet them. Right where they are.
We just finished up week two in our weekend series, Sex for Sale. The Bible has a lot to say about sex. God created it. So, we're not afraid to talk about it.
But it seems some people are very afraid for us - the church - to talk about it. Ironic, I think.
I'm speaking specifically about churched people who consider themselves to be Christians. I don't understand them. I want to. But I don't. I don't want to be unkind. But this might sound a bit frank.
Get your head out of the doggone sand!
I've heard parents in our office, at our guest services desk, and on the phone - angry, rude, unkind, scathing - sharing a piece of their mind because their sixth or seventh grader will be expected to sit through the service (Our age appropriate ministry that runs concurrently to the adult service only goes through fifth grade.) Are you kidding me?
I'm shocked that any parent would choose to not talk with their child about sexuality before middle school. In fact, with no suggestion of the "right" age, conservative Christian parenting expert, James Dobson's Focus on the Family website calls parents to "get started now" with the sex talks. Parents who have decided not to talk with their children, especially delaying past third or forth grade, have merely decided to bury their head in the sand while their child's peers and the media "educate" them on sex. Such education is certain to be distorted at best, perverted at worst.
I wonder:
- Does this topic open too many wounds, scratch too close to personal distortions connected to parents' own sense of worth? Is it just too difficult to face the truth inside their own life?
- Does the discussion of sex in church present a risk of guilt and shame, because parents feel unable to speak with any sense of moral authority to their own kids? (God offers forgiveness. You can start again.)
- Do some Christians think "spiritual life" is about believing the right stuff, having a great "worship" experience, with little to no integration to real life - like relationships, sexuality, finances, or attitude?
- Do some parents not want the church to "force" the conversation they're not willing to have with their kids?
I just wonder...
By the way - when your head is in the sand, it's dry and suffocating. And when you spew on others who refuse to bury their head, all they can see is... well, your back side.
