Rethinking Faith: Spiritual Exploitation, Simplicity, and Our Younger Selves
This month let's question the spiritual exploitation of the next generation, ponder what causes our longing for simplicity, and explore ways to give grace to our younger selves.
Rethinking Faith: April 2024
Welcome to the April issue of Rethinking Faith. This month we will ask questions about how the evangelical machine seems to spiritually exploit the next generation, ponder the meaning behind our longings for simplicity, and explore ways to give grace to our younger selves.
The Horrible Christian Ways We Use Young People
It started with a feeling of unease. Something was off that I couldn’t explain. As I explored my uneasiness and shared some of my hesitations with a well known author/speaker and what I saw of their recent college gatherings online, people reached out. They told me about sitting with their own college group listening to this person speak and feeling uneasy themselves. They called it spiritual and emotional manipulation.
A perfect, emotional worship set by a band with an agenda.
Followed by an intense and inspirational message.
Scripture twisted and tweaked just a bit.
Use of guilt and shame mixed with Christianese language.
And then a compelling but personal ask bordering on a demand.
And I wasn’t surprised, because that was the feeling I was getting from the posts I saw. But it still broke my heart.
Why do we keep doing things like this? It’s not new—I went to Acquire the Fire conferences in the early 2000s. It’s just in a different package. And it’s unfortunately as compelling as ever.
But just because something works doesn’t make it right. And just because something looks genuine and heartfelt doesn’t mean it is.
There is a spiritual exploitation of the younger generation that has happened and keeps happening within Evangelical Christianity—whether through conferences and college gatherings, or through organizations like YWAM, World Race, or IHOP-KC. It’s not okay!
We (the evangelical machine) gather up hungry, needy, passionate young people who just want a relationship with Jesus and meaning in their lives, and we feed them emotion, hype, excessive rules, over-spiritualized theology, false theology, outright lies, and more. We use them to support our organizations, feed our egos, and as numbers in our newsletters, and then we reject them when they begin to question, doubt, and deconstruct all the garbage they once believed to be truth.
This is wrong. And I am angry about it.
I love Gen Z. I am passionate about them. I believe in them. I love the hunger for authenticity, the deep questions, and the compassion I feel from them. I want them to meet the Real Jesus, discover anew the beauty of historical Christianity, and build their own genuine faith.
We don’t need to manipulate them into doing anything. They are already seeking for truth. They need guidance, honesty, and love, not coercion and exploitation while we try to force them into becoming something that didn’t even work for the last generation. The Holy Spirit is fully capable of leading and teaching them, and we would do well to settle in and learn from them.
I’m probably going to be writing an open letter sometime soon. But first I’m gonna pray and ask the Holy Spirit for wise words not just passionate venting. Stay tuned.
“The expectation that life is good and that we deserve happiness robs us of our natural ability to problem-solve in difficult situations. Decades of pleasure seeking, leisure, and happiness have created a vacuum for responding to uncomfortable and unpleasant circumstances and feelings.” From Uncomplicated by Brenda Yoder
My dear friend, Brenda Yoder, wrote a new book called Uncomplicated: Simple Secrets for a Compelling Life. It’s a different type of book than I normally write about in this letter, but I’m excited to share it with you.
Brenda has been a supporter of my writing and searching since I first met her as a MOPS speaker back when my children were babies. She was my mentor as I rethought my views on women, marriage, and ministry. As someone who has spent time rethinking her own beliefs while continuing to hold a historical Christian faith, Brenda inspired me to do the same.
Brenda moved Shipshewana, Indiana as a young girl. She didn’t have history in the Amish/Mennonite area, but began to appreciate the simpler lifestyle in her teens while dating her now husband Ron. Brenda adapted to the farmwife lifestyle, learning to can fruits and vegetables, milk cows, and make bread before it was something that we all decided to. When the pandemic hit in 2020, Brenda began to rethink her experiences, appreciate the simplicity, and notice the longings many of us felt for a simpler life. (Hence all the sourdough happening these days.)
I was part of the launch team for this book, but struggled to read the e-copy of Uncomplicated on my phone. After getting my paper copy in the mail this week, I dug in and found my own inner longings echoed in the pages. There is something missing in our hectic, distracted, disconnected lives. I think this is part of the revival of the “granny crafts” we see on TikTok and Instagram. What if there is more to those longings than we even realize?
Written with gentleness, Biblical truth, and without Christianese, Brenda explores our longings and points us back to Jesus. She also gives practical steps to cut back on the chaos and embrace the potential of our own uncomplicated lives.
Giving Grace to My Younger Self
I used to watch home videos and cringe—little Christy was embarrassing. She was bossy, independent, self-assured, opinionated, and definitely attention seeking. Part of my healing journey this year has been to see past the behaviors to the needs, desires, and longings of my little heart. I’m trying to give my younger self grace in the same way that I give grace to my students and attempt to understand what their behaviors are telling me.
Little Christy wanted to be unique and special, but she was afraid that she wasn’t good enough and that something was wrong with her. She looked like she needed to be taken down a notch or two, but she really needed to be affirmed. Her leadership gifts needed to be noticed, celebrated, and given opportunity to thrive, even if she also needed to be reminded what was and wasn’t appropriate.
It’s an interesting exercise to look back with grace and compassion instead of judgement and condemnation. To whisper words of acceptance and love to that a little girl who is still in my heart. But it feels like every time I do, my current adult self is able to relax a little, soften, and rest more in the grace and acceptance of Jesus.
What did your little person need to hear? What did they need to receive from the adults in their life? How can you give your younger self the grace they once needed?
Have you experienced this? What has it done for you? I’d love to hear your stories.
As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts, questions, or comments. You can find me on Threads, Instagram, Facebook, my website, and on my podcast Looking for the Real God. I’d love to connect with you on any of these places!
My podcast, Religious Rebels, can be found on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and more. New episodes drop every other Sunday at noon on YouTube and 5pm on Substack and everywhere you listen to podcasts.
You can also order an autographed copy of my book, Religious Rebels: Finding Jesus in the Awkward Middle Way by clicking on the button below. Or you can find it on Amazon.
Wow... I deeply resonate with this. It's both convicting and encouraging. I am familiar with/have lived in the worlds of pretty much all those evangelical acronyms you mentioned. While I loved so much of it at the time and still hold so many fond memories, theologically and personally, I think differently about so many things today...
I now serve as a spiritual director and walking with young people on their spiritual journeys now vs as a leader in YWAM (and similar orgs), I find what you said to be so true. We don't need to hype young people up or manipulate them. They WANT to hear from the Lord.... And are capable of doing that without all the extra rules/pressures we put on them. I love that Gen Z is asking the questions so many of us have been afraid to speak out loud. They are ripe to have a deep and authentic relationship with God NOW because of this wrestling. Many people who come to spiritual direction are wrestling with these things in their 50's and 60's because they never felt free to express their doubts and hurt from the "evangelical machine" for all those years. I'm encouraged to see the freedom of young people today to dig into this from the start.
Looking forward to reading more of your writing!