Comments

Perhaps overlooked here is that some of those considered to be "elite" are also reacting to the fact that in many ways the church has left them. By no means an "elite evangelical" (but a 65-year-old one) I don't go to church much anymore either. My presence is not expected there and my experience and whatever wisdom I might have attained are not wanted. Even when the old hymns, which added so much to my former worship, are sung, they are given new and virtually unsingable "melodies." Have you ever tried to hum the new tunes?! Very simply, many of the "elite" and the old guard are not valued nor even welcomed by the new churches. So they have to look for other modes of fellowship that only make them appear to be exclusivistic.

I would advise the poster above me to read a splendid and insightful book: "Why men HATE Going to Church"

And we wonder why there are problems in our country and government. We are not Christian where it really counts. I say the old guard have let the bride of Christ down. Vital Christianity demands that we stay engaged in church and other Christians lives for Jesus sake. I am 58 years old and sometimes the music is not to my taste but "the love of Christ contrains me" to work with those of all ages and music to bring them to maturity in Christ.

The "elite" have fallen into a trap of satan by forsaking the assembling of the brethren together. They seek to be fed on their own terms rather than to find their refuge in the body of Christ. No wonder our nation sits on the brink. Unless revival comes, we are finished. We are not a society of victims waiting for someone to come and feed us, we must all take personal responsibility before God who is the Judge of all the earth for what we are doing in this world. Could it be that the elite are just too busy for God pushing their own agendas instead of God's?

Brad, I just looked at the reviews. Your advice is well taken. I saw the book when it first came out but never picked it up. Maybe it is time that I do.

Isn't it magnificent news that there are no elites in the Kingdom of God! There are only beggars who hunger for living bread and, having found it, want to share it with other hungry people. They invite others to come into the bakery with all the other "non-elites" for an eternal feast.

Some of the comments made above related to worship styles. I am a 57 year old white male. I have participated in the old hymns, the newer contemporary music, and am presently in a multi-cultural (African, Latino, Asian, North American) non-denominational church where the predominance of the music is chours and some that border on chants.
I've had no problem worshiping in any of these styles.

The challenge I've had is the lack of intellectual stimulation. Too many of the congregations I've attended are biblically illiterate and unwilling to discuss even the simplest of topics. Everyone seems to want to be spoon fed rather than seek out the truth. Is it possible that the "elites" are just not tolerated because they seek more study that threatens those that just want to be fed.

Don't bring up anything controversial because someone might get offended. Remember offended people leave the church. Never mind that the ones remaining are too comfortable in their rut.
This is why the "elites" move out to para-church organizations.

MHO

Susan, as a Pastor of Worship, let me also encourage you not to give up on your local church/churches. Your age, wisdom and experience are needed as part of the Body of Christ. Don't let musical issues alienate you. Remember that many hymns and gospel songs (as well as the use of choirs, harmony, popular tunes, organs and pianos) were controversial and caused church splits back in the day. Why can't we learn from the mistakes of our ancestors and keep our focus on the Lord? Worship is about pleasing Him, not ourselves! I believe that true Christian worship should be a unifier for the Body of Christ, not a vehicle for exclusivism. There won't be "worship wars" in heaven, so we need to treasure/value/protect unity now as much as possible!

About a year ago I was led to launch a new ministry focused on men and women who have served God faithfully for two decades or more but find themselves with no place to gather and minister today. Most churches have a plce for babies, kids, youth, college and career, young couples and old folks but nothing for the very vital, gifted, talented, wise, experienced Boomers and Pioneers.

We have the experience, money and wisdom to lead, volunteer and start new ministries but few ministers who see our value. "Why Men Hate Church" says a lot but Seasoned Believers of any gender are unwelcome in most churches except to take a bus ride to Branson.

Contact me if you want to find a niche with other Seasoned Leaders and we will solve our own ministry issues and sing what we want to sing.

Elitism is certainly rampant within the church, perhaps no more than in my state (OR). So much of it is due (and evident in some of the comments above) to viewing church attendance as a burden rather than a place to serve and glorify our Maker. Church is not to be a religious club where I can be entertained and pandered to.
Christ came to save us, to show us what God is like, and to show us how to live. We have the sacred responsibility to pass on the baton to younger/new believers, to our progeny, our neighbors, the tatooed kid at the gas pump or lady who cuts our hair. The culture desperately needs our wisdom & experience. We may be mature in years but babes in our growth and knowledge of the Word and fellowship with the Savior.
Get into a Bible-believing fellowship where you'll be challenged, prayed and cared for, built up and discipled! The most exciting life I can imagine is walking with Christ; he'll take you where you've never been before.
We don't need "special" groups to express our faith; we need to mix it up with a culture that doesn't know where it's going....

Only the president could answer the question of why he does not attend a church. I am sure the answer would be a compex one, seeing his position, age, and other factors. I have to agree in part with Dean about the church and older people. I surely miss the old songs and ways that I cut my evangelical teeth on, but I still attend and am active. However, I rely much more on radio podcasts of more traditional church services for my actual spiritual food. You see, one of those old ways I was taught was to not forsake the assembling of believers. I still can enjoy fellowship with a few, and seek out those opportunities. I am in the choir, because more than the music, the fellowship of shared lives is and always has been in our choir. Not so in all churches, but it is in mine. I do grieve for the old songs which are memorable, and have substance. I notice from the platform, that when familiar songs are sung, the congregation participates more, and isn't this one of the "corporate" parts of worship?

I don't quite buy the oversimplification of having two social tiers. But not having rubbed shoulders with any "elite" at my congregation, it seems likely there's a large subset of elites who aren't interacting with the rest of us evangelicals. That they're spending so much time in the halls of secular power is both good and bad. Good, because they have access and the opportunity to bring the Gospel and thus the Kingdom of God to unreached people at the tippy-top. Bad, because first of all, we're a body and we shouldn't be so disconnected from each other, and also that it gets harder to identify with the disadvantaged. We are all helpless wretches unless God pardons us; some just have more material reminders of that.

As I said, you can't split evangelicals into "cosmopolitan" and "populist" camps. I'm sure some elites go out of their way to be with the rest of us. Likewise, my congregation is in no way elite, but very cosmopolitan in it's "glocal" missions and relief work -this is less of a rarity these days. Fewer congregations will have that folksy "aw, shucks" populism and isolationism in the future. Perhaps we can even accept the idea of welcoming elites too.

I think Christ would suggest we not dwell so much on our status, as though the only way to win a society for Him was to be at the top. We'd be surprised to see the kind of influence we can be, no matter our standing.

It is a very sad thing to say that much of the current state of the local church is one of a country club type of separatism from the very strength that should bond all true believers within it, namely being "in Christ" and rising up to display within and without in the world signposts that the Kingdom of God is truly here. This is a Biblical vision of reality here and now that transcends all boundaries and restrictions imposed on it by the world, the flesh, and the devil. The Christian's true calling is to put on the new self in Christ and display praise, honor, glory, and power to the One who sits on the Throne and to the Lamb, forever and ever! But instead, what we have today in the church are just congregations of inflated selves coming in being in the world and not becoming anything different than that because the Kingdom vision is no longer spoken, no longer displayed even within the local church's walls, and all that remains are the hearts of those controlled by other authorities and powers.

Recently my family attended a local church in the area as a first-time vistor to one of their "contemporary" services. During the entire time before and after not one "leader" recognized us as "strangers" in their midst, and not one greeted us in any way, though after the church, attenders and members spent their time welcoming the new members up front,etc.Only because I filled out a visitor card and put it in the plate, did someone later contact me by email as a welcome. But when I emailed this contact back with some observations of the service and building, no reply was given even though I tried again to elicit a response? If so-called believers in Christ can no longer welcome the stranger and move in Christ's power to entertain them in faith, hope, and love; then truly, the churches are no longer operating "in Spirit and in Truth"
but with another spirit no longer attuned to the true Word of God with the gifts given by the Spirit for the mutual encouragement and up-building of our faith and doing what is truly pleasing to the Lord.

These observations are good and important. On the issue of music, I am eclectic: enjoying classical, big band, bluegrass, contemporary Christian, and "The Church's One Foundation" Christian. What I don't think many worship music leaders understand these days is the psychology of music: stuff music therapists understand. One does not get an army to march to a lullaby, and one does not put a baby to sleep with a march. The form of music used in the church is extremely important for this reason. The individual who mentioned that the whole congregation joins in when singing the old hymns hits on it. The old hymn form is simply one of the best ways to engage in worship. It is not basically or mostly a generational issue. Even my sons (in their thirties)who grew up with CCM still love to sing hymns. I can get CCM any time. In church I need hymns.

"Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together." is a command to George Bush down to the illegal alien. No follower of Christ is exempt. Jesus said, "If you love Me keep My commandments." These "Elite" have been chosen by God to be elite for Him.. They will answer for not taking this gift of God and investing it in His kingdom on the day of judgement. I am also reminded that it is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. It's only possible by God (i.e. faith in Him, rather than viewing their position and egotism as some excuse to stay away from those fools who go gather as God has instructed on a weekly basis and the example of the apostles for the Lord's Supper and the apostolic teaching.

How about trying this: Create a new church congregation that does not have a professional pastor, but calls on the members of the congregation to fill all of the pastoral roles, each one contributing 10 to 20 hours a week, unpaid. Rotate the members of the congregation through various roles, so they spend no more than 3 to 5 years doing any one of them. Call the most accomplished members of the congregation to serve in the most responsible positions. As the membership grows, instead of building a bigger church, create new, small congregations, perhaps even two or three sharing the same building at different times on Sunday, in order to keep the congregation small enough so that your amateur pastors and teachers can manage, and so that familiarity with 100 to 300 people can be maintained. This system would use the talents of the "elites" in the service of the church community. Their accomplishment would serve as an inspiration to their fellow congregants, who would know that education and success do not spell the end of faith. And the "elites" would have the opportunity for humble service, staying anchored in the world of common people and their needs. Educated people who were concerned about oversimplified bible study would become teachers, who could help bring others up to their level of understanding, even as they humbly serve others.

This system would make both the elites and the churches better.

Does it seem like a pipe dream? It is the system the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints uses. It has no career clergy. Every one of its thousands of congregations are led by laymen, spreading the experience of service and teaching and leadership. Any group of LDS who move to a new town can immediately form a new congregation. The elites among the LDS membership are its most loyal members (a research study confirmed this). Every man and woman is a potential pastor or leader or teacher. Teenagers get leadership experience early on, and it makes them more loyal to their parents' religion (as shown in a recent national research study). Young men and many young women, before they marry, volunteer two years to serve as missionaries, supported by their own savings and their families, not the church. They become the core of the volunteer leadership system. And when a person is a leader, a teacher, a minister, then that person's loyalty to the congregation is increased immeasurably.

Obviously, it is not likely that a lot of professional clergy will try to work themselves out of a job by creating a system that replaces them. But does the church exist to provide a career progression for graduates of seminaries and Bible colleges, or to serve the members of the congregation?

With all due respect my brothers and sisters...

As long as the measure our Christian experience is our Christian experience we will remain a Laodicean church...at best.

When will we live like we are Christ's body and not vice versa? Have we forgotten the judgment scene in Matthew in which eternal destiny hangs on our ministry to the "least of the brethren"? Is it any wonder that evangelical Christianity languishes in the land of plenty but flourishes in the harsh environment of third world cultures?

Let us corporately get over ourselves and go looking for the face of Jesus in the midst of our congregations or, more like, in the rough and tumble of culture on a bobsled to hell. If we wait to be appreciated, we may just miss the One who "comes like a thief in the night."