I attended the Younger Leader Summit at this year’s SBC meeting in Nashville and have been eagerly following the Younger Leader Initiative in the Georgia Baptist Convention (especially the responses to Passing the Baton). The negative responses seem to indicate a trend that I have also seen in our own association: a strong negative reaction to certain methods (“contemporary” ones, to be specific).

The issue to younger leaders, however, is not so much worship styles, but the ministry philosophy/approach behind them. As a younger leader, I yearn to see a missional revolution in our churches, not a “contemporary” revolution. The missional movement is not so much about worship styles, but about being “on mission.”

Are we really impacting our communities and our nation? I think most of us would agree that our churches are marginalized in the larger culture. The missional revolution is all about engaging our culture and transforming individuals with the gospel.

Being on mission will cause a church to change the way it does many things, including the way it looks and its worship style, and this is what I think scares many people. Don’t let it scare you. Ask God what your church can do to better accomplish its mission and encourage your younger leaders to be creative in finding ways to accomplish that mission.

Don’t let your preferences get in the way just because that’s the way you’ve always done it. Frankly, if the way we’ve always done it was working, we wouldn’t be discussing this issue now, would we?

Editor’s Response: The missional approach to church starting and church growth will be explored in depth in the next installment, titled “Stained Glass and Starbucks.” That article will appear in the Sept. 29 issue of the Index and will showcase how both younger and older Georgia Baptist pastors are embracing the approach.