Too Judgmental?

 I happened upon an article this past week on the topic “Why Millennials Don’t Go To Church.”  It was written by a self-proclaimed expert on the topic and like most articles of its type included a mixture of truth and error.  However, the main conclusion of this article was that young, educated, advanced Americans had lost confidence in a church that to them was “too judgmental.”  Too judgmental?  Really?  The church has become too judgmental?  Let’s think about this for a minute.

Clearly we live in a culture that begs to be right about everything.  Anyone who disagrees with anyone about anything is accused of being too judgmental. (Just last night I commented to a friend about the enormous piece of cake that was covering his plate and he responded “don’t judge me!”) The quickest way to offend a person in this self-deified culture is to point out the error of their ways.  In this post-modern world, right and wrong are defined by the situation and interpreted by the participants. And unfortunately, the only interpretation that matters is our own.  If anyone else offers an opinion, they are being “too judgmental.”

Clearly too, this philosophy has crept into the religious conscience of our culture and today many people are looking for a faith community that will be careful not to pass judgments.  Even those in the Christian community are looking for a Jesus who will save them, and then leave them the way they are.   To say that something or someone is “sinful” clearly becomes an offense to those who are looking to be affirmed as right no matter how they choose to live their lives.   They are also looking for a belief system that will allow them to follow Jesus while at the same time walk comfortably the pattern of this broken world.

Now here is the problem as I see it.  The true church is the Body of Christ and we are called to proclaim the gospel.  The gospel is the good news that calls for and enables transformation; from death to life, from darkness to light, from bondage to freedom.  Transformation assumes that something is dreadfully wrong and needs to be changed.  “For all sin and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom 3:23)  “The wages of sin is death.”  (Rom. 6:23)  If then, the church cannot point out sin to the sinners, it will never be able to convince them of the need for a savior.   If by being judgmental they mean that we are quick to call a sinner to repentance, then can we ever be too judgmental?  (Actually the word they are looking for is accuse, the church doesn’t judge, only God can do that. Hebrews 12:23)

Now I will agree that we need to make sure that every truth we present as the church is presented in love and intended to bring people to Jesus.  Certainly, the church can be and has been overly zealous in pointing out the speck in our neighbor’s eye while neglecting the log in our own.  I get that.  However, honestly and humbly pointing out the need for a savior is not judgment at all.  We call it evangelism; simply trying to fulfill the great commission given by Jesus himself.  (see Matt. 28:18)  

I think that Millenials are leaving the church today for the same reason that every other person in every other generation has ever left the church; because they love themselves more than they love God.  What do you think?