Millennials and Confessions

In an article that appeared in 1:1 Answers Update, Ken Ham calls our attention to some very disturbing trends among twenty-something-year-olds, or as they are called, Millennials. Over 40% say they are not born again. 35% declare the Bible has errors or they don’t know if it has errors. 45% say that Sunday School did not teach them how to defend their faith. 45% say homosexual behavior is not a sin, or they don’t know if it is a sin. 40% believe “gay couples” should be allowed to marry and have legal rights. 20% say there are books (other than the Bible) that are inspired by God. 65% believe that if you are a good person, you will go to heaven. What is shocking about this demographic group is that they are regular church attenders (at least 3x month). Ham points out that these Millennials are going to fundamentally change the church and the culture if these beliefs hold.

Now we know why so many people are leaving the Church. They were never really part of her to begin with. I suspect it has always been this way whether people are visibly leaving the Church or choosing to remain in the community for other reasons. I am not alarmed by the trends. Actually, in a way, I celebrate what I see as a necessary purging. What alarms me is not the people that leave the church. What alarms me more than anything else are those who remain in the community. If you believe that all it takes to go to heaven is being good, then either your belief must change or I really, really, really want you to leave my church. There are far too many unregenerate, secular thinking members present in the church. Those of us who know Christ ought to have the love and decency as Christians to discipline them out of the body or bring them to repentance in Christ.

The second question Ham wonders about is why there are so many people still in the body of Christ who are so entrenched in secular thinking. We downgrade sin, soften divine justice, cheapen grace, and open the floodgates to worldly thinking from our homes to our business right down to our Sunday school classes. People cannot find basic doctrine with both hands and we are busy convincing them they can discern the hidden will of God if they pray long enough, hard enough, and just in the right way. Why do we think War Room was so incredibly popular? It feeds off poor thinking about issues like prayer and the Christians daily struggle with sin. Millennials have adopted autonomous human reason as their sole authority for how they live and think. They place Scripture in the dock and God along with it and issue their judgments. Genesis 1-3 cannot be accurate because science says so. Women can lead because modern minds understand better than the authors of Scripture God’s true design for the sexes. Homosexual prohibitions in Scripture are the product of cultural bias against the practice. Modern minds are more informed, more enlightened, and yes, more loving. Once Scripture goes, anything goes.

Finally, why is the Church not reaching the culture with biblical truths the way the Church once did? While I am not convinced the slippage here is as great as some think it is, it would be silly to deny any slippage at all. The gospel includes repentance from dead works and rebellion. The modern message rarely includes this. The law and the justice of God have been stripped out of the gospel. The gospel used to be good news for the undeserving and the helpless. Now, the gospel is good news for those who want a better life, a happy marriage, a healthy family, and a solid career. In modern western culture, it seems the Christian life is little more than a shallow embrace of what appears to be Christian morality coupled with some religious activities on the weekend and perhaps some social causes sprinkled in here and there. That is to say that western Christianity is not unlike its religious counterparts. The decision to become a “Christian” is either the result of a rationalistic exercise based on an examination of logical arguments and scientific evidence or it is simply the holding to family tradition in many, many cases. The Millennials appear to believe that being a Christian means being a good person, exercising your own opinions about the most basic of Christian doctrine, and not hurting anyone. Essentially, the final authority in the Millennial Christians’ mind is the Millennial himself. Traditional worship has been set by a huge majority of Millennials, not for exegetical reasons, but simply because it’s old, outdated, or because it belongs to someone else.

Millennials want their own cake and eat it to. This is why they insist on a new version of Christianity, a Christianity not inherited by 2,000 years of Church history, but one that they can put their fingerprints on. This is why Millennials reject Genesis in the name of science and the enlightened mind. It is why they challenge the Church’s teachings on Scripture. It is also the reason that Millennials are more likely to question or accept homosexuality as an acceptable sexual expression even in the Church. They want their Christianity, their music, their sermons, their theology, their way! Nothing less will do.

The Millennial phenomenon points us in the direction of the ancient biblical practice of confessional Christianity. Modern Millennials tend to look down on old music, old worship, old creeds and confessions. But they have very shallow reasons for doing so. Most of them simply have not bothered to educate themselves to form an opinion either way. There are exceptions of course, but for the most part, the thought of engaging in such a dry, emotionless project is painful to say the least. If you can’t give it to the Millennial in a short Facebook post or a Tweet, then forget it.

Paul wrote to Timothy that he had made “the good confession” in the presence of many witnesses. What is “the good confession?” The Greek word homolegeo, contrary to what modern culture thinks, does not simply mean to say something out loud. Far too many people understand that confessing Christ is merely saying they want to follow Christ. “I am a Christian” has truly become a claim that carries very little meaning. For the Koine audience of Paul’s day, the word carried a sense of agreement. It meant to agree with someone. It meant to agree to do something. “The legal connotation is common and poss. dominant. A person agrees with another’s statement, concedes or confesses something (such as guilt before a judge), agrees to something (e.g., someone else’s wish). This agreement expresses itself in an act of commitment, promise, or confession in a court or legal contract. The noun ὁμολογία plays a role in philosophical discourse: it does not merely indicate “theoretical agreement” but “implies consent to some thing felt to be valid, and in such a way that it is followed by definite resolve and action, by ready attachment to a cause. The religious use of the words may have derived primarily from the language of treaties and law courts. A legal agreement that involved binding oneself by an oath implied an obligation to the deity. A solemn admission of wrongdoing before a court of law could naturally have been transferred to the confession of sin in a religious setting. These concepts were found esp. in the oriental cults, as may be seen from Lydian and Phrygian expiatory inscriptions.” (NIDNTTE)

The Christian Confession is far more rich and more meaningful in ancient Christianity that it is today. Today, lip-service is given by many false Christians as they sit in Church week after week, hearing the sermon but rejecting the authority from which it comes. They meet with the pastor, who is all too eager to bring them into the fold because it makes him feel and look good, go through the motions of signing a card and agreeing to a covenant, all the while having no clue what it means to follow Christ.

Ken Ham’s article should serve as a bit of a wake-up call to us. What are we to do with these young Millennials who want to claim our Christianity all the while rejecting our Christ. They claim to love God but reject God’s commandments in many areas. They claim the Bible but only those parts that do not contain errors. They say that music should not be an issue but insist on changing it. The irony is embarrassing. What are we to do with these individuals. First, keep an eye out for them. They are not our friends. They are not friends of Christ. Those who call Scripture into question have to be confronted, rebuked, and if they prove obstinate, they must be removed from the congregation. A little leaven leavens the entire lump. They who question such basics as the Christian sexual ethic must be dealt with harshly. This is not a game. Intolerance is the order of the day for those young biblically inept Millennials who are so arrogant that they think they don’t have to study Scripture to formulate their opinions. They can come with their pre-made opinions and then make Scripture support them one way or another. There is no room in the body for people who have not truly made “the good confession.” What do we say about these Millennials who dare question Scripture at such basic areas like sexuality, creation, and the authority of Scripture itself? We remind one another of Jude’s ominous words:

But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they were saying to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.” These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.

Six Reasons Why only 2 in 10 Millennials Believe Church Attendance is Important

According to a new Barna Study, 2 in 10 adults under 30 believe that Church Attendance is important. Of course, professors, pastors, psychologists, and academic professionals are intensely curious why this is the case and what we can do to fix it. I have an idea myself, but I will save that for the end of this short blog.

The first reason is that Millenials are starting at a lower baseline for church participation than previous generations. (Thanks mom and dad). If the parents don't go, I suppose the kids won't go either. So what! Is that the real issue? I am skeptical.

Another reason is that apparently Millenials are about having fun. And if you have a job, then fun is usually to be had on Friday and Saturday nights. So, if I stay out until 2am on Sunday morning getting ripped, it is very difficult to get up and get to church the next morning. Even making "online service" is tough under those circumstances.

Another reason Millenials avoid church attendance is that they are afraid the church might criticize their lifestyle. You think? What ever gave you that impression? We would never criticize young people for staying out partying, getting drunk out of their minds and probably fornicating until the wee hours of the morning. We love you. We respect your privacy. You can be a Christian and do whatever makes you happy! NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Still, another reason is that some Millenials had very entertaining, I mean energetic youth groups and many churches just can't compete, I mean compare. This is such a valid reason for not attending church.

Finally, Millennials are all about individual authority and individual decision-making. They do not, in any way, shape, or form, need an institution like the church making decisions for them. They will make their own decisions on everything, including what it means to be a Christian, whether or not the church is even relevant any longer, if the Bible is believable or worth reading, and what kind of God exists and precisely the kind of Person Jesus Christ was in His earthly existence.

Biola University dean of spiritual development (really??) thinks the Millennials have a really high standard and are just too immature to see that imperfections are always going to be part of the church. Since the church doesn't meet their high standards, I suppose they just stay away. To be honest, this statement makes very little sense to me in light of the rambunctious, drunken, pleasure-seeking, independent person described in the Barna report.

Why do Millennials believe that church attendance, at least 8 out of 10 of them, is not important? The answer is really quite complex. It could take me several paragraphs to get through the various psychological complexities involved in the answer. And then, it could take several more for me to tease out a solution to the problem. So, here we go. The reason anyone believes that church attendance is not important is because they do not know or love God. They do not care about Scripture. They do not give two cents about the teachings of Jesus Christ, His Apostles, or the Prophets of God.

Sure, there are sorry excuses for churches out there just as there are sorry excuses for Christians, pastors, seminaries and the like. There is no denying that. But that is NOT why we are intimately involved in the community of faith, the body of Christ. We are not involved in the body because there are entertaining programs, perfect pastors, and wildly talented music ministries. We are not involved in the body because all the members are perfect, always kind and gracious, and wildly attentive when we are hurting. Sometimes they are none of those things…sometimes.

  Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. (Heb. 10:23-27)

If you do not like church attendance and you have no interest or desire in being part of the community of faith, the body of Christ, then I suggest your problem is with Jesus Christ, not the church. We can do all the surveys we like. A survey asks the sinner why they don't like coming to church. Do we really think the sinner is going to place the blame on themselves? Church is boring, or I don't have time, or they are hypocrites, or the pastor is too arrogant, or their views are just way outdated. The list will continue so long as there are sinners to give excuses. What I want to know is why we trouble ourselves with the nonsense of surveys like this to begin with. If you want to know why people don't go to church, read Scripture. Scripture tells you why. Perhaps that is the problem. We simply don't believe Scripture. It can't be that simple. Once again, we came back to believing Scripture or trusting in the ingenuity and creativeness of our own abilities. Hey Millennials, God created you in His image. He has every right to be acknowledged as Lord. Even though you rebelled, as we all did, He sent His Son to bear the wrath of the God we all offended. Repent! All those who believe, who place their trust in Christ will have eternal life.

Meism: A Generation of The Self

On occasion I have railed about the attitude of the younger generation, especially in the areas of submissiveness and outright arrogance. The two, in my opinion, are interrelated. Recently, I ran across an interesting article that talked about the research results related to the younger generation. The article calls them the "Me Me Me Generation." In an article published by Time Magazine on May 20^th, 2013, Joel Stein begins the revelation of statistics with this fact: "The incidence of narcissistic personality disorder is nearly three times as high for people in their 20s as for the generation that's now 65 or older. In fact, 58% more college students scored higher on a narcissism scale in 2009 than in 1982.

According to a 2012 study by Clark University, more people ages 18-29 live with their parents than with a spouse. In addition, a 1992 study found that 80% of people under the age of 23 wanted a job with greater responsibility compared to just 60% ten years later. Stein's report targets millennials, people born between 1980 and 2000. Average American family of the 50's may have displayed a wedding photo, a school photo, and maybe a military photo in their homes. Today, the average middle-class American family walks amid 85 photos of themselves and their pets. Millennials have less civic involvement and lower political participation than any previous group.

Scores of creativity and empathy are falling sharply among millennials. It seems apparent that social media like Facebook and Twitter have created a false sense of accomplishment and worth. It's all about friends, likes, and followers. While Stein goes on to express what I would call a blind optimism about the generation's future, I admittedly cannot follow him. My focus is different. The mantra of millennials has been "challenge convention." And they have certainly been busy doing just that. The question is how has the millennial culture impacts the Christian community. Where is the expression of this attitude in the Church?

We can begin with what was known as the "seeker-movement." This movement recognized the trends in the "Me Me Me generation" even before it was in full bloom and adjusted accordingly. Church had to change and remain culturally relevant if it was going to survive. It matters not that Jesus Himself guaranteed that even something as power as the gates of hell would not prevail against His Church, many modern pastors, having all but lost their faith, embraced the new model. The Church had to change its music, its programs, its lighting, and even its message. And everything was geared toward the so-called "seeker." The sinner needed to feel that it was all about them.

The next phase to emerge was of course, the emerging church movement. This movement was one more adaptation or perhaps several, of how Christianity was being defined. The convention and tradition of the older generation, the great conservative movements and scholars were dismissed with amazing unabashed prejudice. Change for the sake of being different seemed to be the cadence of this movement. Scripture was displaced and in its stead, a full-orbed narcissistic post-modern message and philosophy took its place. The God of the OT was viewed as something altogether different from Jesus. Many passages were rejected on the basis that they were not in keeping with modern sensitivities. Gone were the doctrines of wrath, hell, and the idea of a penal-substitutionary atonement. The immediate response when one quotes Calvin or one of the other great theologians is "who needs these old, unsophisticated men" with their primitive ideas and theology. The notion that we are superior because, well we say we are, embraced without critical reflection. What does Calvin or Luther, or Augustine have to say to us? Not only was traditional dogma dismissed, but the methods and techniques for arriving at these truths have also been abandoned. Seminaries spend much more time on psychology, business, and management than they do on languages and exegesis and even systematics.

Finally, enter the young, the restless, and the reformed. First of all, while I know there are exceptions to this rule, I find it a good general rule of thought that the minute someone begins to define themselves as different, new, outside the pale, that it is likely that I am talking to one of these narcissistic types whose ego just needs that sort of feeling. Think about that. Why can't we just be disciples and followers of Christ? We can't just be a Calvinist, or Arminian, or a Baptist or a Presbyterian. Something inside the narcissist insists on not only redefining things, but also on being the one to do so. It does not matter that there is no real impact to anyone or anything in reality. All that matters is that in the mind of the narcissist, they have made their contribution. All that matters is that someone notices them. All that seems to matter is that they count.

The young, the restless, and the reformed are indeed an odd bunch. They range from sound, reformed folks to nearly outright heretics. They have redefined the boundaries for the most part. Unlike their counter-parts in the emerging church, they maintain a high view of Scripture, but like those counter-parts, they mangle it so that in the end, it is unrecognizable. Take the wholesale acceptance of TD Jakes for example, an unrepentant heretic that is embraced by more than a small portion of the YRR.

The seeker movement, the emerging church, and the young, restless, reformed all have close connections with cultural shifts of the "Me Me Me Generation we call millennials. While the emerging church is by far the most extreme expression of the millennial hijacking of Christianity, the other movements have done little to slow the shift. While their statements hold Scripture in high regard, their actions show, at times, an utter contempt for Scripture. The view of God and all things holy seems to be utterly common to some within the seeker and YRR movements. This is a product of the Me focus among millennials. They seem to think they have a right to touch everything, anytime, anywhere they please and that includes the nature of God. One of the reasons I think John Piper is so popular among this crowd is because his views on Christian hedonism fits perfectly with a "Me-focused" generation. This generation is certainly interested in their pleasure and if they can spin Piper's hedonism just a little, well, why not jump on that train?

One of the biggest problems I see within these movements is their understanding of the Church. I do not see anything remotely resembling a biblical ecclesiology. Many of these churches require members to sign confidentiality agreements around Church finances. There is no transparency. One of those Churches just stood by and watched their young pastor build a 16,000 square foot mansion on the south side of Charlotte, NC. I drive by that church every Wednesday on my way to a men's bible study. In addition, the idea of submissiveness, discipline, and coming under others in authority over them seems completely lacking among these young leaders. Well, that believe in submission so long as it is to them and their hand-picked boards.

How is culture affecting and shaping your views and opinions on God, Christ, Man, Sin, and Scripture? How do you see yourself before the throne of a holy God? Is God your daddy who wants you to have a high view of yourself and wants to spoil you with materialism, status and the American dream? Are the songs and sermons that move you only those songs and sermons that talk about you, your dreams, your hopes, and your goals? Do you get excited only when you think God is all about making your life fabulous? Or, is it the cross and the amazing and incredible display of God's justice and mercy that come together there that move you more than anything else moves you? Where is your focus? Is it on God or on you? Is God's own glory enough for you or must there be something else in it for you? Is your greatest desire God's glory? Or, is your greatest desire God's glory when it means your enjoyment in temporal things, be they relationships, careers, money, power, and popularity?

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Rom. 12:2)

Why MIllennials Are Leaving The Church: Rachael Held Evans in Light of Biblical Perspective

A recent post by Rachael Held Evans on CNN’s belief blog is causing quite a stir. Evans’s blog, titled, “Why Millennials Are Leaving the Church,” is one more attempt by one more author to give the Church a lesson in what she must do if she is to retain those of the younger generation, remain culturally relevant, and regain respect within a contemporary culture filled with God-haters of just about every stripe. Of course, Evans's blog is aimed at the Evangelical Church and essentially, what it comes down to is that evangelicals are scolded, yet again, for being evangelical, for being conservative bible-believing, God-fearing Christians and, well, for not being liberal Christians like the rest of the enlightened, know-it-all younger generation. For those who may have been wondering, yes, I am capable of satire now and again.

My first thought is if we should even be asking this question, this way. Perhaps it is fine to ask why the Millennial generation is not coming to Church. I really don’t have much issue with the question as it stands. What I do have a serious problem with is the reason for the question and even more importantly, what we learn from the answers to the question.

Evans says, “Armed with the latest surveys, along with personal testimonies from friends and readers, I explain how young adults perceive evangelical Christianity to be too political, too exclusive, old-fashioned, unconcerned with social justice and hostile to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.” Why do we bother with these surveys? What is it we are hoping to accomplish by asking people who don’t attend Church why they don’t attend Church? Secondly, is this the right source to help us answer this question?

Evans’s observation is that young adults think evangelical Christianity is too political, too exclusive, too old-fashioned, and even hostile to LGBT people. This is what they think about us. Is this supposed to shock us? Jesus said that the world would literally hate us (John 15:19). Jesus said the world would isolate and excommunicate us (Lu. 9:22). Jesus said the world will heap insults upon us (Lu. 9:22) Jesus also said that the world would slander our name all because of our devotion to His truth (Lu. 9:22). I have to confess that I am also confused by these “Christian” pollsters and their surveys. Why would anyone who reads Scripture be surprised that the world would really hate biblical Christianity top to bottom? This thinking seems extremely antithetical to biblical Christianity. We already know what the unchurched, the unbeliever, well, let’s call ‘em what they are, the God-haters think about biblical Christianity. The Bible, from start to finish describes them as hostile enemies of God. So why then are we shocked when they behave in exactly the way that the Bible tells to us they will?

It is obviously unbiblical to survey non-Christians about what they think the Church or the gospel of Christ should be. Who does this? Why do they do it? They do it because they have completely disregarded the biblical description of the ungodly. They do it because they reject the Bible’s teachings regarding the depraved condition of fallen humanity. They do it because they simply do NOT possess a biblical understanding of the life-changing power of the simple gospel of Jesus Christ. They think we build the church within a naturalistic framework. We attract people to the Christian Church with programs, causes, relationships, culturally relevant and timely advice for career, family, and parenting. This is NOT biblical Christianity. It is a pseudo-Christianity that seeks to deceive and empty genuine Christianity of its true power, of its gospel truth, and its life-changing reality. Face it; the unbeliever does not understand biblical conversion, Spirit-centered regeneration. The unbelievers in the visible Church think much differently about how we grow the Christian community. It is a fool who heeds their advice. The worldview of much of the visible Church is detrimental to the Christian faith. The presuppositions of this demographic are informed, to a very large degree, by the culture in which they find themselves. They are social moderates, progressives, and liberals whose ideologies are founded upon the enlightenment principles of science and autonomous human reason. Essentially, these people embrace a non-Christian worldview the most basic level.

Another quote from Evans helps us see this ungodly worldview even more clearly, “I point to research that shows young evangelicals often feel they have to choose between their intellectual integrity and their faith, between science and Christianity, between compassion and holiness.” From this we see a false disjunctive between faith and intellectual integrity. How do we interpret this? Quite simply, biblical faith must be judged by human reason apart from God. If faith cannot justify its claims rationally, then we must be free to dismiss the evidence or dogma, whatever the case may be. But we should expect unbelievers to think this way about biblical faith.

For the Christian, the preaching of the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. However, for the unbeliever, the Christian message is foolishness, irrational at its most basic level (1 Cor. 1:18). Why is this shocking to us? Paul told us this was the reaction of the first-century culture, and it will be the reaction of every godless culture that encounters the Christian message.

Evans goes on, “What millennials really want from the church is not a change in style but a change in substance. We want an end to the culture wars. We want a truce between science and faith. We want to be known for what we stand for, not what we are against. We want to ask questions that don’t have predetermined answers. We want churches that emphasize an allegiance to the kingdom of God over an allegiance to a single political party or a single nation. We want our LGBT friends to feel truly welcome in our faith communities. We want to be challenged to live lives of holiness, not only when it comes to sex, but also when it comes to living simply, caring for the poor and oppressed, pursuing reconciliation, engaging in creation care and becoming peacemakers.”

No less than eight times, Evans informs us of what “they want” from the Church. Not one time does she ever ask the question, what does God want from Millennials? And this, ladies and gentlemen, more than anything else is the crux of the problem. We talk about man-centered churches time and time again. What Evans gives us is one more request from one more generation in one more culture that wants the Church to be what they want it to be. It is not my business to tell the church that I want “x” from it or that I want it to be “x.” My question is what does God demand from me? What does God expect from me? What does God expect me to be in His Church? How do I honor and glorify God by being what He has called me to be in the body?
What does that look like? To answer that question, we turn, not to surveys, but to sacred Scripture.

This is an unbiblical perspective on biblical eldership and Christian community. We must find a way to restore the biblical version of the Christian community. This involves humble submission to our leaders and our community in general. It involves discipleship and accountability, and confessions, and creeds and values lived out in the world for all to see. Millennials are baptized in the radical individualism of American culture and it is through that grid that they understand the Christian religion. This means they do not understand biblical Christianity at all. We must do what we can to correct this false thinking.

The most fascinating point in this conversation is that we are listening to a generation of biblically inept individuals that want to inform us on the nature of the Church without so much as investigating Scripture's teaching on the subject and this by their own admission. If I found out that my doctor had never read a medical book or that he or she rarely ever picked up such a book, I would not walk, I would run to the exit. Moreover, I would not ask that person for medical advice. So why do we ask people who never bother to pick up Scripture what the Church should look like or be doing in modern culture? The Millennials tell us they want a number of things from the Church. They seemingly are passionate about Christ, about the Christian religion, about loving God. I ask if this is true. I must confess that I am skeptical. Is there a way to see if the Millennials are sincere or if they are blowing smoke? In fact, there is.

67% of Millennials rarely read any holy book or other sacred writings. In addition, only 8% read the Bible every day. So let me get this straight: I am supposed to take you seriously about the Christian religion, a religion built upon the Text we call the Bible. In one survey you demand that you want a Church that looks like “x.” Yet in another survey, Millennials admit that about 1/3 of them barely read the Bible while less than 1 in 10 read it every day. They are so passionate about changing the world, about being the Church and they know so much about the things that the Church is doing wrong that less than 1 in 10 even bother to familiarize themselves with the one document that defines what the Church is supposed to be.

In addition, fewer than half of all Millennials believe that the Bible is the word of God. 40% of Millennials deny that Satan is a real person. 50% of Millennials believe that Jesus Christ was human and that He sinned while living on earth. In addition, another 50% of Millennials believe that Jesus Christ it NOT the only way to heaven. 31% of Millennials contend that no one really knows what will happen after we die. These are Millennial Christians folks, professing that is.

In addition, this is the only generation that supports gay marriage. And the margin is wide. In fact, from 2012 to 2013 the other generations saw a decline in the percentages of those that support gay marriage while the Millennials saw a significant uptick to about 70%. (SOURCE)

The answer for professing Millennial Christians is an encounter with a real Christian that embraces the kind of Christian theism taught in Scripture. This is an alarming situation. We must refocus on our ecclesiology, our evangelism, and our defense of the Christian worldview. That begins with Scripture. Why are Millennials leaving the Church? It is a good question and it is a useful and necessary conversation. We do have more to learn. This answer is more like a sermon on the issue. I recognize there are issues that we need to address: things like catechism, discipleship, confessions, authority, indoctrination, and so on. However, the answer we seek is spelled out for us in Scripture itself:

They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. [1 John 2:19] The answer really is that simple. 

Link to Evans's Article