So where IS the churches' work?

salamacum said:

I go to a church which is overwhelmingly full of retired people. They have a different theology to me (at least in practice) to where Christians should be seeking to save the lost.
All the enphasis seems to be on the local area around the church, and alpha and church services etc.
All laudable.
But if I dare to say that my work is ministry then defensiveness kicks in. I meet more non-Christians, have more spiritual conversations and experience at first hand the contrast between the two kingdoms. I am truly at the coal-face, working with disturbed and disabled teenagers.

But nobody ever affirms me in my work, or offers to pray.

It seems many are actually a bit embarrassed about being retired. they obviously ended-up regarding their work-lives as places of frustration and isolation.

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Albion said:

I'm not sure what you want us to say. Their emphasis is OK and yours is good and valid, too. So? It seems to me that in every congregation there are people all the time pursuing different projects, all of them admirable. But if you feel unappreciated or isolated, there are many contemporary churches that attract a younger crowd and which might seem more comfortable for you.

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Big Fudge said:

I think I understand what your frustration is. Essentially, you're bothered that the laity in your church aren't affirming the notion that there's different forms of mission work, am I right? The fact is, the mission field isn't static and it's not uniform. Many find that God calls them to half way across the world and many others find that their own community is their mission field, others still see the work place or the campus as where they need to be.

Some operate by just sharing a cup of coffee and listening to a persons story, others by buying their co-worker a sandwich for lunch or others may spend their life living in a developing nation working with AIDS or human trafficking victims.

There's a lot of diversity but that being said, I believe in the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church. A visible body of believers which is what the diverse mission field is meant to draw people into. How that initial contact, how the love of Christ and the good news is spread in the world though, may take on many different forms.

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salamacum said:

I think the issue isn't mostly about me. It's about the culture and mindset of churches, especially as they get more full of retired people.

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