This article has shown up in my Facebook newsfeed several times over the last couple of days often commented on by other church folk I know. The article speaks about the reasons young adults are leaving the church (or just not coming in the first place). What the author names and what others have documented is that young adults perceive the church to be too political, too judgmental, too exclusive and too unconcerned about the pressing needs facing families, communities, our country and our world.  All of us who are invested in the church need to hear and take to heart the critique of who we are or, at least, how we are perceived.

But mostly, reading the article just made me sad…for several reasons.
First, while all of us are guilty as charged to one degree or another, I think there are many, many congregations that have worked hard and are working hard at being inclusive and taking stands for justice and doing the hard work of addressing the community issues that land on their doorsteps.  And, many, many congregations have made room for questions and opened their doors to the LGBT community and cringe when they hear, over and over again, God bless America when it is said in such a way as to imply that God cares more about us than anyone else.  I am sad that public perception is such that it paints everyone with the same narrow minded brush and lumps all of us into one small way of thinking and being.

And, I am sad that those of us who have been working on the issues that young adults say are important have been so inept at connecting the values and the language of our faith to the issues we face.  I think we have relied too much on insisting people come to us on our terms rather than our meeting them where they are and helping them to make the connections which they seem to looking for from a faith community.  We are left playing catch up, but often playing it blind folded with little or no sense of what direction we might go.

And while I value the sincerity and honesty of the article, I am sad because the data seems to indicate that several generations of young adults have walked out of the church and into a vacuum.  Yes, I know that I, and others like me, need to step beyond what we know and what feels comfortable to us, and that we need to be the ones to take the first step. But when I do or we do  I/we need (wrong word?) others who are willing to step towards me so we can figure out what comes next together. 
Maybe the article is another step in that direction.
And others like me reading it and thinking about, yet another.
I hope so.