In case you were wondering, I'm on Facebook.
Yippee!
It is kind of nice to "reconnect" with some people. At least to find out what became of them.
I was going through my "friends" list recently and noticed something disturbing.
Looking at my "friends" from grade school and high school got me kind of depressed. No, not because they portray themselves as having a great job and a great life. (Believe me, there are other things that depress me more.) It's that part where one can list their "religious views."
Let me backtrack here.
I am what can be affectionately called a "system kid." I attended an LCMS grade school, I attended an LCMS high school, I attended an LCMS college and I attended an LCMS seminary. Through all of that, I am still a member of the LCMS. (Sadly, no award exists for those of us who have accomplish such a feat.)
It was looking at those "religious views" that got me depressed.
Reading over and over again the "religious views" of people that I had gone to grade school or high school with and seeing the views posted: "Methodist", "I believe there is a God,", "non-denominational", blah, blah, blah.
This was painful to read. I grew up with these people. I went to church with them. I knew their parents and, in some cases, their grandparents. I know that a majority of those that I went to high school with also went to an LCMS grade school. What the hell happened?
Who does this reflect poorly on? Do you blame the churches? Do you blame the schools? Do you blame the parents? Do you blame the pastors? Do you blame the teachers? Is it some of the above? All of the above? I don't know.
What I do know is that it looks like almost a whole generation just disappeared. Gone.
I wonder if the parents who sacrificed (I know my parents did) so their children could get an education at a Lutheran school wasted their money? Maybe they would have been better off sending their children to public schools and treating themselves to a better car or vacation.
What happened? Why was there a disconnect?
How, why, did this faith not get passed on to my generation?
Is there any way to get them back?
Not likely, I think.
Is this still happening today?
What can be done to prevent this?
Does something need to change?
Here's my challenge to you:
If you are on Facebook, and you graduated from an LCMS grade school and/or high school, check out your friend's "religious views" and see where they are today. (If you went to an LCMS college, I guess you can play as well.)
Let me know what you find.
