This Post Has Me Rattled

I am being challenged tonight by this blog post I came across on the Agape blog (originally posted here). As a person who is often in charge of "programs" for the church, I feel like I need to read and re-read this and figure out my weaknesses and how to course-correct.I recommend you read the post as well. However, it's not enough to just read this post. It is imperative that we examine our services in light of these truths. I am often warned that our church is too judgmental and that this is why some youth leave. But I feel like the reality is much more complicated. I am tired of trying to "figure out" the problem, and I feel like this post can serve as a road map for where to go from here.Some of the points that really resonated with me...

•  “When the ship is in the ocean, everything’s fine. When the ocean gets into the ship, you’re in trouble.”
• They’ve never sat on a pew between a set of new parents with a fussy baby and a senior citizen on an oxygen tank. They don’t see the full timeline of the gospel for every season of life.
• Rather than dumbing down the message, the agnostics and atheists treat our youth as intelligent and challenge their intellect with “deep thoughts” of question and doubt. Many of these “doubts” have been answered, in great depth, over the centuries of our faith.
• You’ve tried your best to pass along the internal/subjective faith that you “feel”. You really, really, really want them to “feel” it too. But we’ve never been called to evangelize our feelings.
• We’re failing. We’ve failed God and we’ve failed our kids. Don’t let another kid walk out the door without being confronted with the full weight of the law, and the full freedom in the gospel.

Ouch.As a church servant, I can't help but think of those I am responsible for. It's easy for me to pass the faith on to my daughter. Every moment is a teachable one. I can show her how faith is lived.But for some reason, I truly coddle other people/other people's kids in order to keep the peace. I am afraid to appear uncool or harsh or scare them away with the truth. Which, of course, backfires terribly.I'll be thinking this post through for weeks...P.S. This too has me concerned... Let's be sure we're passing on the fullness of the faith and not a watery, hipster version.