“Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”—Psalm 50:15

During the 5th century, a Christian missionary by the name of Patrick began evangelizing to the pagan nation of Ireland. But did you know that the man known as the patron saint of Ireland, Patrick, was not Irish? In his autobiography, Confessions, he states that he was born in Britain—son of a church deacon, and grandson of a priest.

According to historic records, he was never canonized as a saint by the Vatican.

“Evidently Patrick was biblical and evangelical in his preaching and his ministry, and the churches he founded were independent of Rome. So it may be concluded that he was neither Irish nor Roman Catholic.” (Vos, H. F., & Thomas Nelson Publishers. (1996). Exploring church history)

At age 16 he did not know the “True God”, and he was disobedient to God’s precepts as well as to the leaders of the church. Patrick was abducted by Irish marauders and taken as a slave for 6 years, working as a herdsman in Ireland. Living outdoors in the heat and cold, he believed that his captivity was a wake-up call as a result of his disobedience, and that God had a plan and a purpose through it all. Under these dreary conditions, his Christian faith grew as he prayed to God for spiritual restoration and help.

He escaped his captors by responding to a dream, which told him that a ship was waiting 200 miles away and it was time to return home. The trip by sea was short, but the voyage on land was not direct and came with complications including starvation, capture, and challenges to his faith. Upon finally returning to his home in Britain several years later, he was joyfully reunited with his family.

A few years after his reunion, he received another vision: to evangelize to Ireland as a Christian missionary. Because of his ignorance and lack of ability, he did not heed the call to ministry immediately. Instead, he remained in England for 15 more years to train in his Christian studies. Even when he finally departed for Ireland, he was still uncertain that he was prepared.

After 20 years, he returned to Ireland (around the year 435), where he preached the gospel with zeal in their native Celtic language for over 30 years. His six years of captivity had allowed him to not only learn the language, but also understand the Irish, pagan Druid beliefs. His unique knowledge allowed him to build a bridge to the Christian faith, breaking the power of paganism over the people.

Reading his writings, I was amazed at how evangelistic and charismatic, his words sound. He quoted numerous passages of the Bible: Psalms, the Prophets, the Gospels. Here is an excerpt:

“Just as the Lord says in the Gospel, admonishing and instructing: ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always to the end of time.’” – Saint Patrick, Confessions

So how, in America, did March 17, the celebration of the date of Saint Patrick’s death, become a celebration of green beer and drunken revelry? My wife was privileged to travel to Ireland on Saint Patrick’s Day when she worked as a flight attendant. The passengers on the plane were all decked out in green and ready to hit the bars. But when they got to town, everyone was in church and there was absolutely nothing open, including the pubs. They could not even buy a cracker.

On Saint Patrick’s Day we should soberly celebrate the life of a Christian Missionary who, despite all odds and personal doubt, answered God’s call, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, preached the saving grace through Christ’s death on the cross, throughout Ireland.

Pastor Jay Merritt

“Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! Sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.” - Psalm 96:1

My wife and I have had the privilege to visit a number of churches in the past year and we have become concerned with the state of our churches today. Whether we like or not, the traditional churches of our grandfathers are not reaching the youth. We attended a beautiful Easter cantata a couple of years ago in a beautiful building with dark wood pews and stained glass windows. Their 100 year tradition was displayed on plaques throughout the structure. The seats were all full. The music was rich. The message was clear. But the choir was singing to the silver haired saints. My wife and I were among the youngest in the crowd, and we are grandparents.

“When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the LORD nor the work which He had done for Israel.” - Judges 2:10

At a growing church in Florida that is rich in diverse age groups as well as cultures, the pastor put it this way – “We are constantly updating the church. “ He used the analogy of a kitchen. While most of us remember the kitchens of the 60’s and 70’s with red Formica and chrome or burnt orange and olive green, most of us have upgraded since then. We still cook good food, hopefully with healthier ingredients, but we have updated the environment. And so it should be with the church.

I am of a generation that used to huddle around a giant console TV on Saturday nights. Many such devices had built in record players or 8-track tape machines. Ours had a reel-to-reel recorder. How many of those are still in use in our homes today? Even the old rabbit ears had to give way to digital antennas in the last few years. 

Is it possible that we are losing our youth, because we are we still doing church the way it was 50 years ago? Some I have spoken to just proclaim it as the “great falling away” predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. I think it because the church has dropped the ball.

A standard practice of the church that I believe started the trend of disappearing youth is the way we split up families as soon as they walk in the door. All the kids go one way and the adults go another. Have you ever attended a children’s’ church service? They are interactive, vibrant, clapping, jumping and sometimes loud. Kids are trained in this environment for 10-12 years and we wonder why they don’t want to attend the (boring) services with the adults! 

When these children are old enough, they get to attend youth group, with the same pattern of vibrancy and relevance. Jeans and t-shirts on a Wednesday night become the norm, along with pizza and Twinkies. Music  is“plugged in” and cranked up, but the message of Jesus Christ still rings out loud and clear. But when the born-again youth step through the doors on a Sunday morning, they feel like aliens because of the contrast in worship styles and the judgmental attitude of the saints.

And then these young people, who have been “trained up as a child in the way they should go,” find themselves in their 20’s, too old for youth group and unable to fit in with the worship style of the older generation – they leave the church of their father.

The pastor of the church in Florida we visited had several important points – Youth group should not replace Sunday morning worship with the whole body. The Sunday morning service should be constantly updated, relevant and vibrant, so the youth will not be alienated. The youth should also be trusted with service opportunities. He mentioned parking cars and even technical jobs like updating the web page, sound board operation or overhead display details. I’ve attended churches before where they had the high school aged members lead the Sunday worship once a quarter, with their favorite songs and even preach the message.

We should all be training up our replacements. Remember that Jesus picked Peter, James and John to be his closest associates. John was able to witness to many generations, because Jesus picked him as a youth. It’s no wonder that pastors point to John’s book for new believers to read first and rarely suggest Peter’s.

And this little tidbit for the younger generation – please allow us older folks to attend your new churches, by turning down the decibels just a little bit. We are FOR you and would like to be WITH you!

Pastor Jay Merritt