“Good Ground” : Dr. Duane Arnold PhD

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19 Responses

  1. Michael says:

    I’ve recently had the opportunity to become acquainted with some millennials who are engaging in awesome kingdom work.

    At first I was put off by the gages, the ink, and the theological beliefs that are different than mine.

    That’s when I heard the Lord tell me to get off His lawn… šŸ™‚

    This young folks are doing things I have been praying someone in this community would do…and it’s my job to to encourage and help them anyway I can.

    Maybe I’ll even get some ink…

  2. Duane Arnold says:

    Michael

    Could not agree with you more…

  3. Michael says:

    One of the things that those of us who have been critical of the “Jesus Movement” in the sixties and seventies have to come to grips with is that the fruit has lasted.

    The older generation at the time didn’t like the worship or theology much then either.

    Neither did I…I didn’t like hippies. šŸ™‚

    50 years later, a great many of those former hippies are still walking with the Lord.
    May it be so with this generation as well…

  4. Duane Arnold says:

    This is a profile of one of the people referenced in the above article –
    https://youtu.be/MFiYNq94bMg

  5. Matt says:

    Duane: I mostly lurk here and occasionally check in and read, but this was an important and timely piece for many of us. Much of what I feel called to do (and am, in fact, doing, haltingly…) is being part of what God is doing in raising up the next generation. I’ve discovered that I don’t have to work with these young, energetic Millennials (and now “Gen Z” kids), but rather, I get to. As in the parable, as in previous generations, so now: the Farmer is sowing seed, and inevitably some of it will fall on “good ground.”

  6. Duane Arnold says:

    #5 Matt

    Thanks for checking in! It’s a new learning curve for many of us… note I say “learning” not “teaching “. We have as much to learn as to teach…

  7. filbertz says:

    Duane–thoughtful, helpful piece on ‘perspective.’ I’m 59 now, long in the tooth for a public school teacher, but still work with junior high students daily. They keep me young, enthusiastic, and hopeful. I look at my peers…not so much so. Loss of loved ones tends to clear the fog of critique and pettiness, doesn’t it?

  8. Duane Arnold says:

    #7 filbertz

    Many thanks. Yes, life and death tend to bring things into focus…

  9. Paige says:

    “I’ve read a great deal about Gen X and the Millennials, most of it written by people my age. Usually the articles are laced with thinly veiled caustic comments concerning skinny jeans, music, man-buns, microbrews, ink and all the rest. These observations are usually linked to sarcastic off hand remarks with regard to weak theology, vapid worship and the strong implication that somehow they are responsible for the decline of the Church in the early twenty-first century. The idea that we, in fact, may be responsible for problems of our own making, tends to be ignored or, if raised, shouted down.”

    Rather than looking to blame anything beyond sin nature and the Times in which we live, may we all continue to present ourselves daily, Romans 12:1-2 style and place our hope in God’s Power and His Spirit, being mindful of the adversary who is devouring all over the place.

    Michael… yep. Ink. Lest I say “I told you so”, skinny jeans are fun. BTW.. I L O V E what’s happening in our old home town. “My heart rejoices, in the Lord, my horn is exalted in the Lord, my heart is enlarged, over mine enemies, because I rejoice in His salvation. There is none, holy as the Lord, there is none besides Thee, Neither is there any Rock like our God, neither is there any Rock, like our God” 1 Samuel 2:1-2 (rest of the chapter is great too)…..Hallelujah!!!

  10. David H says:

    Don’t underestimate the next generation. They will probably do great things.

    My generation is doing amazingly well at making a great mess of everything. So, who knows.

  11. Duane Arnold says:

    #10 David H

    Agreed. The key to it may be some of us getting out of the way and letting something new happen. These days I notice a good number of “old white men” yelling at the “kids” to “get off my lawn”…

  12. Captain Kevin says:

    Yelling “Get off my lawn” is, for this old white guy, so much easier to do than shut up, listen and offer encouragement. I appreciate your insights, Michael and Duane.

  13. Duane Arnold says:

    Many thanks Captain Kevin…

  14. Dan from Georgia says:

    “GET OFF MY LAWN!!!” – great comment Michael, and I take it seriously. I’ve had criticisms in the past, but who am I to poo poo what people are doing for the Lord? And amen to the comment about the Jesus movement and it’s fruits.

  15. bob1 says:

    Here are some insights by a pastor who has congregants from 25 different countries and cultures, the large majority age 25-40 in age.

    What is it that our young people don’t buy anymore?

    — Uncritical patriotism and American exceptionalism (ā€œmy country, right or wrongā€).
    –Unexamined white supremacy, both the nativism of the Right and the paternalism toward people of color by the Left.
    –Unfettered consumerism at the expense of global fairness and environmental sustainability, and endless consumption as a personal coping mechanism.
    –Rugged individualism and the subtext of the American dream – the accumulation of enough skills and wealth so as to be completely independent.
    –Christian denominational sectarianism, parochialism, and triumphalism in the face of religious pluralism.

    https://www.plough.com/en/topics/community/intentional-community/time-for-a-new-reformation

  16. Duane Arnold says:

    #15 bob1

    I think he is right… it’s time for a “new Reformation”…

  17. The New Victor says:

    @15: That plough article links to the Bruderhoff community site. Interesting stuff:

    https://www.bruderhof.com/en/our-faith/foundations/our-calling/justice-and-the-works-of-mercy

    Love of neighbor leads us to give up all private property, the root of so much injustice and violence. Christ teaches his followers to reject mammon – the desire for and the power of possessions. He warns, ā€œHow difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!ā€ He saw into the heart of the rich young man whom he loved and told him: ā€œYou lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.ā€

    Mammon is the enemy of love. It drives some to build up individual fortunes while millions lead lives of misery. As a force within economic systems, it breeds exploitation, fraud, materialism, injustice, and war.

    All that serves mammon opposes the rule of God. A person who keeps anything for himself disregards Jesus’ commandment to his followers to give up their private property. He has taken something intended by God for the use of all and claimed it for himself.

  18. Lisa Fitzwater says:

    If you record any songs that Jim wrote, I would love to find a way to hear them. If you have any recordings of him singing, it would mean very much to me to hear those as well. I miss my brother.

  19. Duane Arnold says:

    Lisa

    We don’t have any recordings. We’ve asked those around at the time. We did record demos for Sparrow. We’re still trying to teach those down….

    We do have the lyrics to four songs of Jim’s we hope t record. I want to keep his memory alive and vital.

    Contact phoenixpreacher@gmail.com for my email. Bless you and know that we are praying for you.

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