I was talking to someone today who was asked to start a Bible Study for younger people. Evidently, the person had tried to find a Bible Study to join but it was either not Biblical or just filled with old people. At first, as someone who has more gray than he used to, I was slightly offended, but then I remembered in the past I chose not to go to a Bible Study not because of the material they were studying but because I didn't fit in.
Church, Bible Study, and even Fellowship groups are composed of than people but relationships. The material studied is important but at the end of the day, it is people who you relate with and are, as it were, Jesus in our midst. It is relationships that draw people to God and help them stay. It is relationships that Jesus developed in his disciples. It is relationships which help us remain strong in our faith. So to encourage those relationships I wished the person God's best and encouraged them to follow through.
Do I think that remaining only in your own type of people (young, old, etc.) is good? No, Jesus absolutely brought his disciples together from diverse backgrounds but for a time he did have them focus on people like them, Jews. However, it would grow and so I think these people will grow. Perhaps the Bible Study will always reflect who they are but I doubt they will stay only there when it comes to their lives or ministries. In other words, as long as they don't become exclusive and isolated this Bible Study might be the perfect place to develop relationships with people who are like them but push them to be more in Christ.
At least this is my thought.
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