This post is fairly difficult to understand. Can you give me the simplified version? If not, I’m not sure I can keep coming to this blog. ;)

-Alan

Steve

Great observations! Although, 12th grade is a little graduated yet… I would say it’s more like the 7th grade… perhaps I’m more cynical than you though ;).

Dan

I entirely think it would be possible to lay both milk and meat out on the table. I doubt that I am or could ever be that good of a teacher.

John

You offer some good questions. I think it might be a little ‘elitist’ to presume that the “rest of the congregation” wouldn’t get it. I probably did lose some people… but most of the time I’m lost too because I’m bored out of my skull. At least I had some older ladies come up to me showing me their notes and telling me what a great job I did.

Prudent Musings

First let me say, welcome! and thanks for taking the time to comment. I think my understanding of the Church is a little different than yours. I do not see it as a good thing or a beneficial thing to force someone from one part of the church to another part of the church because of the teaching atmosphere. Milk and Meat are both very necessary. The key is that disciplers need to recognize when to serve milk and when to serve meat. We can only do that when we actually know the people to whom we are discipling.

I suppose the current brokenness of the church institutions have forced the situation that you have experienced. But I think a better solution would be to fix the brokenness – not add things to fix man-made problems.

Thanks again for commenting, I really appreciate it.

God’s Glory,
Lew

Maybe the system is fine already.

I have had similar comments from time to time.

Often, the one who commented was unwilling to chew on “meat”, preferring “milk”. A particular incident is a good illustration: A deacon, who was also the church treasurer, approached me after the meeting (I was teaching through 1 Corinthians) and said, “We don’t want that kind of stuff. We want Bible stories.” ‘Nuff said!

By the way. Who decides where “milk” becomes “meat”? Who decides who is able to chew, especially when one is a visiting speaker?

I’ve had some amazing surprises, such as a new convert who devoured teaching and discipling so hungrily that he was, very ably, teaching new converts within two years. The above deacon had spent, at least, fifty years listening to sermons.

1. A preacher is preaching to people, many of whom he may not actually really know, so he doesn’t know what point they’re really at in their walk. Therefore, the lower denominator is a much safer place to preach.

2. The monologue-style preaching that is considered “feeding” in our churches today means that questions in the minds of the listeners often never get asked, let alone answered.

3. I think the start of Hebrews 6 helps us understand what the author meant when he used the terms “milk” and “meat”. The current system in place has to continue to offer milk because it sees evangelism as taking place in the weekly meeting. You know the whole “bring your unsaved friends to church” mentality.

I have often used the metaphor, with relation to the current institutional church, that it is like someone repeatedly attending the 12th grade, but never graduating from high school.