'Traditional' Church? Pt. 2: Community? (pt.2)

We ought to be desirous of true community within the church. Starbucks and bars offer a different kind of community, a community that doesn’t require the attendee to be real. People are known for their work rather than their struggles; they are known for what they drink not who they are.
Tradition has made this ‘community’ within the church. People are known for where they work not who they are. Indeed, most cannot answer the simple question, ‘Who are you?’ without much pressing, they answer with what they do, not who they are.
Is it possible to change this, to trade the bastard child of community for community itself?
The mold must be broken, not in two, but shattered. The tradition must be forgot and we must press on to have community. Now we have ‘neat country clubs’ by God’s grace, in the future we will have godly community.
Though it is dirty to toss the Sunday school (country club) model out and push all ages together, indeed it will be difficult, but when is life not? Yet through this strife our young will see godliness lived out in the generations before them.
To be sure, our grey-haired congregants hold a beautiful place. They have seen life, come through its trials, and have, by God’s grace, continued their belief in the Gospel. Occupying a unique arena in discipleing the young in both life and faith. Yet the old do not, not learn. They learn how the young culture thinks, works, feels and thus can adapt their skills to the new generations.
All stations of life will benefit from the lumping together of ages.
Church was not meant to be multiple silos.
The silo model is a wonderful strategy to kill churches. It is divide and conquer used by the devil to smash and grab the young, create a pride complex in the old, and a sophisticated air in the parents who now think it is the church’s job to disciple their kids. Within genuine community sin is fought, accountability given, the Gospel heralded, thoughts redirected by Scripture, and discipleship done with all ages seeing struggle, sin, reproof and Gospel-victory.
But we ‘Christians’ are lazy. Apathy is our cup of coffee. We sit and sip this brew and anticipate the ‘next generation being the difference.’ While our young die, while our kids are taught to look up to David, Moses, and Abraham rather than Jesus. Our thick skulls must be broken, and biblical community must be had.
Indeed we need graceful, forceful redirection.