en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/306967 Comments by samuelkordik http://www.ragamuffinsoul.com/2009/01/what-will-the-local-american-church-look-like-in-20-years/#IDComment14427770 Personally, I feel we are harming the body by splitting it up by age. Lets get back to the older teaching the younger, and the younger inspiring the older! @ntullos is spot on. Not that we shouldn't have a focus on college and youth ministry (certainly those age groups have unique needs) but we should have a focus on an age-integrated, all-inclusive community (horizontal) not a set of age-segregated groups run by a leader (vertical). Thu, 29 Jan 2009 00:56:37 +0000 http://www.ragamuffinsoul.com/2009/01/what-will-the-local-american-church-look-like-in-20-years/#IDComment14427770 http://www.ragamuffinsoul.com/2009/01/what-will-the-local-american-church-look-like-in-20-years/#IDComment14425798 I like your vision here; when I saw your tweet I thought to myself that the fundamental change in the next 20 years will be more community. I see myself and my peers going deeper with God and pursuing theology and application. Its a powerful blend: God + willing servants to be his hands. I don't think the primary teaching will be by video—it seems to me that individual believers will have many voices teaching in their lives; both older believers in their local community and many teachers by long distance (books, blogs, video, etc.) And the whole bi-vocational thing is true too. God has called all believers to be priests, all believers to be Christians, all believers to be missional. I hope and pray that the "professional" pastor role is diminished in decades to come. Wed, 28 Jan 2009 23:47:33 +0000 http://www.ragamuffinsoul.com/2009/01/what-will-the-local-american-church-look-like-in-20-years/#IDComment14425798 http://www.ragamuffinsoul.com/2009/01/breaking-demonic-oppression-within-our-church-walls/#IDComment14247758 I totally agree with you here. Personally, this issue needs to be discussed more and we need to get this stuff out in the open. I have my leaders go through some spiritual warfare training so they know what they are dealing with. We've seen some incredible healing take place. For those of you wanting to know more, Mark Driscoll has a great 4-hour series on it. Its in the Mars Hill Podcast feed, a few months back. Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:29:09 +0000 http://www.ragamuffinsoul.com/2009/01/breaking-demonic-oppression-within-our-church-walls/#IDComment14247758