Christian Millennial - it's not an oxymoron.

Millennials that practice Christianity get, and excuse my language, a lot of shit. And I mean, a LOT, of shit.

It is said that the generation of millennials are leaving the church, or a majority of this generation is sleeping in on Sunday morning. It’s been said over and over and over again that because of this, the "death" of Christianity in America is just around the corner. I don't believe that Christianity is dying, but what I do believe is that a certain kind of Christianity is dying; and here's why.

The kind of Christianity I’m talking about is the “American” kind of Christianity.

It may be known as Evangelicalism, while others might see it in their main denominations. Either way, or either form of tradition, "American" Christianity is coming to an end and slowly has been losing it's steam and appeal for years now.

Christian millennials are shunned. We are shunned for wanting to change the "American" way of Christianity. Abortion is a topic that is literally destroying a whole generation. Gay marriage is celebrated. The bandwagon is no longer carrying millennials and has now started running over us. Instead of running away, millennials are pressing into the subject instead. Many are noticing, but it seems as though nothing is happening because time is being wasted criticizing instead.

Millennials have slowly but steadily caught on to the fact that what is being preached and lived within our churches is more often than not, false. It’s not the definition of what Christianity truly is. More often than the older generations, we are opening our hearts and seeing that biblically, Jesus isn't a God of oppression, but rather one of liberation (Galatians 5:1).

We are naturally inclined to be the beginners of social change.

In many ways, millennials are very different than our generation that preceded us. Many of the older generations are nervous. Very, very nervous. They should lay those concerns to rest. There is so much to be excited about when it comes to Christian millennials. We want churches to not be afraid to address controversial issues head on. You know the issues that I'm talking about; homosexuality, sexual impurity, divorce, etc. Where else is a more intriguing place to handle these issues but in the church? Many of us just want to coexist but the "American" way of Christianity won't let us. Christian millennials hear the truth in the Bible and are more than prepared to handle the most controversial issues of our age. We want the church to push back as hard as we push against it. By this, I mean that the church should address controversial issues and paint them in precise, bold, colored lines, instead of in a thin and unclear gray-scale. The word of the Gospel is most effective when it is bold and pure in its words.

We question everything.

Millennials are called the “why?” generation. Most often than not this nickname is used in a negative way, but it fits perfectly. This only reflects our tendency to be wary of political parties, institutions, and at times even other people in general.

This constant act of questioning might seem distasteful or argumentative, until you remember the scripture that speaks of "testing everything" (1 Thessalonians 5:21). When seen in this light, our eagerness and push to dig into the issues themselves looks a lot less negative. You could easily say that millennials are comfortable with questioning traditions and arguing them without hesitation; this is one of the most Christian type of qualities. After all, Jesus torpedoed the conventions of his religious contemporaries by the boatload, He once gave the point by saying that you "can’t pour new wine into old wine-skins" (Matthew 9:17).

With Millennials, that is never much of an issue. Pour away.

We don't tiptoe around the "line".

We touch it. We step on it. We cross it. At first glance, many of the older generations will say that the millennial generation is bent "wildly" to the left. They say this is a bad thing. Factually, half of Millennials identify as independents, although many do tend to be pretty left on most issues. This isn't because younger Christians are becoming more "liberalized". It's not that there is "something in the air". Millennials are going back to the words of Jesus and realizing He didn’t say a lot about exact political stances, in fact, He didn't say much of anything at all about them. What He did do was press hard on things like loving others.

Millennials are breaking the tradition of a two party system, and are instead trying to find a third way.

We are relentless optimists.

Although millennials' social mistrust, poor financial situations, and all the other negative data that characterizes their status, millennials are pretty positive about the future. We are positive about the future not only for ourselves, but for the country as a whole. Here's what we see: pessimists and optimists look at the exact same world, and we both see exactly what we expect and want to. God is able to use anyone to spread His word, but it is immensely harder for those who don’t believe that things will get any better to open up their own minds and hearts' to God's outstretched hand, His path that we are being led on.

Christian Millennials will change everything.

So although millennials may be doing Christianity differently, it is not the wrong way. It is not the right way. It is nothing butour way.

Things will get better, and we going to do everything I can to make sure they do, in whatever small way we can. I am going to push the boundaries out of my love for Jesus Christ.

I am going to love my neighbor as I love myself. (Mark 12:31)

I am going to create change.

And I believe that every Christian millennial will, too.