Kids aren't going to church.

That's the truth, plain and simple.

Oh sure, sometimes a grandmother or parent will drag them to the House of God every now and then-sometimes even on a regular basis. But, when left up to the child or teen, they'll most likely stay in bed on Sunday morning and forget Sunday night or Wednesday night service.

The question is: Why?

The Lie: Kids aren't entertained enough. The Church isn't relevant enough. If you ramp up the amplifiers, modernize the music, bring in coloured lights and have the church staff dress in a more modern or 'cool' way, then the kids will come flocking.

Well then, why haven't they?

The Truth: Generation Z is nihilist. We've been raised on steady doses of "There is no God or afterlife", "There is no right or wrong, only legal and illegal", "life has no purpose or meaning", and "life is what you make it". The Cultural Revolution of the 60s and 70s has nearly come to its logical conclusion with us. We seek meaning in experience, pleasure, and ourselves. Believe me, if we wanted to be entertained, there are much more entertaining sights than a 40-year-old pastor jumping around in skinny jeans to some "high energy worship music". If you're going to get through our outer shells of cynicism, broken families, antidepressants, self-hatred and sense of worthlessness, then you need to stop the shenanigans and give us the hard-hitting truth of the gospel.

Trust me, we have a low tolerance for nonsense and we can spot it a mile away.

Stop trying to be cool. Our parents have already tried that and it hasn't worked too well. Life is not cool, truth is not cool, and Jesus was most certainly not cool. Do you think He cared one bit about being relevant? No, Jesus went against every worldly trend and every religious convention. He told the truth and He got down in the mess of people's lives and loved them. People know what to do with Him because He simply didn't care what society dictated or what wasn't cool or hip.

Jesus spoke to women in public-that wasn't cool. He preached love instead of revenge-that certainly wasn't cool.

It wasn't cool, but it worked.

Generation Z is looking for a reason to live. If you don't believe me, look at the suicide rates. Our families are broken, our society is in upheaval, and we're desperately searching for some rhyme or reason to any of this. We've turned to drugs, friends, immorality, popularity, eating disorders, video games, and numerous other things. But none of it is working.

So, on the days someone manages to finagle us into a church sanctuary, do you think light shows and Forever 21 getup is going to make a difference? All we see is someone trying to be something they're not to impress others-something we're familiar with already.

Scared to offend us with the truth spoken in love? We can handle being offended better than we can being fed a load of nonsense.

Yes, we look strange. Yes, we talk strangely. Yes, we look tough and cavalier on the outside. But on the inside we're desperate for love and meaning. The only place we'll ever find what we're looking for is in Jesus Christ. So please, please stop hiding Him behind entertaining music and watering down His message of love and salvation.