Why?

A Pastor’s Honest Response to Believers’ Sincere Questions

By: Marvin McKenzie

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Over the thirty-six years I have been in the Baptist ministry, certain questions have repeatedly come to my ears. They tend to come from young people, teenagers, coming into their own, and bold enough to ask. As children, they attended church because their parents told them to. They attended the church they did, because their parents told them to, and they “believed” what they did because their parents told them to. Some of them grew up in homes where their parents tried to teach them not only what the church they attended believed, but why. In some cases, that didn’t happen, but in either case, in their transitional years, they feel an urgency to find a faith of their own. I do not believe their “questions” become a “challenge” unless they perceive that there is no answer for their questions forthcoming. If young people are asking these questions, it is more than likely that many adults have the same questions but are not as bold to ask. As the years are added, we bury more fenceposts in our social boundaries. Just because an adult doesn’t feel the same boldness to ask doesn’t mean their questions should not be answered. This work is the product of a short series of messages I delivered to the congregation of the church I am blessed to pastor. It is my prayer that these notes may be a blessing and help to them in the future, and to others who may find them.