It's a funny thing evangelicals sometimes do: placing all the emphasis on a personal relationship with God, and reading the Bible for yourself to see what it says, and then wondering why the next generations don't arrive at the exact same theology that theirs did. There are at least two ways to go about this: you can either focus on indoctrinating children with your precise version of orthodoxy, OR you can teach them to love God, love their neighbors, follow the teachings of Christ, study the Word of God, and tread their own paths in the process. I would say evangelicals as a whole have--thankfully--done the latter, even though they have done so in spite of a continually resurfacing impulse to want it both ways, as if to say, "Do it yourself, but use our blueprint." "Read the Word yourself, but just make sure you end up agreeing with all of our interpretations." "Be Spirit-led, but let us arbitrate what's truly of the Spirit or not."
Even though each new movement within Christianity likes to think of itself as hearkening back to to teachings and practices of the earliest Christians, a bit of genuine honesty should force us to admit that we are reshaping the Gospel to suit the needs and desires of our world, in our particular generation. This sounds like heresy to some--to do anything with the Gospel other than simply "do what it says." But the church survives and thrives just like anything else does: by adapting. God has intended it this way. It's part of the reason why he sent the Holy Spirit, to work alongside the church and guide us in our Gospel-spreading mission (see Acts 15:28, "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us . . . ") The substance of the Gospel remains the same, but each generation, each culture, each nation, each revival gives it a new shape. The Gospel is shape-able because it is expandable. It is inexhaustible. I think Jesus may have compared it to a mustard seed or something like that.
So when the old guard laments the fact that the new generations have deviated from some of their cherished doctrines, my response is, "You taught me how to do this." And then, "Thank you for doing so!" Thank you for teaching me to love God with everything I have and love my neighbor as myself. Thank you for teaching me to read the Bible for myself and not just blindly accept church authority. Thank you for teaching me to interact with God daily on a personal level. We, with the Spirit's leading, can continue spreading the Gospel, reshaping it along the way, precisely because you, with the Spirit's leading, did it before us. And we will teach our children to do the same, in a way that is knowledgeable and respectful of the rich history of the body of Christ, rather than of a spirit of sheer rebellion.
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