Dear Alanna, thanks for making my brain hurt.
On Saturday I drove down to Harbor House with some friends to celebrate Dillon's birthday. While Alanna and I spent the entire drive back on the freeway displaying our incredible vocal range and lyrical knowledge of KOST 103.5 songs, we used the drive down to have some good conversation. Alanna asked me a question that was and still is really kinda hard for me to answer. We ended up discussing it for some time and I really like the points she made about it. But just for fun I will try and unravel some of my thoughts on this question:
"Why do some kids 'make it' through the teenage years and keep their faith and other's don't?"
I put a little bit of thinking into this the last couple days, and this is as far as I have gotten so far:
1. Physical
2. Spiritual
3. Personal
1. The physical aspect refers to literally just showing up. Physically putting yourself in a place where the Word of God is being taught, where followers of Christ physically are, and where you will be challenged to be different. For myself, having attended almost every camp, mexico trip, bible study, worship night, park day, beach bonfire, or guys trip from 4th grade until college, I have seen first hand how students lives can be changed whether or not they really intended it. Looking back on mexico trips, there were plenty of students in my villages who were just there because it sounded cool, their friends were going, they had nothing else to do, or they just wanted to try something that was real. And their lives are different because of simply that, showing up. Unfortunately, just showing up doesn't necessarily keep students from falling away from Christ. Obviously if we can sit around and talk about why students slowly drift away from the church, then we must be thinking about specific people. And the only way we would've known those people is if they had been showing up before. The problem is that showing up isn't going to pry our eyes, ears, and hearts open to God. There has to be some sort of choice involved.
2. The spiritual aspect is where we take the physical places where we connect with God and other believers, and choose to find our place in them. This is where students begin to put not just their physical bodies into the ministry, but their hearts and their passions. It is God's perfect plan that the gifts he gives us be turned back around and used to glorify him. It is then that the roots of our heart begin to grow deep into the ministry. Just like the parable of the seeds, we don't become connected to a church just by being there. A seed sitting on a road isn't part of the road at all. It is only one slight breeze away from being long gone. Pouring your gifts and talents into something entangles your heart there. Choosing to serve in a ministry and devote your time, talents, and passions will grow roots that will not be easily ripped out.
3. The personal aspect refers to simply the people who will not let you go quietly. No one likes the feeling that they could leave and no one would notice. For some of us like myself who have always felt comfortable at church, and have always had plenty of Christian friends, it might be hard to imagine it any other way. But just think how many students sit in church and say to themselves, "I could walk out right now and never come back and no one would even notice." Aside from physically showing up and spiritually attaching their heart into the ministry, students need to feel like there are people who simply will not watch them fail. This includes students developing accountability with each other, as well as being mentored by leaders who pour into their lives.
That's kind of just the basics of what I have been thinking about on the subject. Trying to gather my thoughts has been kind of weird as I am beginning to remember just how many awesome people I have seen drift away from God over the years. I think that those three things are more of a general look at it though, and don't really look at the specifics like personality, insecurities, and spiritual discipline. Overall I believe that no matter what the circumstances, being a follower of Christ is all about choice. If I could say one thing to every high school senior in a ministry I would probably say this:
Being a follower of Christ has nothing to do with feelings, and everything to do with commitment. You've seen God's way and you've seen the world's way. Pick a side and do something.
If we want to be followers of Christ we must simply do it. It isn't a nice idea, a good feeling, or our "spiritual side." It should be who we are, what we want, what we think, and what we do. Satan has plenty of other things for us to be doing the second we leave our options open.
"But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15
"Why do some kids 'make it' through the teenage years and keep their faith and other's don't?"
I put a little bit of thinking into this the last couple days, and this is as far as I have gotten so far:
1. Physical
2. Spiritual
3. Personal
1. The physical aspect refers to literally just showing up. Physically putting yourself in a place where the Word of God is being taught, where followers of Christ physically are, and where you will be challenged to be different. For myself, having attended almost every camp, mexico trip, bible study, worship night, park day, beach bonfire, or guys trip from 4th grade until college, I have seen first hand how students lives can be changed whether or not they really intended it. Looking back on mexico trips, there were plenty of students in my villages who were just there because it sounded cool, their friends were going, they had nothing else to do, or they just wanted to try something that was real. And their lives are different because of simply that, showing up. Unfortunately, just showing up doesn't necessarily keep students from falling away from Christ. Obviously if we can sit around and talk about why students slowly drift away from the church, then we must be thinking about specific people. And the only way we would've known those people is if they had been showing up before. The problem is that showing up isn't going to pry our eyes, ears, and hearts open to God. There has to be some sort of choice involved.
2. The spiritual aspect is where we take the physical places where we connect with God and other believers, and choose to find our place in them. This is where students begin to put not just their physical bodies into the ministry, but their hearts and their passions. It is God's perfect plan that the gifts he gives us be turned back around and used to glorify him. It is then that the roots of our heart begin to grow deep into the ministry. Just like the parable of the seeds, we don't become connected to a church just by being there. A seed sitting on a road isn't part of the road at all. It is only one slight breeze away from being long gone. Pouring your gifts and talents into something entangles your heart there. Choosing to serve in a ministry and devote your time, talents, and passions will grow roots that will not be easily ripped out.
3. The personal aspect refers to simply the people who will not let you go quietly. No one likes the feeling that they could leave and no one would notice. For some of us like myself who have always felt comfortable at church, and have always had plenty of Christian friends, it might be hard to imagine it any other way. But just think how many students sit in church and say to themselves, "I could walk out right now and never come back and no one would even notice." Aside from physically showing up and spiritually attaching their heart into the ministry, students need to feel like there are people who simply will not watch them fail. This includes students developing accountability with each other, as well as being mentored by leaders who pour into their lives.
That's kind of just the basics of what I have been thinking about on the subject. Trying to gather my thoughts has been kind of weird as I am beginning to remember just how many awesome people I have seen drift away from God over the years. I think that those three things are more of a general look at it though, and don't really look at the specifics like personality, insecurities, and spiritual discipline. Overall I believe that no matter what the circumstances, being a follower of Christ is all about choice. If I could say one thing to every high school senior in a ministry I would probably say this:
Being a follower of Christ has nothing to do with feelings, and everything to do with commitment. You've seen God's way and you've seen the world's way. Pick a side and do something.
If we want to be followers of Christ we must simply do it. It isn't a nice idea, a good feeling, or our "spiritual side." It should be who we are, what we want, what we think, and what we do. Satan has plenty of other things for us to be doing the second we leave our options open.
"But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15
posted by David Hughes at 9:51 PM
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