Thursday, July 03, 2008

Let the youths run wild.....

Most of us have at least one story we’d never want Mom and Dad to know about. Something we did that we think is best left between us, some co-conspirator and the fence post.

This cranial hiccup, combined with thoughtless experimentation, strange music and head-shaking fashion fads, causes our culture to assume that during adolescence the human being is borderline ape. Indoctrinated that we are mostly hairless super-primates justifies our belief in, and marketing of, a life stage that resembles a zoo.

Our culture paints adolescence so appealingly hedonistic that now even supposed grown-ups hardly want to leave the land of monkey-business and acne. Perpetual immaturity is the bedrock of goldmine industries: Witness the line-ups of twenty-somethings sleeping on sidewalks outside stores to buy the latest video game that they will take home to play in their parents’ basement. Now, that’s the life! Just think of the bright future for those able to jam on fake guitars or be consumed by vicarious car heists?

We have made teenage-dom just plain dumb. It’s a travesty—a great tragic adventure in shooting ourselves in the foot—because the youths and young adults I know are far from dumb. I wish the broader culture would stop insisting they be so. Even more so, I wish we would stop doing this in the church!

I recall a conversation among adults about baptism. They were wondering whether a young person, repentant of sin, confessing faith in Christ, evidencing the fruit of the Spirit, and seeking to be discipled and make disciples, could be considered a full member of the church before “adulthood.” What an absurd question. Not only does this reveal an unbiblical notion of the church, by leaving spiritual community defined by state classifications, but it disparages the Spirit’s work in a tender life as somehow second-rate. Does God think teens are dumb too? What happened to the faith of a child?

Further, many churches segregate youths from mature adults. We conclude they don’t want to be with the big, boring people. I wonder if this is just an excuse to keep their inquisitive minds from challenging our own shallow discipleship. Fear not, they notice it anyway. So we turn to a few “cool” adults to entertain and keep the “kids” busy, and present to them a hip Jesus who is Orlando Bloom with tattoos. No wonder Jesus’ call to radical, selfless discipleship goes over their heads!
This knee-jerk reaction to the drift of the wider culture is a ministry of fear. Rather than accept the young as co-sinners in need of redemption, as co-apprentices in the footsteps of Jesus, who need a community of believers to train them up, we insist that pizza and fun are the only things they respond to. The fruit of such ministry is, let’s be honest, not that bountiful. Many who came through such programs are happily absent from the church or are some of the most consumerist Christians in history.

Recently, Tom Roes, our pastor to youths and their families, surveyed both adults and youths at Zurich Mennonite. He learned that our teenagers overwhelmingly had a positive view of adults and the church, while the adults overwhelmingly assumed teens were negative about both. It seems adults believe the cultural lies, while youths are seeing through it. Who are the wise ones here? Perhaps it’s time to let the youths run wild so that the rest of us become less tame.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

So, if I read correctly here, you say that adults and teenagers should be viewed equally as sinners. I agree. Now, if I read correctly again, you say that providing pizza and fun nights for teenagers is not an ideal way for them to learn and enjoy their Christianity. It doesn't provide bountiful fruit. I don't agree. If the ADULTS continually are asked to eat, pray, and learn together in each others homes and at church, then why would we expect the teenagers NOT to do the same that we have in fact just modelled for them. Does is have to look the same as the adults? No. I believe that having pizza and hanging out together to specifically fellowship with one another is exactly what they should be doing. (Along with other opportunities to learn the gospel.) They are following in the adults footsteps. So what that they like pizza. So what that it looks a little different than what the adults do. Shouldn't we be teaching our children to INTENTIONALLY fellowship with each other and share meals together? As our teenagers grow older, we are supposed to be slowly steering them in the right direction to adulthood. We are supposed to have fun together and learn together. Let's not take the fun away from our teenagers that are still children. On another note, the adults you talk about that wish to segregate the youth from the adults are way behind the times. We take an active part in our teens youth events. We are just as crazy and goofy as the teens are. We like to have fun. You can have both. Youth only, and Youth and the rest of the church! Just like the adults do. Sometimes we head out for fellowship with adults only, but other times we have fellowship with our entire family (teens included). On a final and funny note, my spouse and I hang out with other ADULTS in the spirit of Christ, to fellowship and eat pizza and play soccer on the front lawn, or play a game of cards etc. Keep on blogging!