I believe this generation will change the world…BUT…

I work with an awesome group of senior high teens. I actually have some influence with more than 200 senior high teens  who come to Out Of the Box on occasion. I have a lot of influence in the lives of about 6o in this group of more than 200. When I say I have a lot of influence, I get to see them on a regular basis, I get to teach the Bible to them on a regular basis, I have personal interaction with them while they are at OOTB and other church events and services, and I have a lot of contact with them through social media and text messaging.

Now, out of the 60, there are about 30 that I have even more influence with. The 30 of this group are in constant contact with me, through facebook, texting, personal interaction, worship services, and Bible studies. These are the ones that I am in a discipleship relationship with. These are the ones that remind me of Jesus and the 12. Not that I am in the league with Jesus but I am serving that role as a leader for them to follow and I pray daily that I will never be a stumbling block to even one of these young people.

These youth are living out I Timothy 4: 12-16 NLT

¹² Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. ¹³ Until I get there, focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them.¹⁴ Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecy spoken over you when the elders of the church laid their hands on you. ¹⁵ Give your complete attention to these matters. Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress. ¹⁶ Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you.

What I typically hear quoted by young people and adults alike is verse 12 “don’t let them look down on you because you are young”. But these youth, these disciples that I am working with are living out verses 13 through 16.

They are focusing their minds, hearts, and lives on the scripture, the study of the Bible and then the living out of what they discover therein.  They are being an example in their speach, their life, their love, their faith, and in their purity. They are discovering and using their spiritual gifts. These youth are throwing themselves into learning to know, love, and serve God. They are staying true in order that others might come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

I absolutely believe this generation is going to change the world for the better. As a matter of fact I believe this generation can have the impact that the 12 had in their time. I believe they are tired of church as usual and I believe they long for a world where Christians make a positive impact, where we as Christians show our love, where we get outside the walls of the church and make a lasting impact for God and not for our church. I know for a fact they want to see the adult generations practice our faith. They are tired of spending billions on buildings and little on missions in comparison. They don’t even care if we own a building, they would just as soon meet in a rented space, in a park, in someones home, it doesn’t matter because they are all about impacting people and getting the best investment for every dollar. They are workers and they are givers and they see the devastation and destruction in this world in which we live. As a matter of fact they are able to see worldwide devastation and destruction by way of the internet and media outlets of today’s world. They are having a hard time understanding how we can live as well off as we do and call ourselves Christian, when we know of all the suffering that God’s Created Beings are experiencing. They see the footage of starving babies, they see the bloated bellies, they see the adults who walk around thin as a rail due to no food. They have seen the children and adults scavenging through garbage dumps trying to find food. They have witnessed church fights in this prosperous Country over trivial matters and they are scratching their heads and asking, is this what church is about.

Thank God they are realizing that this is not what God intended and they are not giving up but they are unwilling to do it the way it has always been done. They are leading the charge for change. Change in the way that we worship, yes. Change in the way that we do church, yes. Change in the music that we listen to, yes. Change in the way that the church spends money, yes. But they are not changing the message of the gospel, only in the way that we give it out to others.

BUT…

Here is the BUT…part.

There is a massive amount of youth and young adults today that have never learned about Jesus Christ. They have never been exposed to true Christianity. They have not grown up in homes where they were taken to church. As a matter of fact they are growing up in homes where their parents have never attended church. They know what they know about Christianity and the church based on what they see of television and I don’t have to tell you that is not a good thing. Most display of Christians in the media and television depicts us as idiots and hypocrites. They hear little of the good that Christians and churches do but they hear a lot about the church fights, about the pastor who had an affair, about the one who was stealing money out of the offering plate. They may have even been to a church and received a cold shoulder. As a pastor I was recently in a situation where I went to a bible study and another pastor came along and simply said “can I have my seat back”? I had no idea this person had claimed that seat and all I could think is, what if that had been a lost person in this seat?

Here is the BUT…

This generation of youth and young adults who do not know Jesus Christ will also change the world but it will not be for good. This generation of youth who do not know Jesus Christ, they are also being made into disciples of someone. I see drugs and alcohol all around with this generation. I see free sex expression all around in this generation. I see a lot of whatever feels good do it in this generation. Never forget that they are becoming disciples of someone, but not Christians.

Here is the BUT…

We as adults and senior adults have to change our way of thinking, we have to start seeing the world in which this generation is living. We are not living in the 70s and 80s that I grew up in. Our traditions mean nothing to them if we fail to explain them, however we have to earn the right to explain our traditions. We cannot continue to do things they way we have always done them. Every generation has had to fight for change, lets not make them fight when the change is personal taste and not a theological issue. Lets quit holding on to what we cannot take with us and the generation that is coming is not going to want it when we are gone. Gone is the day when, after we are gone, those coming along behind us will be the recipients of what we have built, they don’t want it. They want to use what God has given to the fullest extent possible and not be stuck with a bill to pay later.

Let those who have ears hear and let those who have eyes see. The God we serve is not a Golden Calf, He is not contained in buildings made with hands. He is God, He cannot be contained. He can work through any kind of music, its just music, it is the lyrics that are important. He can work through a building with a steeple and He can work through a group of believers who meet in a school, a storefront, a rented building, or at a picnic shelter.

Let God arise and be God.

This generation can change the world and that change can go either way. God has chosen to use people to further His Kingdom. Lets join this generation with the backing and the support they need to make positive change. Lets remember that this world is wearing out and our bodies are wearing out. We will take nothing with us and we now live in a generation that doesn’t want what we have to hand down to them.

Ronnie