Youth Activities

I sit here in my study room tonight at the church having just watched some teens leave on a youth activity. It has become fashionable among some to beat up on youth activities as being carnal and sinful attractions to the church, while other simply don't see the need. Some say that youth groups are hinderances to the family structure. The criticism is certainly just in some areas, I am sure.

But I am encouraged tonight to see these teens going out, hanging out with mature young Christian adults who will have the next several hours to build relationships with them, have fun with them, model godliness for them, and influence them. I am glad to know that these teens won't spend Saturday night filling their minds with the normal television fare, playing mindless video games, or running through the neighborhood getting in trouble. They won't be telling off color jokes, or listening to them. They will learn that people who are passionate about serving God can enjoy life.

I am glad to see one first time visitor here tonight whose first introduction to church will be a good one. I am glad to see some teens here who have been saved under the ministry of the church recently, and who are demonstrating growth in their spiritual lives. I am glad to see some teens who have started coming to church in the last month or two.

And I am glad we didn't leave it up to the parents because we have not yet been able to reach the parents consistently yet. We will keep working on that.

So while youth ministry needs to be carefully guarded and built on a solid biblical and theological foundation, it needs not be thrown out at the altar of family ... or whatever other altar some might be tempted to sacrifice it to.

There's nothing unbiblical about a group of people getting together to enjoy one another's company in a godly way, and it certainly doesn't become unbiblical when it happens to be a youth activity.

Christ, Culture, and the Church - Part 1

I just finished Brian McLaren’s A Generous Orthodoxy. I have read several books by McLaren and enjoy his writing style. However, his books and the theology and philosophy from which they spring are not as strong as they might be (to be generous in my criticism). There was some thought-provoking material in Generous Orthodoxy and some stuff that just makes you yell out in frustration. More on that later, but on to the point …

One thing that the emergents have tapped into better than the traditionalists, in my opinion, is the interaction with culture. While we might take a different view of culture to some degree, it seems to me that emergents have struck a chord with culture that is worthy of thought for the traditionals. For instance, in a chapter entitled “Why I Am Incarnational,” McLaren laments the fact that missions has often been cultural in nature—an attempt to convert people to a Euro-American lifestyle. I am no expert missiologist, but I find that critique to have some merit, particularly in American Fundamentalism.

I am troubled that fundamentalists, at times, seem to have an unspoken set of cultural values that must be accepted to be truly Christian. As I say, I think it is unspoken and unadmitted and some of you right now are protesting that you have no such set of values. But I can’t help but think it is there and having grown up in fundamentalism with no intention of leaving it, I don’t say that lightly. I say it to provoke our thinking.

Take for instance, our Sunday attire. It is likely that any visit to a fundamentalist church on Sunday morning will find most of the congregation dressed in suits and ties and dresses (hopefully on different people). In fact, I get mailings from one large church in the western US, built (as I understand it) almost entirely on “old fashioned soulwinning” where pictures of the auditorium during services show a high use of technology and a congregation filled with people in suits and ties. Should we really believe that people in southern California just automatically wear suits and ties on the weekend? I would hardly think so. At some point, that became the church culture for them. One Sunday at my church, I was standing welcoming people with a long time member beside me. A couple came in the door who had visited a couple of times from the community. They had no church background of which to speak. On this particular occasion, she had on an outfit of dressy shorts (mid thigh) with a matching jacket. Now, shorts in church on Sunday morning are not my preference to be sure. But the man standing beside me said, “Pretty soon she will realize we don’t dress like that around here.” I was stunned, though I tried to hide it. I said, “Hey, I am just glad she’s here. They need to hear the gospel.” I thought to myself, why would we even think of suggesting a “dress code” for someone to come and hear the gospel. That couple came for a while, and eventually dropped out. I can’t help but think that part of it was because they didn’t “fit in” with a majority of the church.

Now, there is certainly nothing wrong with wearing suits and ties and dresses to church (unless you wear them all at once), but think about the message it sends. Look at the people on the platform and those serving in roles such as teachers, ushers, and offering takers. They are the pacesetters of the miniculture of the church. When you are new, and you look around and realize that most if not all of the people do a certain thing, you will feel the pressure to conform to their “culture,” be very bold and buck the “culture,” or just go somewhere else (or stay home). We could multiply this example in a number of areas, about which we might have debate about their legitimacy (body art and piercings; hair styles and lengths; etc.). But the culture is there, and it is an applied culture, often without clear biblical mandate (or unclear biblical mandate for that matter).

What’s the answer? I don’t know. I am concerned about it. I think it differs depending on the particular mini-culture in which one ministers. My thoughts are in development on this, but I throw it out for consideration. I can’t help but wonder if the mandates of Acts 15 and the Jerusalem council don’t fit in here. Perhaps one day I will blog my perspective on this passage, but whatever else it might teach, it certainly teaches that we should place no more on people than certain things. What “things” fit that in 21st century Christianity? Well, perhaps we should give it some more thought.

Whatever the conclusion, we cannot withdraw from culture. They are the people to whom Jesus came, and they are the people to whom Jesus has sent us. God forbid that we withdraw from them because they are not like us. And God forbid that our goal in mission is to make them like us. Let us be satisfied to lead them to be like Jesus.

Back From Silence

I am back from a blogging hiatus. Since the inception of my blog back in the summer, I have been intentional about not blogging every day. Quite frankly, I don’t have enough that is significant to say and my musings on life are simply not that interesting.

But the past few weeks have been particularly busy and exciting for me personally. First, the high school soccer team for which I am an assistant coach with some good friends won the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division IV State Championship. It was an up and down season but an exciting tournament run. The championship game was last Saturday and concluded in a heart stopping fashion with a goal 3:07 into sudden death overtime. The regulation period was scoreless on a bright but cool and windy day. A goal by the other side was called back by offsides. Coaching in the statement tournament is very nerve-racking for me. But it was an exciting run, though it took a lot of time.

Second, this past weekend, I was ordained to the ministry by my church. Friday afternoon at 1:00pm (after a 10:30 am wedding I performed), a council of some pastors and professors from the local area assembled for a two hour doctrinal examination. I was well acquainted with all of them so there was nothing really new about what I believed. For me it was an enjoyable time of interaction and thinking and a great encouragement to have these men on the council. The service was Sunday afternoon and I had the privilege of having Dr. Rolland McCune preach the ordination message. Dr. McCune is an old-timer in fundamentalism whose historical perspective is greatly needed in the discussion about the future of fundamentalism. I have profited greatly from his ministry and writing over the last nine years since I first sat in his apologetics class at 7:30 am on my first morning in seminary. What a way to start ... I have a great respect and affection for Dr. McCune having sat under him in Seminary and was humbled that he would consent to preach for me.

So all in all, the last few weeks have been pretty busy but rewarding. Now, I will return to some more frequent blog entries.

Things That Didn't Work the First Time

In 2 Chronicles 25, we find Amaziah, king of Judah, going to battle against Edom. He originally hired a hundred thousand Israelites (from the Northern Kingdom) to fight with him, but was warned by a prophet that God was not with Israel and their soldiers would cause defeat for Judah. Amaziah heeded this word and sent them home. Then he went out and soundly defeated the Edomites, the sons of Seir, with the help of God.

Inexplicably, after the victory Amaziah took the gods of the defeated Edomites and began to bow down in worship to them. This brought a visit from what was surely a grizzled old prophet who said, “Why have you sought the gods of the people who have not delivered their own people from your hand?” Or to put it more simply, “Why are you worshipping gods who didn’t help the last people who worshipped them?”

It reminds me of much of modern day evangelicalism and fundamentalism. Many are reverting to efforts and methods that didn’t work the first time. These “gods” didn’t help the last people who used them. Why would we think they would help us?

History has shown that the great “new evangelical” promise didn’t work. The church of Jesus Christ is not stronger today than it was sixty years ago. Billy Graham didn’t usher in the kingdom. ECT and the forty year run-up to it did not restore brothers.

Today there is greater confusion than ever about the gospel. There is more theological illiteracy and less discernment. Of course, the confusion about the gospel, theological illiteracy, and lack of discernment has always existed. But today, it exists in the church and not with the newly saved people from whom we should expect it. It exists in people who have been in the church long enough to know better.

Until we quit trying things that didn’t work the first time, there is little hope that anything will improve. We need a return to solid doctrinal preaching, combined with intense personal application that hits people in the face with the implications of the text of Scripture. We need to quit beating around the bush and avoiding people’s toes.

Amaziah’s response to what must have been a crusty old prophet sounds like a page right out of the modern church: “Have we appointed you a royal counselor? Stop.” Today, when someone dares to pipe up about the foolishness of trying to revive past failed methods, they are often greeted with disdain. They are accused of being old fashioned, judgmental, and the like. They are asked, “Who appointed you the judge over us?” The new generation surely knows so much better, don’t they? Surely the problem with the old ways was the attitudes and critical spirits of those who didn’t value unity in the body of Christ. There is no way the failure could rest with anyone else.

Such small-mindedness and historical ignorance will only perpetuate the problems faced by the modern church. God spare us from the failed tactics of the recent past.

$75 Worth of Free

Every now and then I read something that catches my eye and makes me laugh … and wonder if anyone else sees it as I do. Communicating is hard enough without nitpickers like myself. But since I communicate for a living, and since I have a rather twisted sense of humor coupled with a cynicism that perhaps only my brother understands (and shares), I find some things funny that were not intended to be.

Yesterday, I saw and advertisement in a major national magazine (Smithsonian) for a digital camera. One of the selling points was “$75-worth of FREE software & cables.”

It got me to thinking: How much free software do you have to have before you have $75 worth of it???

I know, I know … There is a perfectly valid explanation connected with intent and “worth” and all that … and normal people would read right past it without a second thought. But since I am not normal, it just made me laugh.