HEYP!

I met last night with a group of 8 or 10 middle school students from the Nashville area. The purpose of the meeting was partly leadership development, but we spent most of our time discussing the “biggest issues” that young teens face in today’s society. Among these issues were things like fitting in, drugs & alcohol, & sexuality.

But probably the most telling of all of these issues, in my opinion, was that of image. Every student in our group said that they feel pressured to “look good,” be thin, and wear name brand clothing. To them, the worth of a young teen today is based upon the way he/she looks, and if someone is “ugly” or overweight, then that teen is considered uncool and isn’t allowed into the most popular social circles.

I asked these students how many of them knew what the word “metabolism” meant. To my surprise, every student knew what the word meant on some level. After all, this is a pretty big word for a 10-year-old. Metabolism is a very important thing to these students because, if they don’t have high metabolism, they fight an uphill battle for acceptance.

I was bothered when I asked how many students knew what the word “evangelism” meant. Not one student raised their hand. Keep in mind that each student in this group has been raised in church.

Can you believe it? Ten students raised in the church, every single one of whom knows what the word metabolism means, yet not one was familiar with the word evangelism.

I think that sometimes in the church we mistakenly believe that young teens shouldn’t be presented with words like evangelism because they are “too big” or “irrelevant,” but if they can understand a word like metabolism and have it deeply affect their lives, then why should we not use equally complicated words? Why do we think that somehow our students are incapable of understanding words that are, admittedly so, no more complicated than the words they are so familiar with, not merely on an educational level, but on a very social level as well?

Are we selling our students short by giving them a spoon-fed, unchallenging version of Christianity? Should we not call them to a life changed by the gospel that cries out for their hurting friends who do not know Christ? Is this merely an ignorance of vocabulary, or are we failing to provide an adequate understanding of our calling to be an evangelistic change agent in the world?

Whatever the case may be, we certainly need to evaluate the way we approach our students. The church must not merely be a reaction to the trends of our surrounding culture. It is not enough to simply respond to image issues, drugs & alcohol, sexuality, and the other things our students face. Our students cannot merely me “avoiders” in a world of brokenness. They must be captivated by the heart of God for their friends. They must be saturated with a heart for evangelism.

We get to know God even better when we practice.

There comes a time in each of our lives when we can’t simply sit around any longer. It’s just not enough to say we follow Jesus. We have to add some skill to our passion. We have to add some practice so that when the game day of life hits us hard, we can be ready to face the challenges we encounter. We must learn to fast and pray so that we become more dependent on God. We must study the Bible, worship, and learn the discipline of tithing so that we can unveil the character of God. And we must serve and spend time together as Christ followers so that we can help each other grow in love and character. In essence, we must practice what it means to be a follower of Jesus, because life is not merely about knowing that God loves us. It is about learning to return the love passionately toward God and find ourselves wholly committed to His purpose for our lives.

The first thing God wants me to do is tell others how He changed me.

I have a friend named Ashley. When I was in high school, we went to prom together. We have been close friends for years now and even today, as we have gone our separate ways in life, I regard Ashley as a good friend and remarkable person. A few years ago, Ashley was diagnosed with a bone cancer in her leg. Everyone she knew was devastated for her. She was 19 years old. After several rounds of chemo and multiple ups and downs of treatments and tests, the doctors had all but given up on her. Then, one day, with no warning, she went into the hospital to take some tests and the spots of cancer had mysteriously disappeared. Since that time, Ashley has had other bouts with this horrible disease. But at that moment, the elation of what we saw made me want to tell everyone I knew, which I did.

When anything this amazing happens, we want to tell as many people as possible. This is why we have the New Testament today. A bunch of guys were so amazed at God’s love for them through Jesus, that they wrote letters to everyone they knew and told as many people as possible. When we become followers of Christ, the Bible instructs us to tell people, and it says to do this through baptism. As amazing as it is to experience God’s love in our lives, we should never hesitate to take the first steps in letting people know about the great change He is working in our hearts.

Following Jesus means drawing a line and stepping across.

What are you committed to? Is it worth it? No matter where we are in our spiritual journeys, God is always there pointing out that His plan for us far exceeds the plans we could make for ourselves. When we commit our hearts to Christ, we might feel like we’re not ready, like we might get hurt, or like we might lose the people we love. The truth is, however, that we will never be ready for God. He is simply too big, too powerful, and far to incredible for us to ever measure up. That is the wonder of God’s love. No matter how small or unready or unwilling we are, He loves us and has plans for us and wants us to commit to something worth living for: namely, Himself. So have you committed your heart to God’s purpose for your life? Have you surrendered your life to His plans? If not, could this be the day to “nail it down”? Perhaps at this very moment, as you encounter these words, God is whispering into your ear: “Commit, my child. Commit to my son, Jesus. Commit to me.” There is no greater opportunity than this, so go ahead. Draw a line in the sand and step across into this uncharted place that we call Christ following.

Well, now that Davidson County schools are out, it looks like we won’t be having Source tonight. I hate that we’re not having it, because we had a great service planned. But, what can you do. It looks like it’s gonna keep snowing for the rest of the day and it sure doesn’t look like it’s gonna stop. So I guess it’s for the best. We don’t want anybody dying now, do we?