If I Only Had Two Books of the Bible…

One of the biggest challenges I often have in student ministry is picking a series for our Wednesday night youth program.  There are a lot of factors that go into this midweek program that keep me praying, thinking, second-guessing, plotting, etc. to make sure I have chosen the right focus for our Bible studies.

For one, this is typically our most attended weekly program.  Our Wednesday night program is just students, it’s casual, there’s contemporary music, icebreakers, and  other shenanigans.  Students invite friends and we’ve got everyone from the teenager who could care less about God to the teenager who is going on five mission trips this summer.  So I worry about picking a study that will reach these differing levels of spiritual growth.

Students also seem to love topical series and hate walking through books of the Bible.   Unfortunately, I am the opposite.  While students want to talk about dating, friends, gossiping, and general “how-to” messages for a month, I want to just pick a book and work through it.

And then of course you have parents and leaders emailing you ideas, concerns, and other thoughts for what you should be teaching the students.  While I cherish this input, it does become overwhelming to respond to and accommodate everyone’s opinions about student ministry.

Then finally there’s the mental checklist in my mind of everything I want our students to cover before they graduate.  And unfortunately my checklist is longer than the six years I have to squeeze it into.

So this year, I have decided to go with my gut (actually the Holy Spirit, my gut always makes poor decisions, especially about food).  We are returning to and finishing two books of the Bible that I believe are incredibly important in understanding our faith, the Gospel of John and Paul’s letter to the Romans.

John gives us a clear presentation of who Jesus is and at every point he seems to remind us that this Jesus who is human like us is also the glorious son of God.  The contrast in John 1 is incredible.  John starts with the Word, the Son of God, eternally existent with the Father, uncreated, holding the universe together and then suddenly tells us this King of the Universe has taken on flesh and become like us.  John paints a beautiful picture of just how grand and mysterious the incarnation of Christ really is.  John also gives us insight into Jesus’ own concerns for his followers. A great example of this is John 17, where Jesus prays for his disciples and those who would later believe. He prays for our unity, our protection from Satan, our lives to be defined by love and truth, and promises to send the Holy Spirit to help make this happen.  While the other Gospels certainly emphasize points that John does not, I believe the Gospel of John is the best starting ground for seeing who our Savior really is.

So if John tells us who Jesus and what he does for us, the book of Romans explains to us how Jesus’ identity and work applies to our lives.  Paul explains how we are called by God, saved by grace through faith in the Son of God, justified before God, and released from the wrath of God because this wrath was poured out on Jesus.  Romans is a detailed, logical, and deep treatise on the Gospel, salvation, and the effects of Christ’s work in our lives.  For instance, after explaining how we who are cursed by sin have been cleansed and justified by Jesus Christ,  in Romans 12, Paul says, “I beseech you, THEREFORE, brothers by the mercy of God to present you body as a living sacrifice.”  In other words, because of what God has done for you in Jesus Christ, surrender yourself and live this way.  Paul connects the dots for us, so that we can see how Jesus’ work changes who we are, where we stand before God, and how we are to live.

I believe if you have a strong understanding of these two books, John and Romans, you will have a stronger understanding of your Christian faith.  When people tell me they want to read the Bible and ask me where to start, I always send them to these two books first.  So I’m praying for our students that through studying these books this year, they will see Jesus for who He really is and what He has done, and as they see Him, they will love Him and be radically transformed.  If you are a teenager, a parent, student ministry leader, or just someone who loves this generation of students, I hope you will pray for the same.

“We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)

DOING Something to Celebrate Life

Many of you may know that January is Sanctity of Life month.  This past Sunday, many churches celebrated this theme and looked to Scripture to be reminded of that life is God-given, inherently valuable, and worth our protection.  If you were with us last night, we talked about how understanding the fact that God sovereignly and creatively gives life should shape our approach to many social issues.  But more than just thinking about the sanctity of life, it is important that we do something, as the hands and feet of Christ, to protect life.  So we closed the night thinking about some specific ways to be do something and organizations with which to get involved.  If you weren’t here or if you forgot some of the organizations we talked about, I want to provide you with the list again.  There are also a few additional ideas below.  I encourage you to do at least one thing this week, either from the list below or your own idea, to celebrate and protect the value of life.

ABORTION – Send out a Facebook message, text, or email to all of your friends referring them to www.abort73.com.  Abort 73 is organization committed first to awareness and education about abortion before trying to pass legislation.  If more and more people become educated about the atrocity of abortion, legislation will naturally change.  They also have a ton of stylish t-shirts, posters, bumper stickers, and pens to help you spread the word about the site.

DIVERSITY – Use the web to study another culture and maybe even get to know someone of a different ethnicity than you.  A challenging resource available right now is a new book by John Piper, Bloodlines.  In this book, Dr. Piper explains how the Gospel of Jesus Christ leads us to cross cultural boundaries.  Check it out on Amazon here.

HOMOSEXUALITY -   It’s very important that we always start with getting to know people, loving them and sharing the Gospel with them instead of trying to change their behavior.  It’s God’s grace that changes people, not us.  If you know of anyone struggling with same-sex attraction, let them know you are here for them and would love to pray with them and maybe even share the Exodus International website with them.

HUMAN SLAVERY – Right now, there are 27 million human slaves in the world.  This includes men, women, and children in both sex trafficking and slave labor.  An immediate change you can make is in what you purchase.  Many of the common items we use everyday are produces by slave labor, even some of the clothes we wear.  Check out this site where you can see how many slaves it took to produce the items you use – www.slaveryfootprint.org.  Some companies are now publishing whether or not their items are produces by slave labor.  Before you buy your next latte, t-shirt, or pair of jeans, ask the company how the item was produced.

You can also visit one of these sites to educate yourself on human slavery and consider donating and sharing the site with your friends to raise awareness:

www.tinyhandsinternational.org

www.theA21campaign.org

www.ijm.org

www.hagarinternational.org

www.wellspringliving.org

www.redthreadmovement.org

POVERTY – Visit www.one.org to educate yourself on global poverty and consider visiting www.compassion.com and sponsoring a child.

These are just a few ways that you can do something.  If you have other ideas, I’d love to hear them.

The Old Testament Matters

I’ll admit, I’ve not always been the biggest fan of studying the Old Testament.  I’m more of a Romans kind of guy.  I want flawless logic and hearty theology over stories of failure, weird rituals, and complicated prophecies.  But I know the Old Testament is a part of our canon for a reason.  It’s God’s Word, no less inspired than the letters of Paul.  The Book of Romans actually reminds us of that.

When Paul introduces himself as an apostle set apart for the Gospel of God, he adds a comment on this Gospel: “…which he promised before through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures.”  Reading this, I was reminded that the Bible for Paul was the Old Testament.  So how he understood the redemptive work of Christ was based on this knowledge of the Old Testament.  He clearly saw the Old Testament pointing forward to the Gospel, the good news of the redemption Christ would accomplish for His people.

This means for the modern reader of the Bible, we must force ourselves backwards.  We will never truly understand the Gospel in all of its beauty and detail apart from seeing God’s redemptive work in the Old Testament that leads up to this Gospel.  For instance, how does Christ’s sacrifice relate to the sacrificial system of the Israelites?  How does Christ fulfill the prophecies of a coming Messiah (Daniel 9:25)?  How does the Spirit promised in Ezekiel give God’s people a new heart of obedience?  All these questions can only be properly answered if I reach back into the Old Testament and study them there, see them in their context, and make the connections to what was accomplished in the New Testament.

So instead of letting the Apostle Paul do all the work for me, perhaps I’ll commit myself to a better appreciation and understanding of the Old Testament this year.

The Why of Obedience

There is a temptation in the Christian life to become so busy doing Christianity that we forget why we do what we do. How often do we stop and ask ourselves, “Why am I going to church today; why am I trying to keep my mind pure; why am I giving, serving, working, and obeying?” What we will find if we never stop to ask these questions is a kind of stressful, legalistic Christianity that focuses only what we can accomplish. Yet, Christ calls us to freedom, freedom from legalism and from anxiousness. So there must be a way to obey in which the acts of obedience are not the focus, but rather the attitude of obedience.

In Deuteronomy 6 we pick up on the story of the Israelites where they have been freed from slavery in Egypt and they are now receiving the Law that will guide their daily lives under God’s leadership. Imagining myself in their position, I think I would question why, having just been freed from slavery to the Egyptians, I am now being subjected to slavery under a harshly specific divine legal system.  However the way Deuteronomy 6 talks about obedience is not just adherence to a list of rules. Better put, God through Moses offers the “why” of obedience, the motivation behind the actions.

Three key words come up in this chapter that can be motivators of obedience: fear (v. 2), blessing (v.3), and love (v.4). I think we should start with not assuming our obedience is necessarily driven by the same motivation all the time. For instance my motivation for driving the speed limit when my kids are in the car and my motivation for driving the speed limit when I’m by myself but there’s a police officer behind me are probably different. In the one situation, I’m concerned about my kids’ safety; in the other, I’m avoiding the consequences of speeding. So depending on circumstances, our motivation for obeying a law can change from day to day and moment to moment. I think that’s why Moses brings out these three motivations.

Fear

To begin with, we obey God out of fear. The reality is He is a holy God with wrath towards sin. An awareness of the greatness of my God should lead to a sense of fear. When both Isaiah and John the Revelator have visions of God their response is a fearful response, Isaiah saying “Woe is me” and John passing out from fear. In the frailty and sinfulness of our humanity, a vision of God would be immediately terrifying. The problem is some people either miss having this fear of God or they only ever have a fear of God. The people who miss it skip straight to the loving, gentle grandfather view of God and they never grasp a real sense of God’s holiness and our depravity. The people who get stuck in constant fear of God only obey out of fear of consequences and miss the joy and peace that comes in knowing Jesus Christ has satisfied God’s wrath against sin.

So fear of God is a starting point, and a very necessary one according to Scripture, but not the only motivator of obedience. Actually when I start with the fear of God, then I realize that, in Christ, this God for me (Romans 8:31), I can have incredible confidence and delight in the power and authority of my God.

Promise

The Israelites had experienced this fear, but they had also experienced God being on their side. God had fulfilled His promises to them again and again. Despite their all too frequent unfaithfulness, they could not deny that He would always make good on what He said. This is another reality behind obedience. We obey because we take God at His word. In New Testament Christianity, we don’t obey for promises of land, health, wealth, etc. (at least not until Christ returns and restores this earth), but for the protection of God, the satisfaction and peace of the Spirit, the future rewards that await us, and the promise of God to fully sanctify us. We know that God’s plans are sure, so going against these plans is pointless.

Love

Finally love. Jesus summed up the entire Law by teaching us to love God and love our neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40). Whether we are finding ourselves commonly obeying out of fear, for the sake of God’s promises, or for any other reason, the motivation we should always pursue is love. When I am obeying God out of love, my obedience is not forced, it is not guilt-driven, it is not obligatory, and it is not done begrudgingly. When I obey out of love, I obey joyfully, thankfully, and passionately.

Notice also that love for God is a command. It is assumed we will not always feel like loving God. Perhaps an example that would help here is the marriage relationship. I love my wife. But that love does not always equate to romantic feelings. There have been many times in our marriage where we have disagreed, hurt each other, and felt feelings other than love towards each other. However, my love for her is not dependent on my emotions towards her. So when we disagree or hurt each other, our loves drives us to make amends and to seek and offer forgiveness. Our love is far from a feeling. Instead of being controlled by feelings, our love for each other drives us to fix our feelings when they are wrong.

Often, love is something we have to fight for and pursue. Many times I will find myself loving things or people more than I love God and this leads me to disobedience. Many times I will find myself loving the gifts God offers me more than I love the giver and so my obedience is misguided. I should not assume that in the Christian life, I will always feel “in love” with God, at least not in the emotional sense. But I must, at all costs, fight to love Him above all else.

I believe these three motivations are built on each other. If I do not fear God, recognizing His power and holiness, I will not find great comfort in the promises He has made to me in Christ. And if I do not remind myself of these promises, cherish them, study them, and keep them close to my heart, I will not love the God who made these promises to me. But I should remember that obedience out of fear alone is not enough. That is a miserable and scared way to live my life. Obedience for the sake of rewards promised is not enough. In that, I tend to love the gifts more than the giver and I become frustrated when I don’t immediately receive what has been promised. But there is a great freedom and satisfaction in an obeying out of love for this holy, gracious God. “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (I Corinthians 13:7)

Irenaeus on Saints in the Tribulation

“And for this cause tribulation is necessary for those who are saved, that having been after a manner broken up, and rendered fine, and sprinkled over by the patience of the Word of God, and set on fire [for purification], they may be fitted for the royal banquet.”

Creating a Life-Affirming Student Ministry

According to the CDC, suicide is the third leading cause of death among people ages 10 to 24.  The Center for Youth Studies reports: “Since 1980, there has been a 120% increase in suicide among American teenagers.”  As a student pastor, I have come in contact with students and families dealing with the suicide of a friend or child respectively, and I worry about the day I may face a suicide among the students in my own ministry.  The Center for Youth reports that some of the key factors in suicidal tendencies are low self-esteem, unreachable expectations, and poor communication.  From my experience in working with students, these are issues that, while not necessarily always leading to suicide, commonly plague students in a religious setting.  In this post, I want to briefly consider the way in which the church community can either be a powerful force in helping students meet the needs for meaning, purpose, and community or a negative force that further drives students towards feelings of inadequacy and isolation.

Feeling Significant

In The Doctor and the Soul, Viktor Frankl points out that “…Being responsible is one of the essential grounds of human existence” (25).  When we reflect on the meaning of our existence, if we know we are responsible for something of value, we find value in ourselves.  Frankl says that this search for meaning occurs at all stages in life, but usually appears in adolescence “when the essential uncertainty of human life is suddenly revealed to young people maturing and struggling spiritually” (27).   As adolescents become aware of the fragile and temporary nature of life, they may question whether their life can be of any real significance.  For those struggling with suicide, Frankl explains that those who are able to articulate some sort of meaning for existence, or a set of responsibilities, are able to overcome these suicidal tendencies.  It is those who are unable to present a rationale for their existence that face the real struggle (30-31).

Knowing this search for significance is increasingly present in the adolescent years, a church student ministry has an opportunity and responsibility to create a life-affirming atmosphere.  The Christian community perhaps has the most advantage in this feat.  The Bible teaches we are made in God’s image and meant to represent Him on earth (Genesis 1:26), known by God before birth (Jeremiah 1:5), called to salvation with a purpose in mind (Romans 8:28), and individually gifted to serve in the church (I Corinthians 12:11).  The Bible has much to say about the meaning of our existence.  For students struggling to affirm their purpose on earth, this meaning must be made clear.  The Scriptures can offer a purpose for life that is eternal, defying the fragile, limited lifespan of which students are becoming aware.  It then becomes the task of the student ministry to help students grasp the significance of their responsibility to God for their lives.

Finding Unique Value

However, the student ministry cannot merely communicate general religious convictions about the purpose of life to provide meaning.  Frankl points out that “the factors of uniqueness and singularity are essential constituents of the meaningfulness of human existence” (55).  So more than communicating to students their responsibility as image-bearers for God in this world, we must also reinforce their unique place in this world.  Students must recognize God has shaped them to be exactly who they are for a reason.  Their personality, appearance, family situation, interests, etc. are not random.  These are factors God has intentionally brought together to create a unique person.  Perhaps awakening students to this individuality comes in the form pointing out their unique gifts and abilities and creating opportunities for them to use these abilities in the ministry of the church.  Whatever the strategy, student ministries must emphasize responsibility to God and the church body and individual significance in order to combat students’ questioning of their self-worth.

 True Guilt vs. False Guilt

The danger in calling students to fulfill their purpose for God and placing church responsibilities on them is doing it in such a way where they feel they are unable to meet the expectations placed on them.  As mentioned earlier, unmet expectations can be another stressor among students struggling with suicide.  A student’s failure to meet the expectations placed on them can lead to a deeper lack of self-worth and undue stress in attempts to succeed.

In Guilt and Grace, Paul Tournier explains that all people, though they may repress their feelings of guilt, suffer from feelings of inadequacy about who they are or who they are not.  He says, “…a guilty conscience is the seasoning of our daily life” (10).  The process of maturity into adulthood comes riddled with the guilt of being constantly told we are not what we should be and that we could do a better job.  Students in a religious setting face a heightened sense of this guilt as they recognize their sin before God and their need for forgiveness and change and as they become aware of the standards set before them.  However, many times this guilt is not merely the guilt of disobeying God, but of failing to conform to the standards of peers or authority figures.  Tournier proposes two different forms of guilt, “true guilt” and “false guilt” (67).  “True guilt” is the guilt we bear before God for violating His will.  “False guilt” is guilt carried around as a result of not meeting the expectations of those around us.  Tournier goes on to explain that the process of maturation includes growing less concerned with the “false guilt” felt in relationships and more concerned with “true guilt” before God.  As God told the prophet Samuel, “…Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart (I Samuel 16:7).

In placing expectations on students, we must be careful to not place guilt on them for not meeting religious or denominational standards, but instead call them to repentance for not meeting God’s standards.  These are often two different things.  Genuine repentance and change happens when students realize they have offended God, not when they have offended a pastor or church member.  Tournier explains that true repentance seldom comes from people pointing out our flaws, but rather from the inner work of the Holy Spirit in our lives who shows us our faults before a holy God (80-81).

Freedom to Fail

In placing expectations on students we must also remember the grace God shows those who fail to meet his standards.  It is important to have a community in which there is freedom to fail, and be honest about failures.  If the expectations we place on students negate the possibility for failure, students will be quick to deny their faults and slow to deal with the real guilt they are holding.  This again leads to isolated students secretly struggling with self-worth and destroys the chance for real community.  Tournier speaks of the psychological and religious value in confession and explains that we all have an “intense need to make confession” but also an “inner resistance” towards it for the sake of our pride (203).  Creating an atmosphere where confession feels like a natural part of the community of believers means two things: we clearly teach Scripture which, through the power of the Spirit, awakens believers to their guilt before God;  and we demonstrate the patience, grace, and compassion necessary for students to work through the issues they confess.  Confession is meant to be done not only in private prayer, but also in community (see James 5:16) in order to experience the true freedom that comes with a communal recognition of our faults and God’s grace.  In this open, honest community, students can find help for weaknesses and the opportunity for genuine communication that they need.

While students must be shown their responsibility to God and consequently the sense of purpose they can find in Him, hopefully it is equally clear that an adequate understanding of guilt before God and the possibility of His grace be coupled with the expectations placed on students.    Without this emphasis on grace, the church reinforces the low self-esteem that students may already be struggling with and becomes a source of burdensome legalism rather than spirit-empowered freedom in Christ.

Parental Involvement

I have discussed the sense of purpose the church can offer to battle student’s feelings of negative self-worth and the atmosphere of grace and confession that can battle feelings of failure to meet expectations and lacking communication.  However, I believe there is one more element which must be dealt with here, namely students’ relationships with parents.  The reality is students are only in their church community for a limited amount of time each week.  Their primary understanding of God and the experience of life in Him will be found at home with their parents.

The Bible seems to place the primary responsibility for the spiritual discipline of children on the parents (Deuteronomy 4:9, Ephesians 6:4).  So creating this atmosphere of responsibility, grace, and confession must first begin at home.  While the Bible clearly teaches the submission of children to their parents (Ephesians 6:1), it also teaches parents, namely Fathers, to be wary of oppressing their children in their apparent weakness.  Rather than oppress their children, Fathers are commanded to “bring them up” (Ephesians 6:4).  These passages require the same balance of placing responsibilities on children while allowing them room to grow that was discussed above.

However, no perfect parent exists, so creating this atmosphere at home can be complicated.  In an article on family brokenness, Cynthia Neal Kimball argues that an oppressive nature towards children was expected from parents in early evangelicalism.  So much so, that children were expected to conform to their parents in “all habits of life” and the parents were judged if this conformity was not present (348).  In this era of the church, all responsibility was on the parents and any hint of infidelity in a child was attributed to a failure of the parents.  The church was seemingly let of the hook for the raising of children.  She goes on to explain that the developmental history of the parents will have a significant impact on how the parents raise their children (354).  Thus, in a society of so many broken families, the ability to properly raise and nurture children with “provoking them to anger” is complicated.  So in our current culture, it is necessary for the church community to be involved in promoting family restoration and the development of children alongside of parents (358).  Parents do not replace the church, nor does the church replace parents.  But where the parents may be weak, the church has the opportunity to come alongside and carry on the “ministry of reconciliation” (II Corinthians 5:18), reconciliation between children and parents, parents and God, children and God, and wherever else the church may meet brokenness.

The Value of Mentors

In this process, Kimball says, “The value of mentors is without dispute…” (359). Mentorship can not only help fulfill a parental role that is missing in the home, but also meets the needs of students described earlier.  Mentors push students to use gifts and talents, to excel in sports or academic endeavors, and, in a church setting, to understand their value in the church body.  Mentors who reflect the grace and patience discussed above also create a line of open communication for students.  While God rests the primary responsibility of discipleship on the parents, the church cannot ignore its role to help students amidst family brokenness and other life struggles.

The problem of suicide among adolescents is surely not one to be solved overnight and with an easy three-step solution.  There are forces at work around us that many times we are not even aware of (Ephesians 6:12).  However, the church does stand in a pivotal place with the potential to combat the feelings of insignificance and failure that plague many adolescents today.  Paul expressed his commitment to preach nothing by Christ and him crucified (I Corinthians 2:2).  The church must have a similar Christ-centered strategy, for in the crucified Christ, guilt meets grace and insignificance and failure meets new life and purpose.

Works Cited

 Borgman, Dean. “Suicide Overview.” Center for Youth Studies. 18 Aug. 2011.

         <http://www.centerforyouth.org/47613.ihtml>

 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Suicide Prevention. 2009. 18 Aug. 2011

        <http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pub/youth_suicide.html>.

 Frankl, Viktor.  The Doctor and the Soul.  New York: Random House, 1986.

 Kimball, Cynthia Neal.  “Family Brokenness: A Developmental Approach.”  Care for the

        Soul. Ed. McMinn, Mark and Timothy Phillips.  IL: Intervarsity Press, 2001.  346-362.

 Tournier, Paul.  Guilt and Grace.  New York: Harper & Row, 1962.

To Date or Not to Date…that is NOT the question.

Our student ministry began a series entitled, “Hot Topics” last night, and for the next few months we will be covering a myriad of topics that students voted on talking about. For the next two weeks of this series, we’ll be talking about dating, mainly because it is such a common and problematic area of a teenager’s life and there is a lot to say about the issue.

With any topic or issue in life, we don’t want to base our judgments on our own opinions. Our opinions tend to be swayed by selfishness and rarely do we see the big picture on an issue. We also can’t always trust the opinions or advice of others. They can be just as self-centered as we are. Rather, we should seek the counsel of God who knows all things. As the Creator and Sovereign of the Universe, He alone has the final authority to determine what is best for our lives. And thankfully, we have His Word to go to when we need to seek His counsel.

While the Bible may not use the word “dating”, it is not silent about the kinds of relationships we are supposed to have with those around us. The most important earthly relationship the Bible talks about is marriage. In order to protect the marriage relationship, the Bible has a lot to say about premarital sex which of course intersects with the issue of dating. So amidst the Bible’s teaching one the purpose of our lives, staying sexually pure, and protecting the marriage relationship, I think we can find truth to stand on when it comes to dating.

I’m going to break down these talks about dating into two parts. First, we will think about what the primary goal of your life should be at this stage, that of a teenager, and how dating affects that goal. Next week, we’ll talk about the kinds of boundaries and considerations that, if you should choose to date, should go into your relationship.

The Wrong Question

Many Christian teenagers start off asking the wrong question, “do I date or do I not date.” Even parents ask this question, “do they let you date, and if so, when do they let you start dating”. But tonight I want you to consider the fact that maybe this is the wrong question to ask, or at least not the first question to ask.

You see, in your life, you have one primary purpose, God’s glory. That why you breathe, that’s why you walk, that’s why you talk, that’s the very point of your existence. And when I get my mind around that, the question becomes, not should I date or not date, but will dating help me better glorify God through my life? That’s the essential question.

How Teenage Dating Can Prevent a God-Glorifying Life

So when we look at dating with that question in mind, is it helping me better glorify God in my life, I think there are a few dangers about dating that come up:

Teenage dating awakens feelings of romance too soon.

I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases. (Song of Solomon 8:4 ESV)

Song of Solomon is an interesting book. It can be hard to figure out exactly what’s kind of storyline is in the book, or even if there is one. However, most Bible scholars seem to agree that the book is a love song between a man and woman waiting to be married.

This part of the song is spoken by the women, and, in anticipation of her marriage, she makes this statement: “do not awaken love until it pleases.”

She is saying that there is a time for romance, and there is a danger in awakening romantic feelings too soon. To put it bluntly, romantic feelings usually end in one thing, something that is meant to take place within a marriage relationship. If I am not ready for marriage, then it makes no sense to build romantic feelings that I cannot act on.

 Teenage dating presents unneeded temptation.

    Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. (2 Timothy 2:20-22 ESV)

This brings me to the next point, by awakening these romantic feeling, teenage dating also present unneeded temptation. If you are a Christian, I don’t think I have to get up here and tell you premarital sex is wrong. It’s obvious from all of Scripture that sex outside of marriage is a sin and carries heavy consequences. Perhaps one of the most seriously condemned sins in the Bible is sexual sin. It can ruin your life, your reputation, and your future marriage relationship.

So, those of you who are Christians and have committed to following the Bible have probably made the commitment to save sex for marriage (if you haven’t by the way, we’ll talk more about sex in a few weeks). So if I want to stay sexually pure, and dating awakens feelings that usually lead to sex, why would I risk it? I mean there is a simple solution to staying pure: don’t date.

In his letter to Timothy, Paul writes considering the unique challenges that Timothy will face as a younger man. He tells him to “flee youthful passions”. At this stage in your life, your hormones are going crazy, you’ve got a ton of energy that you need to do something with, and Paul recognizes it’s especially hard for young people to deal with this flood of feelings and emotions.

So Paul reminds Timothy that if he is going to be holy, set apart, and prepared for the good works that God has for him, he has to flee, or run away from sin. The same thing applies to you. You have the opportunity to serve God now, but you are also preparing yourself for a future as an adult who can do great things for God. So in that process of preparation, you’ve got to run from sin and chase after Christ-like living. But when you date at this age, when all your hormones are going crazy and you’ve got all this passionate energy, you put yourself in a prime place to be tempted by sexual sin. So instead of running from sin, you are running to it.

Now many of you feel like you have to date, or that the relationship you have with that person is filling some void inside. And I understand, because you were made to pursue pleasure. The problem is where you are finding that pleasure. Paul says instead of using all the energy you have to chase after youthful passion, use that energy to pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace. Find your pleasure in the things of God. You can’t just stand still. You’ve got to pursue something, just make sure it is the right thing. Dating as a teenager usually means we’re pursuing our own passions, instead of pursuing the things God has for us.

Teenage dating prevents you from taking advantage of the gift of singleness.

Now as a concession, not a command, I say this. I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another. (1 Corinthians 7:6-7 ESV)

You see, you are at such an awesome stage in life. You have energy that adults don’t have, you have time that adults don’t have, you have a drive for life that many adults don’t have. This young, single stage that you are in is really a gift that you can use to your advantage if a God-glorifying life.

In this passage in Corinthians, Paul basically says he wished everyone had the gift of singleness that he has. He’s not saying everyone should stay single, but that you can do a lot more for the kingdom of God when you have the freedom and flexibility of a single person. So this single stage in your life is a gift that’s meant to be taken advantage of for the glory of God, not something to look down upon.

When you enter a dating relationship, you immediately lose the time you had before, the energy you had before, and the freedom you have before, because you start investing so much into that other person. Some of you are so focused on getting a boyfriend or girlfriend or keeping your boyfriend or girlfriend that you are completely missing the opportunity you have to serve God as a young single man or woman.

Teenage dating says I don’t trust God to bring me what is good in his own timing.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:28-29 ESV)

The last point is this. The whole motivation behind dating seems to go against the Bible. Essentially we date so we can try a bunch of people out and pick someone who makes us the happiest. In the process, we break hearts, we ruin lives, and many people lose their sexual purity. By dating, you are essentially saying I don’t trust God to bring me the right person at the right time and I’m going to do things my way.

But Romans 8 tells us God works everything together for the good of those who love Him for those who are called to His purpose. What that means is that God has a perfect plan for your life. He is working out all the details to help you live more and more like Jesus each day, “to be conformed to the image of his Son.” And if you will simply focus on loving Him and living for His glory, He will fulfill His purpose in your life. That means He will bring you the right person at the right time.

Teenage dating is a slap in the face of God that says, “I don’t trust your timing and I don’t want what you have for me; I want my own way.” And last time I checked, the God who sees all things and knows all things has a lot better plans for us than we could ever imagine.

Fill Your Need for Intimacy with a Relationship with Jesus

Let me close with this. Many of you, whether you’re a Christian or not, are looking to your dating relationships to fill a need for intimacy. But what you’re finding out is that every person you date ends up failing you. And you get left empty again. I understand that. You were made for intimacy. You were made for relationships and companionship. The problem is you are looking for intimacy with people who are just as messed up as you are. And they’re not going to cut it. So you’re going have to go further and further, from person to person, trying to meet those needs you have.

Here’s my challenge to you. Stop looking for intimacy with a flawed person and find it in the perfect person of Jesus Christ. That’s what He’s offering you, the perfect relationship. And no, it’s not going to be easy to walk with Him and stay loyal to Him all the time; but He does promise to be with you every step of the way. And He promises to bring you good gifts, including romantic love, in His own perfect timing.

What is Faith?

We throw around the words “faith” and “trust” pretty carelessly today. The meaning of these words has become shallower than what they mean in the Biblical sense. For example, we say things like, “Have faith in yourself.” So it sounds like faith is just positive-thinking. We’ll say, “I trust you.” And by that we usually mean that we trust someone to keep a secret or not to do something harmful towards us. But we probably don’t trust them unconditionally. So when we use the words “faith” or “trust” in the church, it’s no surprise that many people don’t clearly understand what Biblical faith and trust really are. What does it mean when we say, “Put your faith in Christ?” What is faith?

Faith is not just positive thinking, an emotional feeling, or an attitude. We must understand truth.

It’s best to begin with what faith is not. Many people view faith and just thinking there is going to be a good outcome to a situation, or that they are able to accomplish something. They think faith is having a positive attitude and happiness about life. Yes, the Bible gives us great reasons to be hopeful and joyful in all circumstances. But there are reasons for these feelings. There is a reason I have hope. There is a reason I have joy. And if I don’t understand these reasons, then whatever faith I think I have is just an emotional feeling.

In my experience in student ministry, I’ve seen many students go to youth camps or events and, usually during a powerful invitation song, have an emotional response to what’s going on around them. So they raise their hand, walk down an aisle, and sign a card. But they have no understanding of anything that they just did. This is why when I counsel people about baptism, I ask them first about salvation and what the Gospel means. And many times, the response I get is Jesus loves me and I want to live my life for Him. Well that’s true, but where is the rest of the Gospel? Where is an awareness of sin and repentance from that sin? Where is the realization that we have a sin problem, that Jesus was sent to die in our place, and that His death and resurrection grant us freedom from sin and new life with Him. I’m certainly not saying people need a seminary education of the Scriptures to have faith, but there must at least be some basic understanding of the Gospel behind all of the emotions they are feeling.

I put my faith in Christ at the age of six, so I certainly didn’t understand words like “justification” and “atonement”. However, I did understand that I had disobeyed God, that God had to punish my sin, and that Jesus took the punishment for me. There was a basic knowledge of the Gospel that accompanied my faith in Jesus Christ.

Faith requires understanding the facts and truth of the Gospel.

There is an intellectual side of faith. I have to have someone to put my faith in, and a reason I am putting my faith I them. Faith doesn’t exist by itself, it is connected to something. The person who simply says, “I have to keep the faith”, is a fool. Think about it this way. In tough circumstances, we Christians often tell ourselves that we need to have the faith to carry on. Is faith itself the thing helping us carry on through difficult times? No. It’s faith in the FACT that God is in control and that He has a plan and purpose for the season in my life. Again, faith must be connected to something or someone. And for the Christian, our faith is in the work of Jesus Christ.

Faith is the assurance of God’s promises.

This brings me to the next point. Hebrews 11:1 describes faith as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” The writer of Hebrews then goes on to mention how men and women of the Bible accomplished great things because of their faith; or better put, God accomplished great things through them. You see, when my faith is in God, I am acknowledging my own weakness and failure but also recognize God’s infinite power to accomplish His purposes. So “by faith”, the failures and sinners of the Bible saw God do great thing because they were convinced God would do what He said He would do.

This same principle applies to our faith in Christ. When I trust in Christ, I acknowledge my own sinfulness and hopelessness and rest in the promise of Jesus Christ to cleanse my sin and save me through His death and resurrection.

Faith goes hand in hand with repentance.

Realizing my need for Jesus Christ also means realizing my own sinfulness. If I don’t see myself as the sinner that I am, I don’t see my need for a Savior. Many people come to Jesus hoping He can add something to their life, but they are not willing to repent and let go of what they have. So they add Jesus into the mix. Yet, Scripture is clear: we must lose our life to save it (Matthew 10:39). When I come to Jesus I am acknowledging the worthlessness of everything else and putting my hope in Him alone.

Genuine faith is evidenced by our lives.

Thus far, I have talked very little about our Christian works (since our works can’t save us, only Christ’s work can). However, good works are not completely separated from faith; rather faith leads to good works. Let me make this clear, I am justified before God by faith in Christ. I am completely dependent on what He accomplished for me. However, if I have truly been saved and changed by Jesus, there will be evidence of that transformation.

James 2:14-26 is a great argument for this point. James explains that a person who claims to have faith in Jesus Christ, yet has no Christ-like works in their life, is a person with dead faith. Genuine faith in Christ is evidenced in our emotions, desires, actions, and so on as the Spirit works within us to help us become more like Christ.

Faith grows stronger over time.

My last point on faith is this: don’t expect to be a faith superstar the moment you become a Christian. Your faith, and by that I mean your trust and dependence on God and assurance of His promises, will strengthen over time.

Every Friday I venture out of the office and visit our church members who are in hospitals or nursing homes. Many times, I find that they are more of an encouragement to me than I am to them. I am amazed at how so many of our older members can be facing death square in the face and still have such peace and trust in God. I imagine myself in that situation, and I don’t think I could ever be that bold on my death bed. But then I remember, they’ve been at this Christian life a lot longer than I have. They have story after story of how they’ve experienced God’s provision and power. Over time, through their experiences and the work of the Spirit in their life, God has deepened and strengthened their reliance on Him.

Paul uses the example of Abraham to make this point, “No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what He promised.” (Romans 4:20-21)

So don’t be discouraged when you still freak out and get anxious every other day and you realize how weak assurance of God’s promises really is. Faith grows.

Camp Reflections

Youth camp is tricky business.  At almost every camp, students experience a high of emotional worship, deeper relationships with each other, and a desire to be more commited to Christ.  And student pastors get excited to see these things happen in their students.  However, in the back of the student pastor’s mind he is usually wondering how real all of this is.  Is it just the result of great music, a speaker they’ve never heard before, and questionable ingredients in the camp food?  What happens when students return to the real world, to a rough famile life, ungodly friends, and busy school schedules?

I’ll admit that I  tend to be a critical person.  But I think most student pastors have these worrying thoughts in their mind the entire week of camp.  Except this past week.

This past week at camp, I did see emotions run high, but I also saw some things I’ve never seen before.  I saw students who don’t talk to each other on Wednesday nights worshipping together and building accountability relationships.  I saw God save some guys that we had been praying for, not students that “get saved” at every youth camp, but guys who we knew needed Christ.  I saw God raise up some students who feel called to ministry in every avenue from church planting to missions to deaf ministry.  And I saw our high school guys, who I have been begging God to change, rise up and commit to be leaders in our youth group.

I think what struck me the most was how specific the decisions were that were being made.  Students became aware of the particular areas in their life that the Holy Spirit was transforming, and they submitted to that transformation.

So I walk away from this camp, thankful that God is bigger than my critical attitude and excited to see how this genuine transformation changes our student ministry.  I still believe that teenagers have the most potential to change this world, and I am excited to be a part of what God is doing in their lives.  I see Him raising up a generation that is not content with casual Christianity, but that wants to push the borders of the Kingdom of God to the uttermost parts of the world.  To God be the glory!

Camp Update #3

Last night at camp, we had some of our students share some awesome talent. Luke Daniels shared a spoken word. Josh Beahan played the piano. We’ll hopefully post videos of their performances soon.

God also saved another one of our guys last night. In addition to the decisions being made, I am seeing a desire in our older guys to be leaders in our youth group and to take seriously their responsibility as influencers of the younger students.

And last, we decided last night to become a Global Youth Partner. We will talk more about this when we get back, but essentially this means that our students are committing to pray for and financially support a youth ministry in another country.

The Holy Spirit is convicting, transforming, and raising leaders. Please keep lifting us up in prayer!