Out of the mouth of a teen....

I recently read this poem from a teen in our youth group on Facebook. With her permission I am posting it....she seems to capture well the culture war that is raging on, the conflict in the lives of youth, and how she wants to call them out! One can feel her passion about what it really means to be a follower of Jesus.....


The Lukewarm Church.
by Alicia

oh hey hows it going.
this is me again.
caught in the middle of this big dramatic love-hate fest.

Did you forget
...It's always about us.
We dont really care about you.
Cant you tell??

I mean, cmon...we post it everyday on myspace/facebook.

We're just too caught up in ourselves
and our dramato "give the glory"
to the One who
REALLY
DESERVES
OUR
ATTENTION.

A wise person once told me..it's worse to be LUKEWARM than ICE COLD.

seriously
...just spare me already. it makes me sick.
if you're just going to go against everything the bible says, please just don't call yourself a Christ follower.
It messes with people's head.

sorry, but real Christ followers don't look up pornography.
It's just not what we're about.
And being a bystander and not saying anything is just as bad.
Don't tell me that it's not and you had nothing to do with it.

don't encourage the people (who actually care about living the right way), to look at that trash that the world tries to publicize.
You were supposed to be the role models.
What?
Couldn't take the heat?
too much responsibility to do the right thing?
Grow up.

I don't know about you, but when someone finds out how amazing and forgiving the love of
God is, bringing them down and distracting them from their brand new walk with Him, is not my first thought.

i am not perfect.
i am a hypocrite.
but so are you.

Just because I make mistakes, doesnt mean that I don't have the right to speak out.
I love Jesus.
I fall.
He picks me up.
I'm so thankful that He weighs every sin the same.

I am sooo unbelievably sick and disgusted with fake Christians in my life.
people who deliberately turn their back on Christ.
why?
beats me.
attention...?
possibly.
selfishness..?
most likely.
But stop trying to bring me down with you.

Like sometimes I just want to screaaamm.
I am so frustrated that you REFUSE to live up to your full potential.
We used to be united. A core group sold out.
But none of that matters now.
Nothing I say will make a difference to you people.
You go do your own thing.
I cant care anymore.

But don't think that people dont see you.
All eyes are on YOU.
Especially those who look up to you.
Like those who are younger...
And those who are new to this whole new relationship with God.

Michael Jackson passed away June 25, 2009
He was an "interesting" individual.
Not necessarily the "best guy"
But he was one of God's creation. His Child.
From how Michael lived his life,
I would assume that he did not discover that life with Christ
...full of joy
...contentment
...peacefulness
...purity
...salvation.
So now where do you think he is?

That should break the hearts of every Christian.
But I actually heard someone say that "he got what he deserved.."
In our culture, maybe so.
But that is not how Jesus thinks.
He's waiting for us.
All the way up to the last second.
That's what unconditional love is all about.

It devastates me when we, the people who claim to love God with all our hearts,
Can't find love and forgiveness in our hearts for others.
((God's creations))
What makes you so holy and righteous??
It can't be that judgemental attitude can it?

BTW.
The dirty sexual jokes are getting old.
The 4-letter words are giving me a headache.
You pick a side!
Don't bother picking somewhere in the middle.
It's just insulting.

You inspire me.
To be a better person.
To make sure I don't turn out like you.
Your reputation sucks.

I'm exhausted of the middle school drama.
Go ahead..just add fuel to the fire.
Let's see how that works for you.
Not going very well..?
I told you to keep your mouths shut and be the bigger person.

Don't say that you HATE drama.

When you INSTIGATE it.

I can't handle lukewarm Christ/Satan followers.
You make people STAY AWAY FROM THE TRUTH!
think about that.

"The Millennium Matrix: Reclaiming the Past,Reframing the Future of the Church" by M. Rex Miller

As I read M. Rex Miller's book, The Millennium Matrix: Reclaiming the Past, Reframing the Future of the Church, I thought about how a church and youth ministry will emerge from this new cultural ethos. I have come to realize that the church will want to embrace the digital mediums (as opposed to the broadcast culture we are exiting.) With new forms of communication through digital means, it is fascinating to think how such eclectic groups of people can be formed as communities with common interests.

Miller helps us understand how we can reconnect Word with Spirit and how the digital world will shape us:

• "We now have the means to allow our desires to journey virtually anyplace, to consider anything we choose." (77)

• "In a not-so-distant future, digital's desire for direct, unmediated, hands-on experience will replace broadcast's passive gestalt. Digital's reliance on networks and personal relationships will replace broadcast's bias toward collective main-event experiences. Digital's open-source technologies, organization, and thinking will replace broadcast's branding and proprietary claims. Digital's ability to reframe the past will replace broadcast's tendency to discard the past. (78)

• He sees worship as a "Gathering...an interactive, intimate, multisensory, improvisational, immersive, mystical, highly engaged experience." (96)

• He sees truth as "Contextual....truth is malleable and relevant with particular contexts of meaning. Context becomes the simulator for our understandings of reality. Community (virtual or otherwise) tests and validates reality." (97)

• He sees faith as "Pragmatism...belief resides in the medium of digital community. Faith begins with the context of a community, both physical and virtual. The community narrative creates a microworldview expressing origin, points of validation, and destiny. Doctrinal differences blur, yet microworldviews separate. For example, faith communities emerge centered around sustainable living, traditional family values, or alternative lifestyles, each with its own genealogy of thought, filtering process, and rites of initiation." (98-99)

• He sees the gospel as being "Recontextualized....unprecedented individual access to church history, traditions, and styles creates a desire to freshly encounter past traditions and gospel truths, sampling and synthesizing them into new expressions." (99)

• He sees the "Godhead (Body or church)....expressed with a new awareness of the church....leadership acts as a catalyst for members of the church to minister to one another and to community....in acts of healing, confession, correction, and charity." (100)

• He sees God's location...."Everywhere...all creation is a reflection of God. Because God is everywhere, we can access God through many means." (101)

• He see the connection with God through the "Heart of God...we see God's heart expressed in a yearning for connection and community and getting back to something simpler." (101)

How Young People View Their Lives, Futures and Politics

Below are links to some very interesting research conducted by the Pew Research Center, "2006 Generation Next Study."

"Young Americans Profiled in PBS Documentary - A unique generation is coming of age in America. They’ve been called many things, millennials, boomerang kids, generation Y . . . we are calling them Generation Next. They are the 42 million young people aged 16-25 who were born after the Cold War, weaned on technology, came of age rocked by 9/11 and who now face a future marked by complex global challenges."

Link to research: http://people-press.org/reports/pdf/300.pdf

Link to NPR's site on Generation Next:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105020155

Generation Next: A Snapshot

Organization: MacNeil/Lehrer Productions

Few generations have grown up during a period of such rapid and dramatic change. Born between 1980 and 1990, Generation Next has already seen extraordinary political, military, economic, technological and social changes. They have lived in a post-Cold War world and a time of relative economic prosperity in America, but they have also experienced September 11th and the fear of another attack, two Gulf Wars, Columbine, Hurricane Katrina and the increasing polarization of public discourse. All this has occurred in the midst of a communications revolution. More than any who came before, Generation Next is engaged with technology, and the vast majority is dependent upon it.

Diversity:

Generation Next is the most racially diverse generation in the history of the United States.1

Approximately 62% of 18-24 year-olds are white, down from 87% in 1972.2

Including non-citizens, the 18-24 year-old Latino population is now larger than the corresponding African-American population in the United States. 58% of Generation Next believes the Nation needs to be more accepting of difference and diversity.3

Generation Next is more accepting of homosexuality and interracial dating.4

Transition to Adulthood:

Generation Next is changing the traditional path to adulthood: starting families later, interspersing work and education, and switching careers more frequently.5

A majority of Generation Next feels satisfied financially, but receives greater financial support from their parents and has more debt than previous generations.6

Education, Job Prospects & Media:

A college degree is more essential to higher earnings now than ever before. Male high school graduates with no college degree make relatively less now, on average, than they did in 1975.7

Young women in Generation Next are more likely to attend college than young men.8

Among 16-24 year-old African-American men not enrolled in school, only about half are working. Roughly one third of all young black men are involved in the criminal justice system at any one time.9

Generation Next reads fewer newspapers and tunes to fewer radio and television news programs.10

Over the course of the year, veteran journalist Judy Woodruff joins forces with MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, embarking on a wide-ranging expedition to listen to both the engaged and the disenfranchised members of Generation Next.

The goal of the project is straightforward: to glean as complete an understanding as possible of young people's take on a broad cross section of social, political, and pop culture issues, from family, relationships, religion and personal values, to government and leadership,

America's role in the world, immigration, diversity and the quality of their schools.

Where do they get their information, how do they define success,

and what does it mean to them to be an American?

The demographic group, often referred to as the "millennials," are courted aggressively by advertisers, but overlooked or even ignored by policymakers.

-------------------------------------------------
1 Greenberg, Quinlan, Rosner Research Inc."OMG! How Generation Y is Redefining Faith in the iPod Era"
2 CIRCLE: Electoral Engagement Among Minority Youth
3 Greenberg, Quinlan, Rosner Research Inc."Coming of Age in America"
4 Pew Center for the People and the Press
5 The Network on Transitions to Adulthood, "October 2004 Policy Brief"
6 The Network on Transitions to Adulthood, "October 2004 Policy Brief" and the Pew Center on the People and the Press
7 Prof. Sheldon Danziger, University of Michigan
8 CIRCLE, "Electoral Engagement Among Non-College Attending Youth"
9 Harry Holzer, Peter Edelman, Paul Offner: Reconnecting Disadvantaged Young Men
10Pew Center for the People and the Press

“unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity…and Why it Matters” by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons

Kinnaman and Lyons developed six broad themes from their research. Our mission strategies must take these prevailing attitudes into account! (29-30):

· “Hypocritical. Outsiders consider us hypocritical-saying one thing and doing another-and they are skeptical of our morally superior attitudes.”
· “Too focused on getting converts. Outsiders wonder if we genuinely care about them. They feel like targets rather than people. They question our motives when we try to help them “get saved,” despite the fact that many of them have already “tried” Jesus and experienced church before.”
· “Antihomosexual. Outsiders say that Christians are bigoted and show disdain for gays and lesbians. They say Christians are fixated on curing homosexuals and on leveraging political solutions.”
· “Sheltered. Christians are thought of as old-fashioned, boring, and out of touch with reality. Outsiders say we do not respond to reality in appropriately complex ways, preferring simplistic solutions and answers. We are not willing to deal with the grit and grime of people’s lives.”
· “Too political. Another common perception of Christians is that we are overly motivated by a political agenda, that we promote and represent politically conservative interests and issues. Conservative Christians are often thought of as right-wingers.”
· "Judgmental. Outsiders think of Christians as quick to judge others. They say we are not honest about our attitudes and perspectives about other people. The doubt that we really love people as we say we do.”

Fortunately, the authors address that as we attempt to change negative perspectives, “we need to avoid an opposite and equally dangerous extreme” (32):

· Promoting a less offensive faith where “….Christian teachings are omitted or deemphasized. They hijack the image of Jesus by portraying him as an open-minded, big-hearted, and never-offended-anyone moral teacher.” (33) We must always teach truths.

And they address the question of whether we should care what outsiders perceive and think.
They answer why perceptions matter (37-38):

· “What people think about Christians influences how they respond to us.”
· “What people think about Christians should help us to be objective.”
· “What people think of Christians can change.”
· “What people think about Christians reflects person stories.”

The authors push us, asking us to consider how we will respond to a young generation of outsiders raising criticisms of the Christian faith and its people. “What will we do to address the unchristian perception of our faith?” (204)They suggest insights to how we can respond with the right perspective on our missional journey, keeping our motivations on defending God’s fame and off our own image:

· “The first insight is that Jesus had the right perspective when facing criticism. He did not seem to be bothered by critics the way we are. Scripture emphasizes that believers will not be popular and that the message of the cross doesn’t make sense to outsiders.” (206)
· Secondly, “he was not willing to be defined by his enemies.” (207)
· “A third insight is that when Jesus responded to critics, he seemed to consider the below-the-surface motives. He could distinguish between hostility and hurt. And he always addressed the core of people’s spiritual condition.” (207)
· “It comes down to this: we must become Christlike again.” (224)

And my hope is that we will become known more for what we are for….caring for the poor, living for peace, modeling personal integrity, and loving everyone who crosses are paths.

“Engaging the Soul of Youth Culture: Bridging Teen Worldviews and Christian Truth” by Walt Mueller

Engaging emerging youth today...Walt Mueller provides excellent insights:

· I particularly like this author's study in chapter nine regarding Paul’s Mars Hill Ministry in Acts 17:16-34 and its application to today’s youth, with similarities that are astonishing.
· As Mueller points out, the messenger is Paul, the place is Athens, the audience is educated pagans, and the method Paul uses to encounter the Athenians is by engaging the pagan world.
· Mueller notes that Paul does not compromise his holiness by being in this polytheistic culture, he isn’t indifferent to the idolatry but rather he is very distressed because of his deep love for Christ and his deep concern for the Athenians.
· “Because of their philosophic frame of reference, both the Epicureans and Stoics react against Paul and his teachings. Their worldviews are so antibiblical that what Paul is telling them is foreign, alien and ultimately revolting.” (205)
· Mueller also points out that the Epicureans were “feeling-oriented” and the Stoics were the rationalists and thinkers of Athens. “Each bears striking similarities to the way many contemporary postmoderns live and think today.” (204)
· We can learn a great deal from Paul’s ministry. Even with the Athenians reactions to Paul, we might think he would be rejected. “But the fact that he has come to them, met them on their own turf, and engaged them at the level of their interests and ideas sets the stage for something amazing to happen.” (206) He leaves them intrigued and wanting to know more.
· Paul addresses them by using statements they could relate to and affirms their beliefs (although misdirected beliefs.) But he doesn’t insult them. “Paul’s cross-cultural approach adapts the unchanging Word without compromise so it can be heard in the Athenian context.” (208)
· “As Paul stands before the gathering of the Areopagus, his opening comments indicate clearly that he not only knows what the Athenians believe, but he also knows their manner and format for discussing their ideas. In our contemporary postmodern situation it is our responsibility as crosscultural missionaries to enter into a discussion of their ideas, in their world, in their manner, but only after we’ve taken the time to be informed and educated on their philosophy, worldview, allegiances and other cultural nuances. Paul addresses their ignorance by telling them about the true God who can be known.” (208) (Emphasis mine.)
· “In a masterful way Paul finds common ground between the truth about the one true God and Epicurean and Stoic philosophy. He corrects their errors by using their own teachings that resonate with biblical truth.” (209)
· Eventually, “Paul calls them to turn away from their idols to the one true God, who will no longer overlook their sin.” (212) “
· “Paul’s message provides a powerful example of how to engage the emerging postmodern generations with a crosscultural apologetic.” (212) “The ancient Mars Hill ministry model is unquestionably suited for our times. It offers the church an approach for infiltrating, understanding and transforming culture with good news.” (215)
· As Mueller helps us to understand this ministry example can help us strengthen and deepen our work in the mission field of youth today, provides us a framework and model for living out the Truth and engaging the culture with “an eye toward effective crosscultural ministry.” (216)
· In this blog I cannot possibly list out all the question we may want to ask members of the emerging generation, but I highly recommend you read this book and look through these questions (217-233)….they are certainly worth the price of admission!