Things have changed in some sections of youth culture since I was immersed in it 20 years ago. Going to Bible camp between 7th and 12th grade was a very significant part of my life. I loved it. Couldn't get enough of it. Yeah, I just wanted to flirt with girls and get the emotional highs that all kids look forward to at camp, but as I look back I do think that that window of my life served to solidify my Christian faith.
But it was different back then. We almost exclusively sang songs that were very fun, yet had little content. Know what I mean? Pharaoh, Pharaoh, anyone? Also, the teaching was usually some type of moralistic pep talk. I know it couldn't have exclusively been this in my experience, because I remember the gospel being clearly explained, but it was certainly a lot of "try harder" and "increase your resolve" type messages.
Last week, as I spent a whole week with 80 7-12th graders, I observed something different. We sang songs that had more content and clearly had the gospel in them. The kids loved it and were truly engaged. The teaching was quite intense and called the students to live out the implications of the gospel that was clearly presented. It was solid Bible teaching that moved beyond funny stories and a moralistic charge. It would have worked just as well for adults.
Now, perhaps these kids are simply coming from a really solid church in Amarillo, TX (I know this is the case) and this is not the norm. Perhaps nothing has changed since I was a doing these same sorts of things 20 years ago. But my sense is that in certain sections of evangelicalism we are calling our kids to something better than what we used to. Perhaps God is raising up a new generation of believers that will be more serious, more passionate, and more gospel-centered since the needs in our world continue to be more challenging, more resistant and more threatening. I don't know. I could be off base, but I pray this is the case.
What do you think?
2 comments:
There are still plenty of camps/ministries that are full of moralistic garbage. But praise God for places where the gospel is being taught and proclaimed.
I, too, had the shallow camp experiences, and many shallow/moralistic youth ministry experiences growing up.
I've been pondering for some time how the consumerist youth ministries of the 90s may have been a logical precursor to the rise of the emergent church (and perhaps also the young reformed movement). Have you read anything good on that topic?
I hope you're right. I'm pretty skeptical about youth groups and Bible camps because I remember that when I attended more than 20 years ago, for me it was about the cliques and the boys and sometimes the emotional/spiritual high that was so intense I now sometimes wonder if it was mass delusion/illusion or whatever the right word is. (Not that I think emotions are bad - God gave them to us. It's just that they're unreliable unless checked against His Word.)
I don't want to lay blame here because I know now that many of those adults in charge were really on fire for the Lord and still follow Him to this day, but something definitely got lost in translation.
I am also grateful that God so obviously had His hand on my life from an early age and even held on to me through all my rebellion and drew me back to Himself.
I remember wanting to love God and just not knowing how. How could He compete with the exciting world of adolescence? We sang, "Majesty, worship His Majesty. Unto Jesus be all glory, power and praise" but I had no concept of His majesty or how everything reveals His majesty. I knew the Gospel "story" but had no grasp of how miraculous, sacrificial, awesome, it was that God himself would humble Himself to come as a human infant through birth and live among us; how His death was more than just words words words. I had no idea of the meaning of justification, atonement, imputation, impartation, sanctification. I tried to read the bible but didn't know how. I think now that what I needed at the time was a spiritual mentor.
I remember that I had no idea how to deal with temptation or how to walk the walk. I only knew how to be remorseful - I can't even say repentant because I don't think I ever truly turned from my sins. I wanted forgiveness; I wanted a Savior but not a Lord. Yes! Lordship is something I was not taught about. I was taught a bit about legalism but not about submitting, willingly, in love, to the true King.
y'know every time I lament what I did not have spiritually or emotionally when I was growing up, I am tempted to fall into self-pity, when perhaps this is a call to me to make sure I am providing these things to others.
I'm sorry this has turned into such a jumble - maybe I should just cut and paste this to my own blog but you asked. :)
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