While it's natural to critique the parents, the churches, and the college ministries, I think it's telling that we never quite hold the teens and twenty-somethings responsible for their own actions. Perhaps if they are reading this thread they'll happily agree with us...nothing they do is their fault. "We aren't carnal or anything...it's my youth pastor's fault. He believed in creationism and because I have so much intellectual integrity I could no longer be a Christian."I was talking with someone yesterday, inquiring where a young twenty-something was who had been missing from church a few weeks. I was told the young person was mad at the church and had started drifting back into the hippie scene. I suggested that maybe we go and visit him. I was kindly rebuffed. "He just needs some time and to know we love him." The dad in me responded..."Huh, perhaps he just needs to grow up and stop blaming everyone else for his choices."My comment might not have helped that young man, but to my son who was present, it was very instructional.We need to stop acting like these kids are rational and innocent souls who came searching for truth but instead found only moral and intellectual disappointment with the hypocritical world of adults. That's just the ultimate expression of 'everyone owes me something' attitude that this generation is becoming famous for. Our adult communities are failing these children for sure...failing to raise them into adults.MC
_________________Mike Compton
The old blame game. You caused me to think this over again. Who is responsible...and for what? Who will be held accountable?Thank you MC
_________________TJ
Numbers 32:23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out. Much of this is simply reaping what one has sown. When one looks at how these young adults have been trained it should surprise no one. When they were babies they were tossed into the nursery, from there they went to childrens church, then teens, to young adults. Why? Their parents cannot stand them, they were taught from the crib how to be selfish by the example of their do not bother me parents.Then by example they have learned how to shirk the responsibility of discipleship, while seeking to attain as many luxuries as the world has to offer.To top it all off, they have been taught by the best in all the ways to run down the pastor and fellow members of their congregation.What has happened to the children? The same thing that has happened to much of the so called church. They are serving the god of this world. In His Lovepastorfrin
Just a quick note...I wasn't dismissing the other perspectives, just wanting to make sure the kids themselves are among the lists of suspects. My son told me a funny story that rather illustrates the responsibility of the adults in this equation. This week a teacher who had been instructing the class on the colonial period of America, absent-mindedly gave the class a pop quiz on the American Civil War. That's kind of how it is in some circles of the church today. When the kids are young, they recieve narcisstic culturaly relevant instruction and all the while they get plenty of strokes for simply showing up to church. Then when they get out, the world tests them on the hard stuff...and they don't even recognize the material on the test. Pastorfrin hit on something that I think can be rightfully seen as evil; there are adults who are inconvenienced by children in church to put it mildly. Children are seen to hinder the adult's sunday morning worship. And of course kids have disrespect for the adults. I am fortunate, attending what is perhaps one of the last churches in America that doesn't segregate it's congregation according to age, worship styles, or other consumer driven demographics. We thankfully understand that the younger people need to see, watch, and learn from the older people, and to show respect for those who have studied and stood longer. Removing worldly self-serving divisions in the congregation is perhaps a small but crucial step to breaking the spell of modern American culture in our young people before they are teens. Blessings dear saints. I am thankful none here have walked away from the Lord.MC
I think it was Jesse Moriels Testimony of how he was sick of playing games and wanted to pray and read his bible and all they did is play games. If you have grown up with computers, and games all your life nothing is new. It is the power of God that changes peoples life, I know that if any young person really experienced the power of god I know that all the culturally relevant stuff will seem as nothing.It is like if the Real God ever showed up to the queen or to the president whilst he was peforming the prayer in the senate or in the houses of parliment. It is like mentioning the name of god but not actually knowing his character once they know him. Everything will seem dull.
_________________Dominic Shiells
