So to get right to the point today, I got a little game that I'd like for y'all to play.
It's called "How many teenagers do you know that are actively pursuing a life with God?"
For most of us, that game doesn't last very long. Like a bangin' on a gong, the preachers
say, "What's wrong with kids today?" and the song goes on and on and on. But the song being
sung is partly true. We're surrounded by a generation who, for the most part, would rather
smoke a joint than sit in a pew, and to be honest, I'm really tired of placing all the
blame on them. So I'm here to suggest that perhaps part of the problem, church, is you.
Please hear me out. You see, teenagers today, and people, for that matter, would rather
live by their own luck because they see the religious system is just way too stuck, and
if you heard me say that I read my Bible every day, you'd be like "What the fudge? Doesn't
that mean you're quick to judge, never budge, and just a plain old schmuck?" And if this
is the perception that we're so full of pride, then perhaps it's time we took a look inside
and tried to reclaim the part of Jesus that some of us have lost: the one who partied
with sinners, touched the lepers, loved the children, and who paid the highest cost.
Have you ever considered just how many parties Jesus went to in the Gospels? If someone wanted
to throw a party today, church, I'm not sure that they would hire us. People don't wanna
gather around Jesus anymore. They gather around Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus. And I'm not here
to bash secular music, either. I'm tired of that, and plus, I like some of those songs.
I'm here to suggest, church, that we also might be in the wrong.
Please hear me out. You see, it's clear in the lives of the next generation, the church
rarely plays a part, and maybe that's because some of the messages in TV, and film, and
radio are a little bit more from the heart. The church shouldn't be this billboard of
propaganda, a list of shoulds and should nots. It should be a living, breathing artpiece,
where people see us, and they say, "I want what they've got!" When did the movement of
Jesus lose its authenticity and require its members to climb to some spiritual peak? Because
if only the strong survive, then how come His power is perfect when we're weak?
Now please, hear me. I know some churches do this right, and I'm not tryin' to start
a fight. I'm here to suggest that we might just be as blind as those to whom we're trying
to give sight. We as the church need to wisen up because the next generation is rising up,
and they're finding their prize in the things of this world because in their eyes, we haven't
given them a better option. Runnin' away from the church like a toxin, because some of us
are locked into a system of judgment and dismay, hate you if you're struggling, different,
or gay. Why would anyone want to stay when they're just viewed as a project on which
we can project a list of rules? And the more we try and protect the children in this way,
the more we reject what God is trying to project through them! And that is His project of
authentic love.
Please hear me out. You've made it this far. I'm not trying to be harsh, and I'm not trying
to be condemning to either side. I'm suggesting that instead of forcing people onto some religious
journey, let's just invite them along for the ride. Let's look to share, before we look
to teach, and maybe let's put a little more care into what we preach. Let us make faith
in Jesus a little more attractive, and by that, I'm not talking about hip, or cool.
I'm talking about interactive - because you can never underestimate the power of someone
who truly cares and who dares to be the one person who will listen when no one else will.
This is the kind of love that I believe Jesus was talking about, that authentic love that
spurs us to a life that people can't help but be attracted to.
Church, let us begin to live in that love. And let us stop blaming the younger generation
for every problem in the world, and instead, come alongside them and invite them on an
adventure that Jesus said would bring even greater things yet to come.
This is authentic love.