Teens Yawning in the Pews
This thought-provoking article, “More Teens Becoming ‘Fake’ Christians,” points out that many teens have waned in their Christian convictions while their desire to change the broken world has, if anything, increased. Here is a piece of the article:
Churches, not just parents, share some of the blame for teens’ religious apathy as well, says Corrie, the Emory professor.
She says pastors often preach a safe message that can bring in the largest number of congregants. The result: more people and yawning in the pews.
“If your church can’t survive without a certain number of members pledging, you might not want to preach a message that might make people mad,” Corrie says. “We can all agree that we should all be good and that God rewards those who are nice.”
Corrie, echoing the author of “Almost Christian,” says the gospel of niceness can’t teach teens how to confront tragedy.
“It can’t bear the weight of deeper questions: Why are my parents getting a divorce? Why did my best friend commit suicide? Why, in this economy, can’t I get the good job I was promised if I was a good kid?”
What can a parent do then?
Get “radical,” Dean says.
She says parents who perform one act of radical faith in front of their children convey more than a multitude of sermons and mission trips.
A parent’s radical act of faith could involve something as simple as spending a summer in Bolivia working on an agricultural renewal project or turning down a more lucrative job offer to stay at a struggling church, Dean says.
But it’s not enough to be radical — parents must explain “this is how Christians live,” she says.
“If you don’t say you’re doing it because of your faith, kids are going to say my parents are really nice people,” Dean says. “It doesn’t register that faith is supposed to make you live differently unless parents help their kids connect the dots.”
SO . . . what have you done . . . or what has your church done . . . to stoke the imagination and interest of teenagers? How have you presented a challenge that seems radical, that is focused on bringing healing to a hurting world?
For me this happened with our youth trips that went into the middle of real poverty and served. Our leaders emphasized that it was done in the name of Jesus, though we didn’t spend the evening passing out Bibles. But it made faith more real.
Three words: Central Dallas Ministries!
“…one act of radical faith in front of their children convey more than a multitude of sermons and mission trips.”
Growing up I saw my father, who owned his own excavating business, by meals for hungry people that sat outside his favorite diner with no money, teaching a young Hispanic men who worked as day labors in the landscaping/excavating trade how to count American money so he would not be scammed by others, and many other acts of ministry. And I was able to witness this many times WHICH DID make an impression on what sort of things Jesus really valued (which was different than some of the things I was being taught in church as a kid).
I try to remember this with my own children…if I want them to grow up with a living faith in Jesus Christ then it starts with me modeling a living faith to them outside of the church building.
Grace and peace,
Rex
Great insights: the transformation doesn’t come just from talking about the needs of the world but from actively participating in addressing those needs!
Dean is so right about radical acts of faith on the part of parents. I can remember being shocked, stunned by things my mom and dad said and did. Those moments will always be with me.
There was no yawning in the pews last weekend when the rafters barely held up during Jumpstart. Josh Ross and Patrick Mead had them in the palms of their hands. Our fifty kids, in late night devotions, were excited and moved by their words, the singing and great classes. Our prayer is they returned for a school year with a good jump start in Christ.
We’ve been using “gimmicks” to get the kids to church. That’s not hold them in the long-term.
This one’s not yawning.
BTW, Caroline is 16, confirmed Catholic (Mom’s side), Jewish father. And a precocious and gifted writer, I might add.
Mike, seriously, with what you’re doing now, you really should read every last one of her columns. It’s not all about jumping up and down and yelling “JESUS!!” In fact, it may not be about that at all.
While I am all for the radical healing-the-hurting-world thing, how does this help the church ‘bear the weight of the deeper questions’? It seems to me that it simply deflects the questions and does nothing to address them.