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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | How can we assist our youth? | Bible general Archive 1 | charis | 2187 | ||
Dear prayon, Great answer! This one is going up on the church bulletin board, but I have to translate it into Japanese first. If I may, without giving offense, I would like to add a few comments. The church, for all age groups, must teach respect and responsibility as key elements of fellowship among the saints. (This is, of course, after our spiritual attitude toward the Lord) If these are taught to all, it would include the youth, and they would partake of the benefits. If there is an unhealthy division anywhere along the line in a church, young people will see it in a moment, and call it rightly, hypocrisy. In every area, and to all who come, the church must portray the love, truth, and reality of our Lord Jesus. This would mean, though, that we cannot favor the youth, either. They must participate in this 'universal' respect and responsibility. After all, "Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of discipline will remove it far from him." Proverbs 22:15 NASB. We must recognize a natural tendency to rebel and be foolish, and try to deal with it beforehand, if at all possible. (This would make us a little wiser than them, I hope :-) After the fact (sin or 'unwise decisions'), we must accept them, and try to 'minimize the damage,' and teach them the importance of ongoing repentance. I do not believe we should accept their foolishness and allow it to continue in the church, for that would be hypocrisy. We must be wise and gentle, as Jesus is, but firm and determined, as He also is. I discern that one of the greatest problem areas in dealing with young people is the correct wielding of discipline. There seems to be a 'pendulum effect' working that either is too strict and demanding, or too forgiving, allowing sin to escalate. This would be an off-center balance-weight. Worse would be the absence of a balance-weight, causing wild swings of love and wrath, leniency and unreasonable strictness. Jesus is our balance-weight, and He always points to perfect center. When He walked the earth, He always shocked those who heard Him. The Pharisees were shocked at His authority concerning the Word of God, the sinners were shocked at His love and grace. He was always righteous and kind, in a simple, straightforward manner. This is what we must show forth in the church, and our youth will be ministered to as a matter of course. As another saint observed, we should not be focused on the youth, on missions, on worship, on healing, on study, on the pastor, on the denomination or 'covering,' or on anything but Jesus. If we find Him, every area will be covered. Blessings to you in Christ Jesus, charis |
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2 | How can we assist our youth? | Bible general Archive 1 | prayon | 2198 | ||
Charis - I agree with you 100 per cent. I was trying to just stick to the issue of the youth. Without proper role models and intercessors we would not be able to be what they need. Later |
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3 | How can we assist our youth? | Bible general Archive 1 | KBurgee | 2213 | ||
Awesome! Thanx for all of your input. It is true that young adults feel that there's nobody that they can relate to, nor trust. I can honestly tell you that one church I was a part of had a service which was supposably designed for the youth, but the pastor spoke in a way that only people who had been through before were able to understand. It was like he was trying to explain the 4th theory of quantum physics, and the end result was that some (if not all) of the youth were saying, "Huh?", and when you lose your audience, you've lost the impact of your message. Also, the point about music is a very good one. being a musician myself, I can appreciate the way music affects people, and I can truly say that the wrong music at the wrong time does the exact same thing as earlier stated. Since I'm also part of a bilingual ministry within the music, I understand needing to relate the music with the audience. Even if some of our songs sound slammin', there are some songs that we cannot do at specific churches, because 1)they would not be received well by the "traditional" folx, and 2)God has blessed us with being able to touch so many hearts in many different forms that we need to (and do) take advantage of every opportunity. I mean, wow, the effect of music on people's souls (NO MATTER WHAT IT MAY BE, AS LONG AS IT PRAISES GOD) is incredible. Getting back, another way we can support our youth is to support them outside of the church. Tutors, mentors, even people to play video games with (you would be AMAZED at how playing basketball on Dreamcast brings people closer together, hehe), you name it; the point is to get more involved. I have been blessed with everyone's feedback on this! Thanx! |
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