What follows is from David Wells, a professor at a seminary in Massachusetts. He has written a Quadrilogy of books on evangelicalism and postmodernism in the Unites States over the past two decades, and his latest release, The Courage To Be Protestant, is his attempt to synthesize his previous 4 books into one accessible volume. The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding recently interviewed him, and the following question and answer struck me and I wanted to share it with you, as this is, I hope, what we are doing here at the Hill with our student ministry:
CPYU: If you were to address a room full of youth workers and you had the opportunity to communicate one message to them, what one message would you communicate?
DW: It is time to get brave. Let's stop the pandering. Kids see right through it. Let's give them the real thing. They are looking for it. No one has demanded anything of them; let us tell them that if they come to Christ, he bids them die. No one has told them that they can know truth as something other than their own private perspectives; let us tell them there is Truth and those who know it, lose their lives. No one has told them that there is a different way of life. What many churches have done has been to run after the kids fearing that they will be lost irretrievably to MTV, rock, sex, and drugs. So, better to give them small, undemanding doses of Christianity that won't interfere too much with their lives and which they will be willing to accept, than none at all, we think to ourselves. Wrong! If we tell them that they can have Christ on their own terms, we are selling them down the river. They instinctively know that. So, let us not make fools of ourselves anymore.
from Dustin- If you see area of the student ministry where we are soft-peddling the Christian faith or what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, please let us know. We don't want to be that kind of student ministry. Thanks!
CPYU: If you were to address a room full of youth workers and you had the opportunity to communicate one message to them, what one message would you communicate?
DW: It is time to get brave. Let's stop the pandering. Kids see right through it. Let's give them the real thing. They are looking for it. No one has demanded anything of them; let us tell them that if they come to Christ, he bids them die. No one has told them that they can know truth as something other than their own private perspectives; let us tell them there is Truth and those who know it, lose their lives. No one has told them that there is a different way of life. What many churches have done has been to run after the kids fearing that they will be lost irretrievably to MTV, rock, sex, and drugs. So, better to give them small, undemanding doses of Christianity that won't interfere too much with their lives and which they will be willing to accept, than none at all, we think to ourselves. Wrong! If we tell them that they can have Christ on their own terms, we are selling them down the river. They instinctively know that. So, let us not make fools of ourselves anymore.
from Dustin- If you see area of the student ministry where we are soft-peddling the Christian faith or what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, please let us know. We don't want to be that kind of student ministry. Thanks!
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