Two Factors of Identity Crisis

We live in a world that has set our youth and young adults up for confusion. 

Here's how:

1. American culture is largely based on success and accomplishment. Everything about our history and our values leads us to believe that we can pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and make something great of ourselves. From George Washington to Jackie Robinson, our heroes, some underdogs- some just determined, are men and women who have pushed the idea of excellence to a new extreme. In the same way we have given accomplishment a very strict identity, a pay grade, and to some degree a body type. 

2. Our culture teaches students to "be who they really are." As we express to our children what matters by our culture, we tell them that they don't have to be great by anyone's standards but their own. We tell them that social norms and status quo's are meant to be broken and they can be anything they want to be. In other words we tell them that their accomplishment isn't what defines them. 

We have given young people a mixes message -a paradox- so it's no surprise that many of them (us) are confused. We tell them they can be anything, that they are perfect just the way they are, then they go to school and still get made fun of because they're not athletic or overly smart, or they still don't get recognition because they aren't pursuing normal standards of excellence. This leads young people to an inevitable identity crisis, where who they want to be and what they are expected to be collides. 

This is the crisis that youth and young adult workers find themselves dealing with on a daily basis. 

This is the reason so many teens don't know who they really are.

This is why identity in Christ is the most powerful message we can teach as Christian leaders. More than ever before our peers need to know who they are and what makes them valuable. They need to know they were made in the image of God, and the God in whose image they were made died because he thinks they are that valuable. 

Hide and Seek

One of the most beautiful stories in all of scripture is found in Genesis chapter 3. Here we find a story drenched in controversy and grace with a twist not even the most astute observer would predict.

To summarize Adam and Eve had it perfect, doubted who they were made to be, chose sin, and were about to get caught. Like any mature adult would do when they're about to get caught they hide. Which is a ridiculous idea in the first place because they hide from God. It seems like a lot of work for nothing to me. They sew together leaves to make clothing and hide in some bushes so the all powerful creator won't notice that anything's wrong.

When we consider the details of the story it's a pretty odd picture. It reminds me of kids playing hide and seek. We adults have very little imagination when it comes to playing games, but kids on the other hand take the most enjoyment in the imagination. They run around the yard pretending bushes are forests and blankets are deep caves and they bury themselves, convinced that they will never be found. It would be a boring game if our parents didn't play along. No kid would have fun if dad walked into the bedroom, saw the obvious child shape under the covers, and just pulled them out. No, even though Dad knows exactly where the child is hiding there is something powerful about the seeking.

That why the story in Genesis is so beautiful. God seeks his children. He didn't need to. He wasn't lost, and they certainly weren't fooling him with their pitiful disguises, but he sought them. He called out for them. God didn't rip away the covers to expose their shame, He called to them. He asked them to come out because His first concern was his children, not their punishment. He wanted to hear their voice, not just tell them what they had done wrong. Even in his justice his primary concern was relationship with His children.

God is still seeking us. We don't have to hide, our imaginary fortresses of pride and accomplishment aren't fooling anyone. God is seeking us.

Like 19:10 "For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost."

Forgettable Generation

The amount of articles one can find either defending or attacking the millennial generation is astounding. Whether it be sarcastic twenty somethings who are tired of being called lazy or abrasive 50 somethings who are tired of having basement dwellers, there are volatile voices pointing fingers back and forth.

It's getting old.

When you begin comparing scars between generations what you will find is that you've got a bunch of people who are all human. Each one with social, economic, and religious stressors that push in one direction or another. Each one no better or worse than the one before, and really not that different either. If the millennials were born in the 70's they would probably have experimented with psychedelic drugs, ruined the eco system, and tanked the economy. (because all of those things happen in one generation of course... oh wait) If the boomers were born in the 90's they would live in their parents basement and work part time at Starbucks.

Why? Because each generation does what normal humans do with the circumstances they are given. You can't blame some one for doing the best with what they have. This finger pointing is just proof that each generation is still very capable of pitching fits and tattling like children.

If there is one great danger the millennial generation is facing it is this: spending more time complaining about our world than  doing something about it. We're in danger of being entirely forgettable.

Myself and my peers love being "aware" of the need in the world. We love buying Toms and shopping at 10,000 Villages. We love knowing that our light roast single origin coffee was purchased sustainably from an environmentally friendly farm that helps orphans. To over simplify it's this: we love supporting other people's efforts to make the world a better place in a way that eases our conscience.

This leads us to use controversial hashtags, wear mildly offensive t-shirts that question the norm, and make a big deal online or at a rally about the problems we see. That is not a bad thing. In fact holy discontent is a good thing. As believers we should look at the world and be unhappy with the injustice that we see. Here's the caveat: We only have the right to complain if we're willing to do something about it.

It's not that we shouldn't spend our money through responsible organizations like Toms. It's that we shouldn't pass the responsibility for change off on other people by purchasing expensive shoes that make us feel like world changers. Buying Toms is great, but the shoemaker is bring about change by making the shoes, I'm just buying shoes.

We must each find our place in making a difference instead of wearing tshirts that quote Ghandi. We're in danger of being forgettable because we're in danger of not doing anything. It's time to do something. It's time to live our values instead of just buy them. If your passion is the environment, keep buying organic, but do more than buying food. If your passion is ending human trafficking, do more than wear the tshirt. If your passion is helping the hurting, then go physically help someone.

Changing the world is our responsibility, yours and mine. The Holy Spirit doesn't use people who don't do anything. 

Three things we need to know about the church

Church is a dirty word sometimes.

In fact there are many places in our culture where you could scream the f-word without a second glance and say "church" and get a dirty look. More interesting is that the reaction to "Jesus" and the reaction to the church would not necessarily be the same, proving the misconception that is engrained into our society.

Here are three facts that might help guide our understanding of what church truly is.

1. Church is Us: The church is not a building, the church is not an event, and the church is not an activity. The church is people who are in life changing relationships with Christ and with each other. Local churches are simply singular expressions of this over arching truth. A local church is a group of people in life changing relationships with Christ and each other who align with a certain calling and commit to accomplishing that in their community. There are many variations of local churches, because there are many types of people that need to be reached. Hate denominations? don't. They are proof that God is more concerned with reaching people from any walk of life than He is with all of us getting it right.
2. Church is Messy: Why? Because you and I are in it. Of coarse the church is full of hypocrites, fake people, and judgmental jerks. It's also full of addicts, pervs, bad parents, good people, and killers. That is not proof of it's irrelevancy, it is proof of God's overwhelming grace and free new beginnings.
3. Church is Essential: Because relationships are essential. God made Adam with everything he could ever want including personal, physical access to God, but he still said "it is not good for him to be alone." We need each other to learn, to remain accountable, to bear our burdens, I could go on. The easiest way to ensure that your faith won't last is to try to do it alone. But let this be noted- Sunday morning worship is an event, not church. It is an event that provides worship for a community, the gospel for those unreached, teaching for the body, and a catalyst of shared experience for deep relationships to be formed. Sunday morning (or whatever time your church meets as a large group) is essential as well, but Sunday morning doesn't cut it. Showing up on Sunday morning simply means that we attend a social event, not that we are part of the church. Life changing relationships are the point.

**Hanging out with Christians also does not constitute being part of a church. It  only means you spend time with people who are part of the global church. The local church is our lifeline. Hanging out with likeminded people is good, being a part of a gathering with a mission, well founded teaching, and empowering structure is necessary. This is why from the beginning there were men in charge of the giving; there was a council of leaders; Paul appointed pastors, apostles, teachers, and other roles; and guiding structure was put into place. The local church is a manifestation of the global church that empowers people with like callings to make maximum impact on their communities and the world. 

Value

Where we find value is the most influential aspect of our lives. 

Where we find value is the most observable aspect of our lives. 

Where we find value is the singular aspect of our lives that will attract people to Christ or distract people from him. 

There is a story in scripture about a young man who was very wealthy. He was rich. He was young. He was a ruler. Hence the name of the story- "The Rich Young Ruler." Basically this guy was hooked up. 

Our boy, henceforth referred to as the RYR, asks Jesus a very telling question: "How do I inherit eternal life?" Besides enlightening us to the fact that he was probably a trust fund baby it reveals something more telling. The RYR believed in Christ as the key to eternal life. He came to Jesus asking him about salvation. Reading on we see that this guy not only asked the right questions, he followed all of the laws. He was a good guy, and rich. (where my single ladies at?) 

But Jesus pressed further. The following statement from Jesus is often used by pastors and extremists used to tell Christians that in order to follow him we should sell everything we have... because that's what Jesus said.... But that's not the heart of the passage. Jesus was asking this man what he really valued. 

Jesus looked at this man and said "You believe I can give you eternal life. Good. Do you believe it enough to invest in it? How much do you really value what I have to offer?"

The RYR walked away very disheartened because his values did not match up with his belief. He came to Jesus seeking eternal life - something more valuable than anything he owned. But it became very obvious that this man did not see enough value in Christ to sacrifice his safety net. 

The question I've been asking myself lately is "does my life look like I actually value Christ?" As Christians we claim that Christ is the answer to eternal life, the hope of the world, and the only way to have peace and joy, but do our lives prove that we value that? Or do they reveal that church is cool, but we should probably not invest everything there just in case? 

Few people would buy stock in a company if they knew the CEO or employees didn't invest there. Few people will be die hard fans of a team that doesn't play like it values winning. Many people will trust in anything that someone is willing to risk everything for. 

Does my Bible collect dust, or does is look like I believe it is the word of my God? Am I engaged in my church like it's the body of Jesus Christ on earth, or do I attend it with about the same intrigue as I attend the movie every Friday? Does my spending look like my money could further the Kingdom of Heaven, or does it look like it could help me out just in case my faith doesn't?

The secret to church growth, sharing the gospel with friends, missions work, and life is finding our value in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When people see that our Savior and our church are valuable enough for us to truly invest in- without a backup plan - they will wonder and want the value that we have. When they see that we value status, stability, decor, or music genres more than our Savior or the people He wants to save they will be turned off to everything we claim. 

We claim to believe in an almighty God, where we find value will prove it. 

The Millionth blog about the VMA's (why Miley might not be as bad as we thought)

You're probably tired of reading about the VMA's.

I am.

Plus this blog is weeks late, and what I'm about to say isn't new.

There is something disturbingly wrong with the way culture has responded to the Miley Cyrus incident. Miley's performance was pretty gross. No way around that.

But it was also not very different from what millions of other young people her age have done in an attempt to gain attention,  earn respect, and prove independence. The primary difference between her and the rest of college aged America is that there are no video camera's documenting our awful decisions. Even if there were no one knows our name or cares enough to tweet mean things about it. 

Yes what Miley did was wrong and nauseating. Yes, she should be prayed for. Yes, it looks like she's on a pretty dangerous -yet strangely familiar- path. I'm not defending her actions, I'm simply saying that I see myself in her. 

I've done some stuff that I really wish I wouldn't have. I've tried to prove I was grown up in ways that completely proved the opposite. I get it. I'm not saying that all college students go off the deep end freshman year, and I'm DEFINITELY not saying it's okay. I'm just saying what she did really isn't that shocking. 

What is shocking is that Robin Thicke is allowed to be on stage with a young girl, or within a hundred yards of a young girl. His actions were disgusting, demeaning, and unacceptable. As far as I'm concerned he took advantage of a young girl who was trying to find her identity and then used her mistakes for his own pleasure. Sounds a lot like date rape. 

But few people are blogging or tweeting or using sermon illustrations about him. I think it's because then men of my generation are straight up wusses. Calling him out means we have to quit listening to his catchy songs, asking our girlfriends to make exceptions, and talking about girls like we talk about cars and football. It means we've got to man-the-heck-up!

What gives me the right to say this? nothing. 

My past is full of stories where I was no better than Robin Thicke. The only thing that allowed me to marry the most beautiful woman ever and finally live a life dedicated to purity is the grace of Jesus Christ. But that grace is what we must stand in. The grace that takes people like us and turns them into people like Christ. Through that grace we need to set the bar higher for the men of our generation. We need to say that objectifying women simply isn't acceptable. We need to agree that women are made in God's image and should be treated as holy. 

We need to pray for Robin Thicke. We need to seek God that he would realize his need of Christ's love. We need to not allow this egregious example of the state of our culture to be acceptable and unnoticed any longer.

How would you respond to Robin Thicke?

How will you take a stand?

4 Leadership Lessons from Collide

This past weekend I had the opportunity and privilege of helping lead a large event in Sioux Falls, SD. The event was a blast, God proved himself in a mighty way by bringing at least 30 people to himself, and a youth movement was catalyzed in our city. This weekend I was exhausted and empty, but completely in awe of Jesus. There are lots of things I could write about as lessons from these last few months of planning, but I'll stop with these four that stand out.

1. Clearly Communicate Vision: It is absolutely imperative to know why we are doing what we are doing. Decide the vision from the get go. Make it clear, concise, and measurable. Cut out everything that does not directly accomplish the vision. If there is not a clear reason that guides the whole event toward the vision for each individual piece then that piece is unnecessary and distracting.
2. Stress Isn't Worth It: In the end stress only clouds our judgement and causes us to not be able to enjoy the thing we are stressing out about. Worry less, worship more. As Christian leaders we are doing things that we firmly believe are from God. If God calls us to it and equips us for it then God is also responsible for it. That does not mean we should be lazy, it simply means we should not freak out over something that isn't even ours.
3. Rest is Essential: It's impossible to not stress if we are running on empty. It doesn't matter how busy we are we HAVE to put in time to rest and recover before, during, and after whatever it is we are leading. When the leader are tired and stressed they lead tired and stressed.
4. God Always Goes Big: Big to God is just sometimes very different than big to us. We could be thinking that big means thousands in attendance, but God could mean big as in connections across the country and initiation of movements... or He could mean big as in small. In the end God does what He knows is best and if we are serving Him we can trust in that.