Rebells.Are.Really.Artists
My introduction to youth ministry started long before I ever became a youth pastor as my friends and I set out to play music to a generation of kids who were sick and tired of the church. Exhausted by sermons preached from the gospel of fun and games these kids were seeking to be apart of something real and authentic and music was that out let for them. We traveled the country playing shows just so we could invite a few of these church exiles out to dinner.
We wanted to hear their story.
We wanted to share our own.
And the midst we discovered that even though these kids gave up on the church they had yet to give up on their faith in Christ.
These kids had dreams and passions about changing the world yet they were stuck in the economic grid lock that told them that they needed to get good grades in order to go to another school to get better grades. The stories that they found themselves living in were stories that never validated what they were capable of so they jumped ship and found ways of expressing themselves that left their parent’s concerned. Sex, Drugs and Rock n Roll were far more provocative then SAT’s, PhD’s, and empty promises that a college education meant that employers would come knocking at your door.
These kids parents and grandparents were the ones who rolled up their sleeves and made the American Dream come true. So lets be honest and role the credits because that era in history is over and the last thing on earth these kids want to do is be known as the generation that inherited a way of life they never wanted.
Parents see it frequently as rebellion and I have come to see it as opportunity. These kids are artist who paint in the medium of compassion and social justice and are begging for the world to give them a canvas to paint upon. Yet their story continues to read, “Get good grades in order to go to another school to get better grades.” Is it any wonder why they have chosen to rebel? Is it any surprise that they have chosen a different story?
I’m not advocating the pathway of sex, drugs, and rock n roll but the questions I would like to suggest today is, has the church provided a better story? Have parents provided a better story? Have youth pastors provided a better story?
I’ve shared meals with thousands and thousands and thousands of teenagers who would argue that the answer is no. In their opinion all the church wants to do is “have fun” or “teach boring theology.” You see these kids wanted to change the world and the church said to them, “Your too young.” You see these kids had dreams about ending world hunger and the school systems said to them, “Get better grades so you can go to college and wait around for another 4 years.” You see these kids aren’t actually kids but in many ways are young adults who are stuck at home playing video games because when they spoke out for the first time, their parents didn’t see an artist but instead saw rebellion.
We have taught them how to stay quite.
We have taught them that they will only be valuable if they graduate.
We have taught them how to maintain the American Dreams that we had and never once stopped to ask if they had dreams of their own.
My plea to every disciple who follows Jesus today is that they may come to see these teenagers as the future of the church. Can we begin inviting these kids to grow up, take responsibility, and follow Jesus once again with everything that they have. Its time to stop asking them to adopt what we have built for ourselves and begin training them to become the best story tellers this world has ever seen. My team and I at the garden are exploring new and creative ways at approaching youth ministry and what we are noticing time and time again is Rebells.Are.Really.Artists
-Billy
