So the other day I asked one of my teenagers who is going on our Summer mission trip to Honduras "Hey, are you excited about going to Honduras?". The answer, "No, not really". It floored me. Here's a person raising $1000 to go to do the Lord's work, and the answer of "No not really" was not what I was expecting.
Move to last night, as I'm teaching my teenagers. The point of last night's lesson was simply to point out the complacency in Christianity. I brought to their attention how rarely ever does it seem like people are excited about God anymore. I pointed out that the complacency in the lives of adults is now dulling the excitement of our teenagers. No matter what you try to do for them, they don't seem to get all that excited.
It makes me think about that movie "The Never Ending Story", when the creature called "The Nothing" is attacking the very imagination and life of everyone and everything. Eventually, the Nothing destroys it all, and there is nothing left. Mainly, because people didn't care anymore.
I wonder if that is how Christianity suffers next. Simply from nothingness, Christianity could be dealt a severe blow.
Notice the next time you're at church how many faces do not have happiness on them. I have a vantage point of getting in front of the congregation weekly while I lead worship to see the faces of everyone in the room. Out of 200 people in the auditorium, I'm lucky if I see 5 or 6 smiling faces. The rest of them have that look that I like to now call "The Look of Nothing". Its not a smile, its not a frown, its a very complacent and apathetic. The joy of God may be in them, but they're doing everything they can from proving its there.
This week I'll be at Impact at Lipscomb University. I'm hoping while I'm there I can solve the apathetic and complacent attitude that I have in my life from time to time. From there, maybe I can help others realize the joy of God, and how they can help share that joy with others.
Think about it, seeing anyone smile nowadays is a rarity. When you see someone smile, its immediately noticeable. The smile catches on, and it spreads happiness, albeit just for a fleeting moment, but the happiness is spread.
Does anyone else feel like this? What do you think?
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9 comments:
I talked about that last night in our auditorium class. The response that I got was "Nothingness" on the faces of about 100 adults. One gentlmen that I truly love, he served our country during WWII is loyal patriot and faithful Christian. However, everytime I ask how are you he simply says "Terrible" John wrote in I John 1:4; "...to make your joy complete." Being a child of God goes a long way in making your joy complete.
If we've been infused with the Good News of the Gospel, how can we not be filled with joy? When we've encountered his grace and his mercy, I believe that has to affect us at a deep level. I believe we're called to reflect His goodness in our lives. Be happy about what Jesus has done for you, people! May you be an ambassador of joy, Lane.
Hey buddy,
Read your blog (always thought provoking) and agree. Here is Florida (as in other areas I am sure) there is a real sense of nothingness. A lot of it is because we are bombarded here in the states with so much glitz and lights and bells and whistles that we have to have a lot of stimulation to get excited about anything, especially in "church."
We are bored with everything and not very grateful for what we have because we have so much and always seem to want more.
And, as far as your kid in your youth group, I appreciate their honest answer, and hopefully they will appreciate your honest attempt to point out what is a huge problem around the brotherhood. You were not picking on the person (nor did you mention a name, but it sounds as if others know who it was)so don't feel bad about it. I bet a lot of youth ministers and pulpit members feel the same way and have the same observations.
Speak your mind and speak the truth, that is what you are expected to do. Blessings on your trip to Honduras, may your group receive a revival of fire while you are down there!
Terry
lane people just dont think church is that exciting anymore
I think it is a shame that we think that church HAS to be "exciting." It is all about us. What we get out of it (or NOT get out of it). Worship is about our relationship with God and our priase TO HIM. HE is the one who should be getting something out of it. It should be all about HIM. But we are selfish and think only of ourselves. It is the Daffy Duck mentality, "Me, Me, Me, Mine, Mine, Mine!" As long as the focus is on us and not God, the focus is in the wrong place.
well guys, i have been gone to Impact for about 10 days, so this is my response to all.
I talked with the kid who left the comment about the other youth group member, and explained how this was not a bashing, but just a simple illustration that got me to thinking.
Christianity doesn't HAVE to be exciting, but in our society, someone better do something to make it appeal to people, because in order to draw people in, the simple truth of the gospel just does not appear to cut it anymore. Reason? Just like you said Terry, all the lights and excitement of the world we have at our disposal.
Thanks for the comments.
Here's my two cents worth.
The message of Jesus Christ never changes. And that message is always relevant at any point in human history. I believe we're all just looking for the right person...the lucky ones among us are the ones who realize we're looking for Jesus.
And though the message never changes, the method of conveying the message may have to change over time. In youth ministry, we express the timeless message of Jesus in many relevant ways, so as many teens as possible will hear that Christ loves them.
As for being "exciting", I suppose that's a subjective thing. But I believe that Jesus promised the good life, the abundant life. And there's supreme satisfaction and joy that springs from His promise. In that regard, the Christian life can't help but be exciting, at least to me.
After reading all of the comments, I find one thing to be slightly askew. The comment that people just don't find church that exciting anymore bothers me. Church is going to be as exciting as you make it. If you go in to worship with an attitude that it is going to be boring and unexciting, then that is exactly what it will be. If you go in with an open heart and an attitude of gratitude for God's blessings, grace, and mercy, then worship will never be boring.
Our worship, whether it be in an assembly or in private, is what we choose to make it. I firmly believe that we do not need to look for ways to make worship more exciting for us, but that we need to examine ourselves and refocus on our purpose in worship.
We should be excited about our worship and our chance to be around other people who share our faith. A worship service is just that, a service. Why do we feel like we have to make the service exciting? The excitement should come from what God has done for us. Worship is meant for glorifying God and lifting up those around us.
If we wanted to add some excitement to worship, we could just go back to church as it was in the first century: if you were caught worshiping God, you could be killed. Maybe that rush would be exciting enough for thrillseekers.
I guess I'll step off my soap box now...
i find that if i do not have a few moments of complacentcy, i go crazy with all there is to do. the trick is not to spend to much time in the complacent arena,
i dunno
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