“Generation Y’s goal? Wealth and fame.” That headline last month in USA Today caught my eye. “Ask young people about their generation’s top life goals and the answer is clear and resounding: They want to be rich and famous” (1-10-07). And then came Newsweek magazine’s cover story last week: “The Girls Gone Wild Effect: Out-of-Control Celebs and Online Sleeze Fuel a New Debate Over Kids and Values” (2-12-07). Turns out our “tweens” are going gaga over the likes of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, whose morality (or the lack thereof) has shamed even the national media. Advance your mind now to this morning’s worship platform filled with our own “tweens” and teens, active members of our Pathfinder Club, the Evergreens. Take a long, hard look at these kids who are “our own”—bright young Seventh-day Adventist Christians. And then would you please ask yourself the question, How high a priority should it be for this congregation to invest its best energies, its most dedicated leaders, its deepest sacrificial giving to ensure that “our own” survive the spiritual blitzkrieg of the enemy? Because the national headlines don’t have to be the truth about our own children and youth, do they? Oh sure, the society that clamors for the young mind and wallet and attention clamors for our kids, too—on all three of our campuses around here. But that hardly means that we resignedly acquiesce to what some might declare the morally inevitable. Because it doesn’t have to be inevitable that our children and tweens and teens follow the pagan Pied Pipers of America today, does it? Can’t we as a faith community work overtime to surround our kids with spiritual walls and moral values of Jesus that will stand them good stead in the battles yet ahead? That’s precisely why I’m so grateful for the men and women who lead our young—in our Pathfinder and Adventurers Clubs, in our Sabbath Schools from nursery to youth, in our church schools at Ruth Murdoch and Andrews Academy. They remain year after year our unsung heroes in this battle for the heart and soul of every generation, be it X or Y or Z! And to them the rest of us owe a genuine debt of gratitude. “Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth” (Ecclesiastes 12:1)—if ever there were a divine injunction (and promise) for Creator-worshiping Adventist kids, wouldn’t it be this? And if ever Creator-loving Adventist grownups needed to seize the moment to support their young with all the time and money and volunteering energy we can muster, wouldn’t this be that time? Won’t you help us help them?
Pastors' Blog
By Pioneer Pastors
Will there be a Super Bowl in heaven? Maybe. But it certainly won’t be sponsored by Doritos and Pepsi and Monster.com with their $2.6 million per thirty second TV ads! And it won’t be a showdown between the beasts of the wild (as in bears and colts). In fact, it won’t be a showdown at all, since heaven doesn’t live by the winner-take-all philosophy of our earthy sports. Which means God never sits at the fifty-yard line, cheering a team on to win, knowing that by those cheers he de facto is hoping the other team will lose. None of the above! Yes, for the sake of you Floridians, we might be willing to admit that heaven will be closer to Miami in clime than Berrien Springs right about now (though Miami is no heaven, if prime time television is any proof). So will heaven host a Super Bowl? I love the ancient prophet’s visionary snap shot of what will surely be that electric moment in heaven’s very crowded stadium: “’And it shall come to pass that from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me,’ says the LORD” (Isaiah 66:23). There it is—a Super Sabbath Bowl every single seventh day of the week on the new earth! Forget the half-time show, for heaven’s Super Bowl will be a non-stop “tetraphonic” performance of worship music that can only be described as “divine.” And not just the choir in the middle of the stadium—the entire crystal palace will erupt with the shouts and songs of praise from the billions of redeemed earth children gathered about God’s throne! Tickets for tomorrow’s event in Miami have a face value of $900 apiece—but many are fetching from $3,000 to $5,000 (and I’m sure even more) for those desperate enough to be on the inside of the festivities. How much will your ticket to heaven’s Super Bowl cost? Nothing. And everything. Because Mercy emptied heaven’s crimson treasury at the cross to save the likes of you and me, that means our “free” tickets have already been bought and are being held at the “will call” window at heaven’s gate. But though it costs you nothing, it will cost you everything: “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34 NLT). Jesus’ price of heaven too high for you? If they’re willing to pay $5,000 for four hours of grunting glory in Miami, is there really any price too high for an eternity on the winning team with the God who still calls you his friend?
Here’s the headline of the week: “And the crowd listened to her/him with great interest.” Because that line from the gospel story (see Mark 12:37 NLT) is the perfect descriptor of this campus’ response to our young preachers all week long. The Andrews student week of prayer this week has driven home for me the power of peer to peer communication and testimony. Not only was I proud of the way Chris, Lawren, Edson, Jillian, Pohlmarc and Nestor (today) preached, but I was impressed with the effective way each of these young adults connected with a very large audience of peers. The usual rustling and shifting and low decibel “background noise” of chapels were missing. Instead, as these young preachers opened up their Bibles and their hearts all week long, it was clear to me that the Spirit of Christ was seizing the moment and effectively connecting with the listeners. Do you suppose that was why Jesus caught the healed demoniac by surprise, by denying his request to travel with the Master. “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you” (Mark 5:19). Because nobody will listen to you quite like your friends, your peers, those who consider you one of them. It’s a law of communication. A law of the Kingdom, too. Which means that just like our young preachers this week, you’ve been called to tell the story of Jesus in your own unique language and personal style. There isn’t a right way to tell your story—here’s simply your way. And every time you break out of your comfort zone and color outside the box for Christ, the people who know you are the most open to hear what you have to say. So do you know what you have to say?
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