Disneyland sucks
My latest article for the Soul Purpose E-zine can be found here. The article came out of frustration at how few young people seem to be making life choices that reflect a belief or trust in Jesus. Frustration because I believe so much more kingdom building work could be going on in NZ and around the world, and frustration because young people are missing out on the wonderfully terrifying adventure of recklessly following Jesus. I am sick of people just talking about following Jesus radically, I want to see decisions that reflect that sort of radical edge. Flag what parents think, flag what culture dictates is normal. Lets live for Jesus, gambling on Him coming through for us, or we're screwed. :) Doesn't sound that safe though
Labels: article, jesus followers, soul purpose
This entry was posted by Sam, on
Thursday, September 21, 2006.
You can leave your response.
21 September 2006 at 5:22:00 pm NZST
What about less-young people? Do you just have no expectations of us?
21 September 2006 at 5:49:00 pm NZST
I reckon that today, people think that 'radically living for Jesus' means getting in a rock band that travels around the place singing songs about Jesus and heaven and then making an album and selling about 500,000-odd copies and then getting asked to speak at conferences and write a book and start a church.
I'm convinced it means actually changing your mind-set and mentality and seeing the world and people the way Jesus did. It means putting children and widows and the poor and ugly and needy first. It means choosing humility and peace before personal gain and wealth.
I could go on and on about this but I hope y'all get the picture!!
Cheerz! :)
22 September 2006 at 10:35:00 am NZST
Super article Sam... I might have to quote it for youth group tonight, cos it's totally my heart for them to see that too... and you're so right Sean, we got 2 help people see that living for Jesus is an everyday thing for everyone - that it's a matter of the heart and how you worship, serve and love. The most glorious looking Christians might be just serving themselves for the fame and glory and doing it for all the wrong reasons...
22 September 2006 at 2:31:00 pm NZST
Hey Sam. It might be an NZ / AUS language barrier - I'm not sure what you mean by "flag what parents think". I don't have kids, but I've been doing the youth leader thing for 11 years. Parents need to be brought along on this journey too, we can't just leave them by the wayside if their relationship with God looks different to ours.
...of course, that may not be what you were saying - sorry if I've misunderstood. And I do completely understand the frustration you describe. I sometimes wonder if I'll ever see the fruit of life change through the spirit. I do know that relying on Jesus isn't a gamble though. These kids are in His hands whether I see the fruit or not.
Keep on truckin'. As one of my favourite artists says, "we are not home yet".
25 September 2006 at 11:56:00 am NZST
Gareth; yeah, I've to be honest, my expectations of "less young people" are a whole lot less, and that is due to my unhealthy cynisism. But for someone young at heart like you, and like me I expect nothing less than radical obedience!
The Rock; bro, you are speaking my language. The intresting thing is that I used to think the rock band thing was totally it. I played in the band "wash" for a while, as well as a bunch of others. It wasnt untill I was into my 1st year as a youth worker, and wante to bail. A good mate of mine sat me down, gave me a good kick up the ass, and explained that Jesus called us to be "good, faithful servants". This was a major turning point in my understanding about what it meant to follow Jesus.
Chez; thanks bro!
Fi; the whole "flag what parents think" thing is coming from the my experience as a youth worker where the expectation was that the kids would turn out to be "nice, well behaved citizens", where parents would expect the young people to do uni, get a nice job, settle down, have 2.3 kids etc.
I got in trouble every now and then when someone from my youth group would think about biblical study, or a ywam course, or something simliar.
My mate stu wrote very well on this frustration in his youth group here http://www.definitive.co.nz/blog/index.php?
/archives/444-for-the-sake-of-peace,
-im-changing-my-message.html
25 September 2006 at 5:04:00 pm NZST
Bro I totally quoted you...
"The strange reality for followers of Jesus is that we believe that life is not found by striving and clutching to grab it. We don’t find life on some OE, or in any amount of money or power. We find true life by giving it away; we choose to die so that we can truly live. Jesus didn’t promise us Disneyland, but He did promise us a life to its fullness if we would die to ourselves, and live for Him."
"God does want to use you. I know you probably hear it a lot. I wish I could sit down with you and convince you that God really does desire to make a difference through you.
You are called to fight against principalities and powers in this world. You are called to fight against injustice, poverty, and oppression. You are called to be a voice to the voiceless, to love those who are despised, and to follow Jesus recklessly. You are called to love radically and live counter culturally."
Was so quotable, just made for my message - that in Christianity Jesus raises the bar higher then any other religion and calls us to love unconditionally... but that he also gives us the power by his Spirit to do so...
I have to get some SPs trucked up here, esp if u gonna keep writing for em...