They’ve heard it all before. Half are home-schooled. They’re fluent in Hebrew; Leviticus is their favorite book; and they have a well-articulated position on the authorship of Isaiah.
It’s easy to be intimidated by living lexicons, but biblical brainiacs represent a huge ministry challenge–and our largest spiritual dividend, if we choose to invest.
They may seem arrogant and unteachable, but we need to discover why. They’ve come to assume the way to earn God’s affection is meticulously “to get it all right” instead of building a relationship by expressing a heart of worship. They believe God primarily is concerned with external appearance and behavioral conformity. For all they know about the Bible, they’ve missed the fact the gospel is deeply relational.
Common Characteristics
Before writing off over-churched kids, let’s look at a few reasons their spirituality is skewed.
Apathy: Their lack of spiritual energy stems from the fact most are living a secondhand faith. They haven’t made it their own, and parents often intrusively download their theological biases, anxieties and demands on their children. Many kids detach emotionally from the matter in order to counteract the influence of their parents, who are driven by fear or pride.
Behavioral Compliance: Sin is outlined in behavioral terms: no sex, smoking, swearing, etc. When that path is followed to its conclusion, a person will believe spiritual maturity is marked by “doing right things right.” Scripture calls us to holiness, but when distorted, holiness is a prerequisite to relationship rather than the spontaneous response of a heart that is deeply in love with Jesus.
Cynicism: To distrust the good seen in others. Kids raised in church often are spiritually cynical because they’ve seen the gap between the talk and the walk in their friends, parents and even highly visible spiritual leaders. They get the sense faith isn’t working for anyone, that it really doesn’t impact life at a deep and meaningful level. Their own experience of recommitting their lives to Jesus around a retreat campfire resulted in only a two-week blip on their spiritual trajectory.
Doubt: Tough questions are not welcome; and if they are raised, they elicit pat answers. Too often kids have no place to wrestle with their faith and the mysteries of a God who doesn’t fit neatly into the often cryptic Book that He gave us. For many, expressing doubt is too terrifying to discuss. They’ve been taught what to think, not how to think.
A-B-C-D Spells Faith
In the alphabet used by too many kids to spell out their faith we also could talk about Egocentrism, Fear, Grumbling, Hypocrisy, Isolation, Judgmental Know-it-alls, Legalism and More. Instead, let me suggest a few reasons why investing in these kids should be a critical ministry priority.
• Most of the theological distortions these kids live with are not their making. The majority live out an adolescent version of the values modeled for them.
• Failure to invest in young lives reinforces and perpetuates a pattern that must be challenged as a blatant distortion of the heart of the gospel.
• There is power in the knowledge these kids possess; if we can find ways to connect their saturated heads with their dry hearts, the potential for deep intimacy with Christ and rich effectiveness is immense.
Maybe it’s time for an attitude adjustment for kids who really need to see Jesus for the first time.
