"I expected the teens at Faith Quest to be receptive and hungry for God. What surprised me was the reaction of the adults — that and the number of adult "chaperones" in attendance. The adults were into it as much, maybe even more, than the teens. The worship, the messages, the experience as a whole - the adults were dry sponges soaking up the power and presence of the Lord
My impression of the ZOE worship conference is that it has become a youth rally for adults. I’m not saying that as a bad thing. Thousands of adults gather together to experience the power and presence of the Lord - like they did when they were teens at a youth rally.
The reason adults flock to ZOE (again a good thing), the reason adults in greater numbers are attending Faith Quest (probably a good thing as well) is because this type of encounter - experiencing the power and presence of the Lord — is lacking is so many every day church gatherings (a very bad thing).
Think about the culture we’ve allowed to develop. The idea that one particular song is a "camp" song and this other one is a "church" song. Think about the mentality that says "this is allowed at camp or at a retreat or a youth rally but never at church." Think about the diservice we’ve done to our teens by saying the songs that speak to their heart are not good enough for our Sunday God.
If you wonder why teens have lost their voice in this world it is because our narrow minded, compartmentalized way of viewing "true worship" has ripped their voice right out of their throats.
Maybe we should take a hard look at our Sunday God and our Sunday experience? If we are not experiencing the power and presence of God we are not being renewed into the image of God. That’s why many of us love retreats, youth rallies, and worship conferences. For in these venues we engage our great God with heart, soul, mind and strength."
What do you think?
No comments:
Post a Comment