Apr 24 2011 dcfc english Worship [The Master & The Disciple] Luke 24: 28-36

CHRISTIANS

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19 Sept 2010 DCFC English Worship – [Brick by Brick, Life to Life] Neh 4 Obstacles & Opportunities

Nov 20 2011 DCFC English [Jesus came to the world to...] John 11  offer the resurrected life
August 27, 2010 8:57 a.m. EDT

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/08/27/almost.christian/index.html?iref=obnetwork

Anne Harvard of Atlanta, Georgia, may be a rarity. She's an American teenager who is passionate about her Christian faith.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

More teenagers embracing watered-down Christianity, author argues in new book

Teenagers see God as "divine therapist," author says

Teenager: "They don't want to make sacrifices"

Who's responsible for inspiring teens? Parents and pastors are, author says

(CNN) -- If you're the parent of a Christian teenager, Kenda Creasy Dean has this warning:

Your child is following a "mutant" form of Christianity, and you may be responsible.

Dean says more American teenagers are embracing what she calls "moralistic therapeutic deism." Translation: It's a watered-down faith that portrays God as a "divine therapist" whose chief goal is to boost people's self-esteem.

Dean is a minister, a professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and the author of "Almost Christian," a new book that argues that many parents and pastors are unwittingly passing on this self-serving strain of Christianity.

She says this "imposter'' faith is one reason teenagers abandon churches.

"If this is the God they're seeing in church, they are right to leave us in the dust," Dean says. "Churches don't give them enough to be passionate about."

What traits passionate teens share

Dean drew her conclusions from what she calls one of the most depressing summers of her life. She interviewed teens about their faith after helping conduct research for a controversial study called the National Study of Youth and Religion.

They have a lot to say. They can talk about money, sex and their family relationships with nuance.
--Kenda Creasy Dean, author

The study, which included in-depth interviews with at least 3,300 American teenagers between 13 and 17, found that most American teens who called themselves Christian were indifferent and inarticulate about their faith.

The study included Christians of all stripes -- from Catholics to Protestants of both conservative and liberal denominations. Though three out of four American teenagers claim to be Christian, fewer than half practice their faith, only half deem it important, and most can't talk coherently about their beliefs, the study found.

Many teenagers thought that God simply wanted them to feel good and do good -- what the study's researchers called "moralistic therapeutic deism."

Some critics told Dean that most teenagers can't talk coherently about any deep subject, but Dean says abundant research shows that's not true.

"They have a lot to say," Dean says. "They can talk about money, sex and their family relationships with nuance. Most people who work with teenagers know that they are not naturally inarticulate."

In "Almost Christian," Dean talks to the teens who are articulate about their faith. Most come from Mormon and evangelical churches, which tend to do a better job of instilling religious passion in teens, she says.

No matter their background, Dean says committed Christian teens share four traits: They have a personal story about God they can share, a deep connection to a faith community, a sense of purpose and a sense of hope about their future.

"There are countless studies that show that religious teenagers do better in school, have better relationships with their parents and engage in less high-risk behavior," she says. "They do a lot of things that parents pray for."

Dean, a United Methodist Church minister who says parents are the most important influence on their children's faith, places the ultimate blame for teens' religious apathy on adults.

Some adults don't expect much from youth pastors. They simply want them to keep their children off drugs and away from premarital sex.

Others practice a "gospel of niceness," where faith is simply doing good and not ruffling feathers. The Christian call to take risks, witness and sacrifice for others is muted, she says.

"If teenagers lack an articulate faith, it may be because the faith we show them is too spineless to merit much in the way of conversation," wrote Dean, a professor of youth and church culture at Princeton Theological Seminary.

More teens may be drifting away from conventional Christianity. But their desire to help others has not diminished, another author says.

Barbara A. Lewis, author of "The Teen Guide to Global Action," says Dean is right -- more teens are embracing a nebulous belief in God.

Yet there's been an "explosion" in youth service since 1995 that Lewis attributes to more schools emphasizing community service.

Teens that are less religious aren't automatically less compassionate, she says.

"I see an increase in youth passion to make the world a better place," she says. "I see young people reaching out to solve problems. They're not waiting for adults."

What religious teens say about their peers

We think that they want cake, but they actually want steak and potatoes, and we keep giving them cake.

RELATED TOPICS

Christianity

Teenagers

Elizabeth Corrie meets some of these idealistic teens every summer. She has taken on the book's central challenge: instilling religious passion in teens.

Corrie, who once taught high school religion, now directs a program called YTI -- the Youth Theological Initiative at Emory University in Georgia.

YTI operates like a theological boot camp for teens. At least 36 rising high school juniors and seniors from across the country gather for three weeks of Christian training. They worship together, take pilgrimages to varying religious communities and participate in community projects.

Corrie says she sees no shortage of teenagers who want to be inspired and make the world better. But the Christianity some are taught doesn't inspire them "to change anything that's broken in the world."

Teens want to be challenged; they want their tough questions taken on, she says.

"We think that they want cake, but they actually want steak and potatoes, and we keep giving them cake," Corrie says.

David Wheaton, an Atlanta high school senior, says many of his peers aren't excited about Christianity because they don't see the payoff.

"If they can't see benefits immediately, they stay away from it," Wheaton says. "They don't want to make sacrifices."

How 'radical' parents instill religious passion in their children

Churches, not just parents, share some of the blame for teens' religious apathy as well, says Corrie, the Emory professor.

She says pastors often preach a safe message that can bring in the largest number of congregants. The result: more people and yawning in the pews.

"If your church can't survive without a certain number of members pledging, you might not want to preach a message that might make people mad," Corrie says. "We can all agree that we should all be good and that God rewards those who are nice."

Corrie, echoing the author of "Almost Christian," says the gospel of niceness can't teach teens how to confront tragedy.

"It can't bear the weight of deeper questions: Why are my parents getting a divorce? Why did my best friend commit suicide? Why, in this economy, can't I get the good job I was promised if I was a good kid?"

What can a parent do then?

Get "radical," Dean says.

She says parents who perform one act of radical faith in front of their children convey more than a multitude of sermons and mission trips.

A parent's radical act of faith could involve something as simple as spending a summer in Bolivia working on an agricultural renewal project or turning down a more lucrative job offer to stay at a struggling church, Dean says.

But it's not enough to be radical -- parents must explain "this is how Christians live," she says.

"If you don't say you're doing it because of your faith, kids are going to say my parents are really nice people," Dean says. "It doesn't register that faith is supposed to make you live differently unless parents help their kids connect the dots."

'They called when all the cards stopped'

Anne Harvard, an Atlanta teenager, might be considered radical. She's a teen whose faith appears to be on fire.

Harvard, who participated in the Emory program, bubbles over with energy when she talks about possibly teaching theology in the future and quotes heavy-duty scholars such as theologian Karl Barth.

She's so fired up about her faith that after one question, Harvard goes on a five-minute tear before stopping and chuckling: "Sorry, I just talked a long time."

Harvard says her faith has been nurtured by what Dean, the "Almost Christian" author, would call a significant faith community.

In 2006, Harvard lost her father to a rare form of cancer. Then she lost one of her best friends -- a young woman in the prime of life -- to cancer as well. Her church and her pastor stepped in, she says.

"They called when all the cards stopped," she says.

When asked how her faith held up after losing her father and friend, Harvard didn't fumble for words like some of the teens in "Almost Christian."

She says God spoke the most to her when she felt alone -- as Jesus must have felt on the cross.

"When Jesus was on the cross crying out, 'My God, why have you forsaken me?' Jesus was part of God,'' she says. "Then God knows what it means to doubt.

"It's OK to be in a storm, to be in a doubt," she says, "because God was there, too."
CHRISTIANS

Amateur & Professional Christians

Date: 10/2008.101

Barna Research

Date: 3/2009.101

Sermoncentral
In a 1995 survey by Barna Research Group, it was discovered that non-Christians have no clue what Christians mean when some they use some of the phrases Christians often take for granted. 63% of non-Christians don’t know what Christians mean when they talk about the Gospel. 75% of non-Christians don’t know what John 3:16 is. Add to the phrases like "a broken heart", "I’ve been convicted", and "get into the Word, which non-Christians would hear quite differently. The problem for unbelievers is they hear the unspoken message from Christians, "If you don’t understand the holy lingo, you don’t belong to the holy huddle." However, 40% of Christians don’t know what the Gospel means, and 53% don’t know John 3:16.
CHRISTIANS

Changing the World

Date: 3/2009.101

29 Mar 2009 DCFC English Worship - [Heart for the Nations] Acts 20:17-38 Set your world alight!
Creative Venue: Amazing Grace
Allow me to show a clip from the film Amazing grace, where the future prime minister of Britain, William Pitt was meeting with his friend William Wilberforce. At that time, Pitt was planning to become the Prime Minister and he wanted his eloquent friend, Wilberforce to be with him. But Wilberforce felt that God has called him to serve as a pastor and he was contemplating on how he can serve God and make a difference in this world.

[Amazing Grace Clip]

"Do you want to use your beautiful voice to praise the Lord or to change the world?" My friends, are these options mutually exclusive?

I would like to leave you with this speech by Charles Fox, a one time opponent of William Wilberforce. In fact, Fox lost his job as Prime Minister because of Wilberforce. After 20 years of tireless effort on the abolition of the slave trade, Wilberforce finally succeeded. Let's see what Fox says and at the end, let's just close with a few minutes of silent meditation. Then you can leave quietly from the back.

[Clip on Amazing grace]
CHRISTIANS

Description of cold Christians

Date: 1/2010.101

When God weeps P135
By itself suffering is no good, but when it becomes a thing between God and me, it has meaning. Wedged in the crux - the cross - suffering becomes a transaction. 1 Corinthians 1:18 "The cross is.. the power of God. The cross is the place where power happens between God and us. It is where a relationship is given birth and depth. The cross was first a transaction between God the Father & Christ. But it is also for us all. It is where we die. We go there daily but it isn't easy. Normally, we will follow Christ to a party where he changes water into wine, to a sunlit beach where he preaches from a boat to a breezy hillside where he feeds thousands, even to the temple where he topples the tables of the money changer, but to the cross? We dig in our heels. The Lord does not give a general appeal, but a specific one, personal to you. The transaction exists between the Almighty of the universe and you. We simply cannot bring ourselves to go to the cross. Nothing attracts us to it. Thus we live independently of the cross. Or try to. As time passes, the memory of our desperate state when we first believe fades. The cross was something that happened to us "back then" We forget how hungry for God we once were. We grow self sufficient. We go through the motions - turning the other cheek and going the extra mile - but the effort is just that, an effort. We would hardly admit it, but we know full well how autonomous of God we operate. This is where God steps in.

He permits suffering. He allows Peter's blindness. Laura's degenerative disease, Mr. Beach's hunting accident, my paralysis. Suffering reduces us to nothing as Soren Kierkegaard noted, "God creates everything out of nothing. And everything which God is to use, he first reduces us to nothing." To be reduced to nothing is to be dragged to the foot of the cross.

A miraculous exchange happens at the cross. When suffering forces us to our knees at the foot of Calvary, we die to self. We cannot kneel there for long without releasing our pride and anger, unclasping our dreams and desires - this is what "coming to the cross" is all about. In exchange, God imparts power and implants new and lasting hope. We rise, renewed. His yoke becomes easy and his burden light. But just when we begin to get a tad self sufficient, suffering presses harder. And we seek the cross again, mortifying the martyr in us, destroying the self-display. The transaction then continues.
CHRISTIANS

Mahatma Gandhi

Date: 4/2009.101

10/11/2009 DCFC English [Life & Theology - Is there a connection?] Theology of Man

Hope Again - Chuck Swindoll P188

Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian nationalist leader once said, "I like your Christ, but I don't like your Christians... They are so unlike your Christ." What a rebuke. But so often his words are true.
CHRISTIANS

Media

Date: 11/2009.101

10/25/2009 DCFC English [Life & Theology - Is there a connection?] Theology of life

Early Christianity

Christianity Today cited a study that looked at the movie viewing habits of "religious" Americans. They found that when it came to watching R-rated films, there isn't much difference between the religious and nonreligious.

How would we respond? How did Christians in the past respond to their culture? Look at the early Christians. The Roman theater was borrowed from the Greeks and the favorite dramatic themes were very much like today - crime, adultery, immorality, violence and the likes. Tertullian, an early apologist said, "The father who carefully protects and guards his virgin daughter's ears from every polluting word takes her to the theater himself, exposing her to all its vile language and attitudes. How can it be right to look at things that are wrong?" And of course, there is the all time favorite entertainment - the Gladiators. These brutal fights drove crowds wild with feverish excitement! Lactantius a Roman Christian told his fellow Romans, "He who finds it pleasurable to watch a man being killed pollutes his conscience just as much as though he were an accomplice of a murder committed in secret. Yet they call this "sport!" The crowds are even angry with gladiators if one of the two isn't slain quickly. By steeping themselves in this practice, they have lost their humanity. Therefore it is not fitting that we who strive to stay on the path of righteousness should share in this public homicide. When God forbids us to kill, he not only prohibits the violence that is condemned by public law but he also forbids the violence that is deemed lawful by men!" And I would add, "That includes make-belief violence that men deem as entertainment!"

CHRISTIANS

Shema

Date: 12/2009.101

Confident Parenting P64
Most people in Jesus' day who heard him quote the shema has probably repeated those words themselves a few times a day. Then Jesus did something radical by adding a phrase not in the Shema but found in Leviticus. In Matthew 22 Jesus summarized the Law & the Prophets with two phrases, "love God" & "love your neighbor" This is what Scot McKnight calls the Jesus Creed. When Jesus amended the Shema of Judaism by adding the statement about loving our neighbor, he probably brought the crowd to silence.
CHRISTIANS

Spiritual Health Checks

Date: 3/2009.101

Apr 24 2011 DCFC English Worship – [The Master & The Disciple] Luke 24:28-36

(Hungry for God's Word) A healthy Christian will not find his strength or determine his weakness in the size of the church he attends. Healthy Christians gain strength to overcome the flesh, the world, and the devil by what is written in Acts 2:42, "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." The Christian's first heart check is his devotion to God's Word. Albert Barnes wrote, "One of the evidences of conversion is a desire to be instructed in the doctrines and duties of [Christianity] and a willingness to attend the preaching and teaching of [God's Word]. A healthy Christian is hungry for Holy Spirit inspired teachings and he makes time to be exposed to it." The Christian who is devoted to the teaching of the Word of God goes to church and Bible studies, prayerfully reads his Bible, watches quality Christian programs, listens to Christian music, and takes every opportunity possible to fill his eyes, mind and heart with things of God. There is an eagerness of mind and openness of heart to seek and hear what God's will is for him. He walks into church with anticipation and expectancy that the Lord has something specifically for him. He is not like the church attendee who walks out of church unmoved, critical and unfed because he refuses to eat from the table prepared for him. A Christian who is devoted to the teaching of the Word of God is like the Bereans in Acts 17:11. He "...receives the message with readiness of mind,"(prothumia) meaning to listen attentively and respectfully. He is willing to hear the Word of God, can comprehend it, and has a heart hungry to know God's will for him. A Spiritually healthy Christian takes to heart what was written by wise Solomon, "Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong." (Ecclesiastes 5:1) Can those who see your life say? "There goes a man or woman that has high regard for the Word of God." If so then you are a healthy child of God on the right path to eternal life with Jesus Christ.

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