From where does passion flow from? From what source does Life come? What is the essence of your motivation to worship and serve Him?
So many people in churches today in Singapore wonder why is it that Sunday morning seems to elicit barely a tenth of the excitement and passion that is so often displayed during a football match the night before. The very same people who could debate passionately over the latest football results or fashion trends or stock prices would struggle to stifle a yawn whenever a preacher steps up to the pulpit.
So many leaders in Youth Ministries wonder why their charges seem so dead in their worship and walk with the LIVING God and all their attempts to bring in the latest pop worship songs and/or 'exciting' and 'relevant' 'preachers' only seem to animate the corpse which is their Youth Ministry for a few weeks before the 'fire' dies out again.
"Our youths need passion!" seems to be the battle cry heard so often in countless youth ministries across the country. And so we bombard them with motivational talks and speakers. We tell them funny and/or inspirational stories in order to 'encourage' them to be 'on-fire' for God (however that is defined). We read the latest books on methodologies and ways of 'engaging' youths. We manipulate their emotions using music or by dimming the lights and giving long drawn-out altar calls. We appeal to their sense of 'destiny', of the 'great' and 'wonderful' things that God wants to do through them if only they'll let Him.
How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?
- Romans 10:14
Now one would probably start asking, "Are you saying that our youths do not know who God is? That's preposterous! They've had years of Sunday School and Bible Studies! They prayed that prayer accepting Christ! They already know who God is! Sure, most of them aren't really walking with God as they should walk, and they're not really concerned with the things of God, but the problem is probably that they do not have enough self-esteem or self-confidence. We need to build them up, not tear them down. Teaching on things like repentance and sin and Man's depravity are too depressing for kids who are increasingly 'emo' (how I hate that word). No, no, no. We need to keep telling them how wonderful and good they are. We need to continually affirm them and not harp on their sins lest they leave for some other church. Teaching about God and His attributes just isn't practical enough. And if we were to teach on God's attributes, the only thing I like is His Love. His Holiness, Wrath and Sovereignty are simple too much for me to understand/accept, and I don't think the youths would want to hear about those things, so we'll put them aside and not talk about them. We need to teach them about Spiritual Gifts and Spiritual Warfare since that's what excites them the most and besides, we need to be pragmatic about this."
Now do you realize what the problem is in so many of our youth ministries? It's all about Man and not about GOD!! We assume that the Gospel is merely something small and trivial or, God forbid, about giving Man his best life now. So many youths enter youth service to sing a bit of 'christian' karaoke and leave utterly deceived into thinking that they have worshiped in the presence of the Most High God. They have completely no conception of the Majesty and Beauty of the One who hung on that tree, the Lion-Lamb who is worthy of all praise and honour and worship forever and ever amen. They have no passion to worship Him because they do not know Him! And why? Because no one is telling them!
O may the Lord be merciful and forgive us for the frivolous and nonchalant way we have treated His Son and His Cross. That the Lord may open our eyes to the reality of the sacrifice shown on Calvary, to understand just a fraction of what it means to say He shed His own blood for my soul.
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