A Rising Epidemic

There seems to be quite an epidemic running rampant among youth ministry and the church ministry as a whole. At first glance into this dilemma I wondered “maybe I’m just too old fashion; an old stick in the mud.” In retrospect though, after various encounters with this plague, I’ve found that I’m not the only one seeing this. Paul writes in Romans 12:2, “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” This clear and present epidemic which is choking the life out of youth ministry in particular is that of conforming to this world and it can be seen no clearer today than in our “worship.” Before I open a frenzy of debate over what worship is let me give my simple definition: intentionally giving glory and praise to God. With that said let me just step out and say the obvious; we too often sing about worship rather than actually, worship. We are all good at playing the game and at times we’ve all played the worship game: stand, sing, clap (maybe), lift hands (hardly; we are Baptists you know.) But that’s not really the problem, though we do need to stop playing the game and start living out true worship. This plague I mentioned earlier though, rises up when we let that is of God, look as that which is of the world. Where we once had worship, we now find fog machines, light shows, and a “look at how awesome our band is” concert, with Christian of course music. But hey, dense fog and colored lights are cool, are they not? Well yeah, they are, at a concert. Christian concerts are cool and sure, there can be worship at a concert, but that’s just not where the focus rests. Worship does not need smoke and mirrors; smoke and mirrors are just illusions and an illusion of worship is not worship. A bunch of lost kids at youth worship event tainted in an atmosphere of blinding lights and blaring music are not going to think, “wow, these people are worshiping a God they love,” more or less their going to be thinking, “this concert’s pretty cool.” So then, hypothetically, some of the lost kids at the worship rally accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, and from their experience they understand worship as equal to a concert. Thus worshiping God is just like a concert; as long as I’m having a good time and into the concert I am worshiping God and it is there where this plague becomes clear: worship is no longer focused on God but on self. It becomes focused on how “I” like it, how “I” feel about it, I, I, I, me, me, me; It is not about us. Still, it is not just “worship” which this viper has sunk its venomous teeth into. We must strive to keep church worship services from becoming more like a taping of the tonight show rather than Spirit led worship. If we allow the Christianity to conform to this temporary world, how will the lost, hell bound world see a difference!? How will the saints of God know the difference!? We are called to be different; not boring, but not a dog and pony show either. Don’t conform to or settle for the secular; be transformed to that beyond boring, beyond fads; transformed to the mind of Christ.