For discussion guidelines click here.

The following is verbatim from the Do Hard Things Study Guide:

In this chapter, Alex and Brett tell the story of their journey from being bored teens to being Supremem Court interns, campaign workers, and blog hosts.  But before they had new experiences they had new ideas - big ideas like:

• Our generation is getting robbed!
• There has to be more to the teen years than goofing off.
• Ordinary teens can make a big difference in the world.
• Young people can handle big responsibilities.
• With big dreams come big challenges.
• What teens working together can accomplish is amazing!

They close the chapter by inviting readers to join them in an uprising “against a cultural mind-set that twists the purpose and potential of the teen years and threatens to cripple our generation.

Questions for discussion and reflection:

•  
  • Looking back, do you see a season, a book, or an event that changed what you believe or how you live?  If so, talk about it.  How are you different now?

•  
  • One teen told Alex and Brett, “Everyone I know at school is shackled by low expectations.”  Could you say the same thing?  If so, talk about why.

•  
  • Have you ever found yourself responsible for a task that seemed too big for you to succeed at?  If so, what happened?  Did that experience turn out to be a bad thing or a good thing your life?

•  
  • Did you identify with the story of shy Heidi Bentley (pages 19-22)?  If so, talk about it.

•  
  • History shows that youth movements against God-established authority have generally amouunted to much.  How do the authors set their message apart from such movements? 

J. W. Alexander once said,

The daily reading of God’s holy word, by a parent before his children, is one of the most powerful agencies of Christian life.  We are prone to undervalue this cause.  It is a constant dropping, but it wears its mark into the rock.  A family thus trained cannot be ignorant of the Word.  The whole Scriptures come repeatedly before the mind…No part of juvenile education is more important (Thoughts on Family Worship, pg. 62-63).

As parents/guardians we must understand that God’s words are powerful, and that they are more than capable to give us “wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3.15).  Not only do the Scriptures give us wisdom that leads to salvation, but they are good for “teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3.16). 

The reason that we read the Scriptures to our children is finally explained in 2 Timothy 3.17,

so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

Therefore, we as parents/guardians are to read and integrate the Scriptures in the lives of our children on a daily basis (read Deuteronomy 6.4-9).  The integration of faith in the lives of our children is to be a daily affair that is based upon our involvement in their lives.  Since this is the case we cannot believe for one iota that sending them to school, children’s church, or youth group, will provide all that they need to become a Christian.  These should be a support to what is going on at home and not the primary means of instruction and discipline (read Ephesians 6.1-4)

Let me ask you parents/guardians, “What steps can you take right now to best incorporate the reading of Scripture with your family?”  “Does life need to be simplified?”  “Are there activities that need to be canceled to create more time for your involvement in the life of your children?”  “Should you go to bed earlier, missing the late night shows, so that you can get up 30 minutes earlier to read and pray together?”  “What steps need to be taken in order to have your family together for family worship in the evening?” 

These are just some preliminary questions.  I will provide some other thoughts on family worship later.

This week we are reading Chapter 2 of Do Hard Things.  The title of this chapter is “The Birth of a Big Idea: Rumblings of a rebelution.”  For the guidelines and expectations of the read along and discussion click here.

This chapter entails how Alex and Brett Harris came upon the idea of beginning the “rebelution.”  For me I am always encouraged by reading the stories of others and how the LORD works in and through their lives.  It seems as if the LORD always does more than we could ever think or imagine (read Ephesians 3.20) when we step out in faith to do what He calls us to do.

After reading this chapter I was really encouraged by the example of Heidi in her work in the political grass-roots level in Alabama.  In commenting on her introverted personality and how she arose to the challenge that was set before her, Alex and Brett said,

She had always been extremely introverted.  She hated talking on the phone, her family told us, even with people she knew.  Yet we had put her on the phone with strangers almost constantly.  Throughout the entire campaign, her family watched in amazement as Heidi jumped way outside of her comfort zone and did things that would have seemed impossible before (pg. 20).

If we believe that salvation is possible only through the life of Jesus Christ (read John 14.6) and that God empowers us to be a witness for Him to others (read Acts 1.8), then why do some of us use our “shyness” as an excuse to not connect with others for the purpose of introducing them to Jesus Christ?  Also, if God has promised to empower us to be a witness by sharing Jesus Christ with others, then how can we say that it is true if we do not step out in faith on His word? (you so have to check-out the example of Peter in stepping out in faith upon the promise of God in Luke 5.1-11). 

What can we take away from this?  What we can take away from this little blurb is that we cannot cop out on personal responsibility by using our personality quarks as excuses.  We cannot place anything in our life in a position that is greater than God.  As if it has more power over us than what God is working in us.  The power of God that is at work towards us is so much greater than any personality trait, physical deformity, or speech impediment, that we may or may not have (read Ephesians 1.18-20).

As parents it is vitally important that we purposefully engage with our children and other youth in helping them develop the ability to interact with all forms of media (such as T.V., music, Internet, etc…) from a Biblical perspective (i.e. Christian Worldview).  Likewise, it is crucial for youth to learn how to engage all forms of media from a Biblical perspective.  For example, if we as parents simply tell our children not to watch certain programs, but never provide them with the ability to make that decision themselves, then we are doing them a seriouis injustice.  Moreover, if youth are mindlessly watching and listening to whatever they please, then I can guarantee you that you will become what you are feeding on (same principle as eating, you are what you eat!)

There are two reasons that I have been thinking about this.  First, I just recently started a facebook page for myself and have been stupefied by how many people claim that they are “Christians,” yet post countless pictures of themselves drinking, partying, and what character from Sex and the City best represents them. 

Secondly, my wife and I were…

 just talking this weekend about a particular television show that Peyton was watching.  Jessica vociferously objected to him watching it and I asked, “Why?”  To this she responded, “Because” (Well, I will admit that she was very tired and didn’t have the energy to really engage in this conversation).

Since Peyton was sitting there, I said something along the following lines, “It’s important for us to teach him why he should and should not watch certain programs, or even listen to certain music.”  The reason that I see this as so important with Peyton is for the fact that he is getting to age where he has to have the ability to determine what is or is not good for him to watch when he is in a situation that provides more freedom and access to television, interent, and music 

Therefore, if we simply tell him no, without giving him the ability to determine for himself, based upon principles derived from God’s Word, then he will succumb to watching or listening to things that he shouldn’t for two reasons.  One, he is a kid and two, he is a sinner like the rest of us! (read Proverbs 22.15 and Romans 3.23) 

Any who, it is vitally important for all of us to be aware of what we are watching and listening to.  Just because something is dubbed as “entertainment,” this does not mean that we have to check our Christianity at the door and watch or listen to whatever our sinful heart so desires (read Jeremiah 17.9).  We, as well as our children, must have our minds renewed and transformed by the very words of God, so that when we do watch or listen to anything we will have the ability to determine if it does or does not please God (read Romans 12.1-2).  For all that we do must be done for the sole purpose of God’s glory, fame, and honor (read 1 Corinthians 10.31).

I could keep going on, but I am done ranting for now. 

Since this song is number 1 on some charts (at least I believe it is or has been) it’s important to address it from a Biblical position.  For a Biblical review of Kay Perry’s, I Kissed a Girl, go here. Here are two quotes to wet your appetite:

The video clearly depicts a current cultural reality related to our fallenness as human beings, particularly how the fall effects our God-given sexuality. The Scriptures tell us that God made all things and pronounced them all “good.” In Genesis 3:6 all things are polluted by sin. “I Kissed a Girl” offers lyrical and visual evidence of this brokenness and how it is being uniquely embraced, expressed, and celebrated in today’s youth culture through distortions of sexuality. 

 

Because it serves to direct young viewers and listeners, “I Kissed a Girl” is more than a song kids will listen to. It actually serves as a map to life, guiding impressionable kids into accepting and practicing the values, attitudes, and behaviors that are depicted and promoted in the song. This includes a postmodern ethical relativism, and homosexuality. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beginning Sunday, the 3rd of Augusts, we will be working through the 4 week study by Bill Hybel’s called, “Just Walk Across the Room.” 

I noticed this past year that many youth have a difficulty with taking the first step in evangelism, which is simply just walking across the room and beginning a conversation with somebody, befriending them as an expression of God’s love, and asking the right questions to see where God may be working within their life in drawing them closer to Himself through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.  

Here is an excerpt from Publishers Weekly,

His form of evangelism is relational, what he calls “Living in 3D.” Hybels enlarges on the three Ds—develop friendships, discover stories, discern next steps—in a clear, conversational way, all the while challenging Christians to move beyond their insulated “evangelism-void vacuum.” He encourages Christians to explore “the power of story” and to learn how to tell their own spiritual narratives concisely and effectively. Readers will find inspiration and honesty in this book that mirrors Hybels’s personal convictions and those of his church as well: “It really is true: the spread of the gospel… boils down to whether you and I will continue to seek creative ways to engage our friends, inviting them to explore the abundance of the Christ-following life….” (bold mine)

So get ready to work through this series and may the LORD utilize this training to better equip and prepare all of us to simply walk across the room

The following is a collaboration of miscellaneous quotes on responsibility.  For additional thoughts on the importance of responsiblity in the life of a young person, check-out “What’s the big deal about young people being responsible” and “Are you living your part?”

Abigail Van Buren,

If you want children to keep their feet on the ground, put some responsibility on their shoulders

Booker T. Washing,

Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him, let him know that you trust him.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer,

Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility.

And my favorite of all is from Theodore Roosevelt,

Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat. 

It is not the critic that counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.  The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly, who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds.

If you are a young person reading this, have you asked yourself, “Am I living my part within the body of Christ?”  “Am I playing my part and living my role doing what God has made me to do?” 

Did you know that regardless of your age, maturation, skills, giftedness, and whether or not you have gone through puberty, that you are a part of the body of Christ? 

Ever since reading Do Hard Things and conducting some additional research upon the importance of responsibility in the life of a young person (see “What’s the big deal about young people being responsible?”), I was reconsidering how God does not divide the body of Christ into age categories.   

For example, we read in 1 Corinthians 12.12, 14, and 27 in the New Testament, 

For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ…For the body is not one member, but many…Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.

After reading this little blurb on the body of Christ, we must ask ourselves, “Has God set an age limit for a Christian to become an official part of the body of Christ?”

After reading this passage the resounding answer to the question is NO! 

With that being said, why don’t you take 1 1/2 minutes to watch the following video clip:

Since there are no age restrictions made by God in regards to one’s participation in the body of Christ, everyone needs to consider that:

1. Everyone is a part of the body regardless of their age, sex, nationality, and feelings.
2. Since everyone is a part of the body they have a purpose in it to serve God, for the fame of Jesus.
3. If you are not living your part, then everyone one of us suffers, including myself, adults, and silverheads. 
4. You, yes you, are the eyes, hands, feet, shoulders, and mouthpiece for Christ!

In reiterating the final message of the video, “ARE YOU LIVING YOUR PART?“

If not, “Why not?” ”Have you considered that your lack of participation is causing others to suffer?” “Did you know that if you are not living your part then you are missing out on what God has in store for you?”   

Since you are important and vital to the the body of Christ, then why not consider being more of an active part of it? 

If you worship with us at Perrow, then why don’t you click here and see how you can get plugged in! 

If you have any questions feel free to get a hold of me.

First I must confess that my oldest son and I have finished reading the first 3 chapters of Do Hard Things!  Peyton is 10 and has really enjoyed the book so far.  He may participate with us in the discussion. 

Second, has anyone stopped to think after reading any of the book, “What’s the big deal about young people being responsible?” “Why is this so important?”  In his book titled, The Case Against Adolescence: Rediscovering the Adult in Every Teen, Robert Epstein said had the following to say about the importance of responsibility,

In a word, it’s because responsibility brings out our best.  Responsibility is a powerful motivator.  It makes us push ourselves harder, perform better, and care more.  Without responsibility, most people turn to jelly (pg. 284).

Not only is this the case, but Dr. Epstein quotes studies that confirm “Young people who have learned to handle responsibility are more effective in their lives…[and] that the younger we are when we learn to handle responsibility, the greater the sense of social responsibility we have as teens” (pg. 285). 

Responsibility elicits the best from children, young adults, and adults.  It seems as if it can be compared to the carrot on the stick before the donkey.  It is there before us, beckoning us closer, to push harder, perform better, and to care more for others rather than ourselves.  

In quoting M. Scott Peck (as found in Dr. Epstein’s book pg. 285),

Problems call forth our courage and our wisdom; indeed, they create our courage and our wisdom.  It is only because of problems that we’ve grown mentally and spiritually.

By substituting responsbility with problems we would be lead to conclude the same thing. 

On a final note about taking responsibility, consider…if each and every single one of us, regardless of our age, knew that we are responsible to fulfill the first and second greatest commandments now (read Matthew 22.36-40), rather than when we graduate high school or college, then I imagine everyone would take more of an initiative in passionately seeking-out after God themselves and to turn in selfless love to those around them, being socially responsible for the ills of our community and world. 

When we are given this burden to love God and others, we will be compelled to do so.  When we realize that we are called to work out our own salvation, then we will take responsibility for doing so, because we know that it is God who is at work within us to both will and to work for the purpose of His good pleasure (read Philippians 2.12-13).  We will realize that God is not limited to our age, that He is not waiting for us to reach a certain age or milestone before He can work within and through us.  Come on, do we really believe that He is in heaven tapping His foot inpatiently waiting for every young person to “grow-up?” 

The big deal about young people having responsibility is having something set before them that is challenging and calls out from them the need and necessity to act, to act courageously, to act wisely, and to learn from the mistakes made in striving to accomplish a feat. 

Let me ask, do you agree or disagree with the importance of responsiblity in the life of a young person (for some of you, “teens”) and adult?  Does it create one who is personally responsible for themselves as well as others?

The following questions were made available from the study guide found at www.therebelution.com 

The discussion guidelines can be found here and my introductory comments on chapter 1 here.

Questions for discussion:

As you read the inside flaps of the book and the first chapter, how did you react to the authors’ talk about change, hard things, and “rebelution”?

Usually we try to look to older (hopefully wiser) people for life advice.  Do you see any risks when teenagers - in this case, two nineteen year olds - try to persuade other young people to change how they think?  On the other hand, what might be some advantages to the authors’ age?

“We don’t think ‘average teenagers’ exist,” write the twins.  Do you feel average?  If so, why?  Does that ever feel like a good thing?  If not, what is it that makes you feel not average?

The fictional Dundress monks were well intentioned but unhappy Christians who believed that more misery must mean more holiness.  Have you ever thought that?  Where do you think that kind of thinking comes from?

In what ways do you think popular culture misrepresents what the teen years are for?  Can you think of one thing that would change if you and your friends believed - really believed - that low expectations were ripping you off?

Remember, AT LEAST 1 comment and AT LEAST 1 response to someone elses comment. 

Looking forward to chatting with you!

There will be youth group tomorrow night from 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M.  So make some calls to remind others and invite your friends!

Appalachian Impact deadline is next Wednesday, the 16th of July.  If you are planning on going we will need your $20 deposit on or before that day. 

Next week I need 3 volunteers to help me glean-out some gutters and trim some bushes in Charelston.  The work should take no longer than 1 1/2 hours and we will begin by 10:00 A.M.  Afterwards I will treat the lucky 3 volunteers to lunch!