John 3:17

John 3:16 is a verse almost all Christians can recite from memory.  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”  Lately, I have begun to think we need to commit John 3:17 to our memory bank as well.  I am concerned that we have lost our perspective on what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. 

“For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world,

but in order that the world should be saved through him.” (John 3:17 ESV)

Did you get that?  “God did not send his son to condemn, but to save.”  The word condemn seems to pack a punch, so I was curious.  I went to the dictionary and this is was I discovered:

Condemn: 

To express unfavorable judgement or strong disapproval, or 

        To pronounce to be guilty, to sentence to punishment.

          

I confess that I do that all the time.  I might get on a crowded DART Train to head into the City of Dallas.  There are two seats available; one next to a young man with multiple tattoos and body piercings and another by a senior citizen reading a book.  I will probably pick the older adults.  I must admit a real bias toward people with excessive (okay, in my opinion) body art, but have I condemned the young man?  Have I unfavorably judged him?  Taking it a step further; have I pronounced him guilty and in the process possibly sentenced him to “eternal punishment?”  Granted, I do not know the man’s situation, or have any idea where he stands in his faith walk, but have I in the process somehow written him off as a lost soul?  

In the case of the young man above, my encounter was brief and probably insignificant, but there are countless opportunities to relate to people who are spiritually lost or confused.  Some of those might be Millennials who work beside us, or live in our neighborhood.  The opportunity is there to reach out and get to know them.  In the process we might become Jesus in their lives, but if we prejudge them I fear we have condemned them without even getting to know them. 

“Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.”  He calls us daily to do the same.

NEW WINE IN NEW WINESKINS

 

“No one pours new wine in old wineskins.

If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined.

No, he pours the wine into new wineskins.”

(Mark 2:22)

 

I am going to offer a simple paraphrase of the above scripture: change is difficult.  In the case of traditional, mainline, churches I might even say change is not only difficult but usually impossible.  If you are offended or disagree with this I would suggest that you either have your head in the sand or have not driven around any major American city.  I live in north Dallas, and as I drive through the neighborhood I see dozens of churches that are shells of what they once were.  Even on Sunday mornings the parking lots are half-full.  We have lived in Dallas for over twenty-five years and over that time I have seen three Lutheran Church Missouri Synod churches close.  A once vibrant Evangelical Lutheran Church in our neighborhood closed its door.  The city bought the property and now a new fire station and charter school occupy the site. 

While it is easy to get discouraged, today I am feeling much more positive and upbeat.  I see reasons for hope.  Last week I saw multiple examples of “new wine in new wineskins.”

On Wednesday I attended a meeting of local pastors and other missional minded church leaders.  We meet monthly to share stories, study the word and pray for each other.  On this occasion there were fifteen of us.  The encouraging thing is that with three exceptions, they all are involved in church planting efforts.  These are not traditional church plants where you put up a church or rent a building than then hope people will come.  All are involved in missional living.  They live in apartment communities getting to know the residents and inviting them to join small group.  Another lives in a suburban neighborhood, ministering to the people who live around them.  In many cases these will never be chartered, organized churches.  Rather they will continue to be missional communities.  In many cases the pastors will be bi-vocational, holding full or part-time jobs to supplement their income.

On Thursday I flew to Phoenix of the annual Best Practices Conference, hosted by Christ Lutheran Church.  The gathering is a marketplace of ministries.  It was encouraging to hear of so many churches that are reaching the lost in new and innovative ways.  Most are new ministries driven by a specific need or target group within their community.  Some are even established churches that have found ways to adapt to the changing needs of the world. 

For decades most churches have operated from the old model (old wineskin).  You put up a building, and place a sign out front announcing the new home of “fill in the blank” church.  You then set out to establish a Sunday school, youth program and adult Bible studies.  The church baptizes infants, confirms their youth, marries their young adults, educates their children and then eventually buries them.  That model no longer works.  In the Millennial World, all the rules have changed.  Now we are called to live as missionaries in a culture that is very foreign.  We are called to be Jesus in this time and place.

SOMEONE POPPED THE LUTHERAN BUBBLE

The "Lutheran Bubble;" it is a term I heard often during my years in youth ministry.  Parents and other adults used the term to reference the safe environment inside the church community.  Children who grew up attending Lutheran schools, going through confirmation class and then on to youth group seemed to be immune to many of the temptations and issues out in the real world.

If the "Lutheran Bubble" did exist, and I for one do not believe it ever did, a recent report from the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod seems to indicate things have changed.  Data collected by the church itself indicates that "good church youth" struggle with the same issues that the rest of society does.  Not only that, often they agree that culture is correct and the church has got it wrong.  The Gay/Lesbian issue is one example. 

The LCMS polls teens every three years at its National Youth Gathering.  The last gathering was in 2013, but the results were only recently published.  The issue of homosexuality and gay marriage first appeared on the survey in 1986.  On the issue of homosexuality, the number who viewed it as wrong has trended down steadily from 82% in 1986 to 56% in 2013.  When it came to same-sex marriage support has increased.  In 2004, 63 percent of those polled favored the response, "Marriage is for one man/one woman." That response declined to 57% in 2007, 53% in 2010 and 47% in 2013. Support for gay marriage has gone from 22% in 2004 to 25% in 2013.

We can throw our hands in the air over this news, but I for one do not see all as being lost.  Jesus is still our Savior.  We still live with the hope of eternal life.  The opinions of society will never change who I am and what I believe in, but I need to acknowledge that many of those around me do not share that same perspective.  Our goal should be to relate to the world where they are at in order for them to see us for who we are.   For a church that might mean creating an environment where meaningful discussion can take place on the issues.  Some of that dialog needs to be happening in the church youth room.  We cannot ignore the issues.  Rather, we must stand beside our teens and young adults as they grapple with who they are and what God's desire is for them.

The Epidemic That Will Not Go Away

Suicide was back in the news again in the DFW area last weekend.  Two seventeen year old students from Plano East High School took their own lives within hours of each other.  Classmates say the girls were acquaintances but were not close friends.  There is no reason to suspect a “death pact,” rather it seems to be just a coincidence that they both chose to end their own lives.

My first memory of a teen killing themselves was during my sophomore year in high school.  His family was members of our church.  He was a couple years older than me and I barely knew him but lots of my church friends did.  They talked about it, but my parents barely mentioned it. 

I was especially aware of the threat of teen suicide during my years as a school counselor.  We tried to be proactive.  My colleagues knew the warning signs.  We were quick to intervene in situations where we felt the student was in danger to themselves.  We were quick to get parents involved.  It was never an easy conversation, but in the end they usually expressed gratitude.  To my knowledge we never lost a student to suicide.

So again, let me share the warning signs:

A teen becomes obsessed with death.  It might even be through poetry or art work.

Changes in mood: It could be they act depressed or withdrawn.

They pull away from friends and family.

A drop in grades or lack of interest in school activities.

They engage in risk taking behavior, including drugs and alcohol.

Do not wait for the warning signs.  It is always best to be proactive.  Here are some ways:

Be engaged in the lives of your kids.  Observe them as they interact with friends.

Talk about the issue, especially if there are incidents.  That includes attempts or threats.  Even a comment like, “nobody would miss me if I was gone,” need to be taken seriously.

Keep your kids healthy.  Make sure they see their doctor regularly.  Health also includes making sure they are emotionally and spiritually strong.

Learn to listen.  Sometimes the best way to show you care is to just listen and not give advice.

Never stop saying, “I love you.”