Response and Resolve

In my recent assessment of high school students and their ability and potential to worship God, I became astounded. I was not blown away by something that I had not known, but by something that was so close to me I was blind to it. Have you been there? It's like the poor boy or girl that is so hopelessly in love with the wrong person and everyone knows it except the one involved. It's like the saying, "If it was a snake it would have bitten you." What I was confronted with this past week of camp was the craving for experience, given the right circumstances in the framework and culture that has been created by this generations leaders.

 Camp is the seedbed of big decisions. People get blessed, every one's sipping on the Jesus juice, and camaraderie with complete strangers is the norm. It's as if our teenagers, who are just as guilty as going through the motions as adults when it comes to everyday living, who are just as susceptible to misplace priorities when it comes to all things faith related, seek the culture that camp creates; the culture of experience and response. As I watched on the first night, which was full of introductions and new acquaintances, where nothing to write home about occurred, students flocked to the altar to "get right with God." As I watched, I had mixed emotions of "wow, God you can move in anyone, anywhere," and "why don't our teens respond this way all the time?" I was confused.

What is it about a time and place that is conducive to a response to God and why is that place not in our youth groups on a more regular and frequent basis?Part of me wanted to confront teenagers about moving with the crowd towards the altar, but then I realized that the students crave this. They crave the opportunity to get be blessed, to be live in a spiritual high, and to find commonality with other believers. This is what the church should be! Yet in normal circumstances, people can't allow themselves to be fully present like at camp. So the task at hand is discovering how to tap into the emotional experience of camp to make the outcomes (blessing, community, and unity) our normal, disciplined behavior. This is the transition from experience to lifestyle. This is our challenge. This is our task. To transform understanding from experience; experience to lifestyle informing experience; to discipline informing action; grace and peace over a cheap thrill that lasts for a week; to be faithful.