Teenage Faith Seeking Understanding

Jesus is popular with most people, be they Christian, Hindu, Agnostic or any other title a person may take on. He preached a loving way of life and offerred himself for the sake of others. When teens show up in my ministry, they rarely seem to have a problem with him. They may or may not be "religious," but Jesus is alright with them. The problem comes when I challenge them to seek answers. It doesn't feel like many people want to seek anything beyond their remote control these days.

Last night was the first night of our new ministry format. It went well. The hard thing for me is to see so many teenagers who just aren't interested in expanding their faith, in seeking to have a fuller understanding of who Christ is and what he means to their lives. They can show up and sit through two hours of our ministry, but that's it. The mega-church people call those people who show up at a service "seekers," but I don't really feel like many people are actually seeking. To seek means to search continually until you find answers. I wish everybody would become a seeker.

I gave our students daily readings, which equal about 5-10 minutes of reading a night, including another 5-10 minutes for prayer and journaling questions and thoughts. Some students jumped right on it. Some took the booklets but didn't seem too interested. Some didn't even touch them. I know I'm a dreamer, but I do think it would be amazing to see people of any age take the opportunity to learn more about the transcendent God who created the universe and loves humankind with all that he is. I wish teens would have faith that seeks understanding.

Peace,
Matt

Currently Listening To: Neil Young's new album, Prarie Wind, which hasn't been released yet but is available for listening on NPR.

Currently Reading: After Our Likeness: The Church As the Image of the Trinity by Miroslav Volf. Brilliant, full of depth, as usual.