Tag Archives: Jesus

What Do Christian Teenagers Believe about Jesus?

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Biola Magazine has done some research and produced this thought provoking article on the nuts and bolts behind the faith of the current generation of teenagers. We need to get specific about Jesus Christ and faithfully teach what the bible reveals. This generation is floundering in a vague divinity and spineless teaching when all along a strong clear picture of Jesus is on display in the pages of scripture. WIll we believe it? WIll we pass this on. Check out the below article and gain insight into the faith of this generation of teenagers.

Your fellow worker in the field, Adam

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What does the faith of the next generation of Christians look like? When we examine the actual beliefs of Christian teenagers regarding Jesus and his meaning for our lives, is what we find encouraging or alarming?

In The Jesus Survey (Baker Books, 2012), bestselling author Mike Nappa (’89) explores these questions by presenting the results of a nationwide survey of Christian teens. Here, Nappa discusses some of his findings with Biola Magazine and talks about the takeaways for parents, teachers, youth pastors and anyone invested in the faith of future generations.

Mike, could you briefly describe the types of Christian teens that you surveyed and the survey methodology?

The Jesus Survey was administered during summer 2010 at Reach Workcamp mission sites in Colorado, Indiana, Maine, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. (You can download a reproducible copy of the actual survey used at nappaland.com/tjs.) More than 800 teens, ages 12 to 18, participated in the survey. All teens self-identified as “Christian” and were active in a church youth group at the time of the survey. In all, the survey sample represented 16 Christian denominations from 24 United States, and delivered a 99 percent confidence level with a margin of error of +/- 4.4 percent.

What was the overall goal with “The Jesus Survey”? What did you want to find out?

The original goal was just to satisfy my own curiosity! I wanted to discover what Christian teens believed about Jesus — and how that was (or wasn’t) affecting their everyday lives. So I asked them.

In terms of the specific survey, the first part was designed to measure what teens thought about four core doctrines of Christ: 1) The Bible is completely trustworthy in what it says about Jesus. 2) Jesus is God. 3) Jesus physically lived, died and came back to life. 4) Jesus is the only way to heaven.

Having established those baselines, the second part of the survey was designed to measure how a Christian teen’s belief or unbelief in those core doctrines affected his or her daily experience with God.

While 86 percent of those surveyed reported that they viewed the Bible as at least somewhat trustworthy, 70 percent expressed persistent, measurable doubts that what the Bible says about Jesus is true. And these are “cream of the crop” youth group kids. How do we make sense of this, and should we be alarmed?

As a former youth pastor, those numbers do concern me. Realistically, just about everything our youth group teens know about Jesus came from what’s found in the Bible, so if they don’t trust the Bible, they can’t fully trust their own knowledge of Jesus. It seems to me that we parents and church leaders can do a better job of helping our Christian teenagers grow confident in the trustworthiness of Scripture.

What’s more (and this surprised me), the data show that Christian kids who do have strong confidence in Scripture actually experience God more noticeably in their daily lives. For instance, four out of five (82 percent) teens who have “unshakable” faith in the Bible also report possessing “strong” proof that the Holy Spirit is active in their lives. Among kids who are uncertain about Scripture, that number is less than half (49 percent). For Christian teens who disbelieve the Bible’s reliability, only 22 percent (about 1 in 5) strongly claim real-life experience with Christ’s Holy Spirit.

Christ’s exclusivity seems to be a big stumbling block for many teens. Fully 1 out of 3 (33 percent) of the Christian teenagers you surveyed believes that Jesus, Mohammad, Buddha and other great religious leaders all lead to heaven. Why do you think this is, and what are the implications?

What’s hard about this finding is that these are Christian kids — teens who claim to have already trusted in Jesus for heaven (and more). In spite of that, they seem unaware that their answers to this question actually contradict their own Christianity — and the beliefs of other religions, too. Youth culture researcher Christian Smith calls this a “tolerance over truth” attitude that’s a result of mainstream, social indoctrination. There’s probably some validity to Smith’s opinion, but it’s always easy to blame the world outside for problems inside the church.

Realistically, an enormous error in basic Christian truth like this one wouldn’t be widespread in our youth groups if adult Christians in our churches weren’t also embracing — and promoting — the fallacy. Tolerance and truth are not mutually exclusive — we need to be better at communicating both for our teens.

What’s worth noting here is that belief in the trustworthiness of the Bible is directly related to belief that Jesus, alone, saves. Among “Jesus only” kids, 99 percent also agreed with the statement that “The Bible is 100 percent accurate.” The implication there is both encouraging — and obvious.

Barely 5 percent of those surveyed reported that they study the Bible on a daily basis, with 67 percent reporting that they seldom or never study Scripture outside church, numbers that reflect a downward trend in Bible study from similar studies conducted 10 years ago. How do you think we can reverse this trend and get young people excited about the Bible?

Our first priority must be to help our Christian teenagers grow confident in the trustworthiness of Scripture. After all, why bother studying the Bible if its message can’t be trusted? If you can’t believe the Bible, then whatever it says is irrelevant. On the other hand, if the Bible can be trusted, then the Bible will be read — that’s my opinion.

I don’t see Scripture needing any special ad campaign or “teen friendly” package. It already has within its pages everything a Christian teenager wants and needs in life. What our kids must come to know is that their Bible is real and true and trustworthy. When they come to grips with that, it’ll change everything — and create a hunger for God’s Word that won’t be denied.

In the evangelism area, 84 percent said they believe Christians are “expected to tell others about Jesus,” while 56 percent said they actually did in the last month. Still, 56 percent seems pretty high. Are teenage Christians less afraid of evangelism than we think?

This was another of the surprises of The Jesus Survey: Christian teenagers are actually quite open and unashamed about their religion. What’s more, talking about Jesus to their friends seems to come naturally for this generation. Even among Christian teenagers who say that Jesus is not the only way to heaven, more than half (55 percent) believe that every follower of Christ has a responsibility to tell others about Jesus “with the intent of leading them to be Christian too.” This unexpected openness about faith may be a benefit of that “tolerance indoctrination” our kids are experiencing in their society. After all, if all religions are tolerated, then it’s OK to talk about any religion — even when the topic is Jesus.

At the same time, there is cause for concern about the evangelistic passion of our Christian teenagers. If the things they’re saying about Christ reflect what they actually believe about Christ, then (according to The Jesus Survey at least), three-fourths of them (74 percent) are actually spreading untruth about Jesus to their friends, neighbors, coworkers and more.

What encouraged you most from the results of the survey?

I was humbled and grateful to see, right there in the data, that God rewards teenagers who place full faith in him. Or, as I put it in the book, “Right belief translates into real experience.”

As part of the study, I was able to identify what I called “Confident Christian Teens.” This group of kids consistently and strongly affirmed each of the four core beliefs around which the survey centered. These kids were the minority in their youth groups (outnumbered 10 to 1 actually), but they reported a real-life experience with God that was identifiable and ongoing.

For example, 94 percent of Confident Christian Teens strongly agreed with this statement: “I’m 100% certain Jesus has answered one or more of my prayers—and I can prove it.” Among the rest, only about half (55 percent) could say the same thing. Additionally, nearly nine out of 10 (86 percent) Confident Christian Teens strongly agreed with this: “I’m 100% certain that the Holy Spirit of Jesus is present and active in my life today — and I have proof that this is true.” Among all other Christian teens, barely half (52 percent) could make the same claim.

For parents, youth group leaders, pastors, professors and others who care about the beliefs of the next generation, what are the big takeaways from this data?

The absolute best thing you can do for any Christian teenager is to help that teen grow confident in the trustworthiness of Scripture. Teens who believe the Bible is reliable are more likely to embrace authentic Christian beliefs and — according to the data — are significantly more likely to experience an authentic, noticeable relationship with God. That’s the big takeaway I learned from The Jesus Survey.

If you could summarize your overall assessment of the current generation of Christian teenagers in just three words, what would they be?

Honest. Tolerant. Passionate.

Mike Nappa (’89) is a bestselling and award-winning author with more than 1 million copies of his books in print worldwide. He’s also the founding publisher of FamilyFans.com, “The Free E-Magazine for Parents” and a noted commentator on pop culture, theology, family and film.

Saturdays with C.S. Lewis – Why you were brought to Narnia

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 “Please Aslan, before we go, will you tell us when we can come back to Narnia again? Please. And oh, do, do, do, make it soon.”
“Dearest,” said Aslan very gently, “you and your brother will never come back to Narnia.”
“Oh, Aslan!!” said Edmund and Lucy both together in despairing voices.
“You are too old, children,” said Aslan, “and you must begin to come close to your own world now.”
“It isn’t Narnia, you know,” sobbed Lucy. “It’s you. We shan’t meet you there. And how can we live, never meeting you?”
“But you shall meet me, dear one,” said Aslan.
“Are — are you there too, Sir?” said Edmund.
“I am,” said Aslan. “But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.”

C.S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952; this edition: HarperCollins, 1994) 247.

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What a beautiful picture of God who wants us to know Him. Though Aslan is a fairy tale, the God of the bible is not. He has shown Himself most fully through the person of Jesus Christ and He desires to know you! Do you know Him?

1 Timothy 2:  3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

Your fellow worker in the field, Adam

Saturdays with C.S. Lewis: Where is God when I’m Grieving?

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We all will face struggles in this life. That much is for sure. This week in our series, Saturdays with C.S. Lewis, we get a glimpse of Lewis’ personal struggle with the loss of his wife, Joy Davidman, after 4 years of marriage. Even better than Lewis’s words are the words of scripture. Jesus is able to understand our weaknesses and our doubts in the middle of tragedy. While He is acquainted with the pain, He endured without sin.

Hebrews 4:15-6 says, For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

C.S. Lewis helps us understand where God is in the middle of loss. He also helps us understand where we are in the middle of loss. Read this excerpt of Lewis grieving the loss of his wife:

How far have I got? Just as far, I think, as a widower of another sort who would stop, leaning on his spade, and say in answer to our inquiry, ‘Thank’ee. Mustn’t grumble. I do miss her something dreadful. But they say these things are sent to try us.’ We have come to the same point; he with his spade, and I, who am not now much good at digging, with my own instrument. But of course one must take ‘sent to try us’ the right way. God has not been trying an experiment on my faith or love in order to find out their quality. He knew it already. It was I who didn’t. In this trial he makes us occupy the dock, the witness box, and the bench all at once. He always knew that my temple was a house of cards. His only way of making me realize the fact was to knock it down.

~C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed, 1961 (emphasis added)

 

 

Passing the Torch: We Need Each Other

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I want to take the time to comment on and article written by Mark Howard for The Rooted Blog. I see a theme of mutual need between student ministry and the corporate church body that has been inadvertently skewed beyond recognition.
Across the board, the current state of student ministry in the church is a wide range. Some churches get it and are really reaching the next generation. They are speaking the Gospel in a way teenagers understand and see as legitimate. Other churches (and maybe the majority) are woefully lacking in connecting with the next generation. And I mean woefully! When student worship and teaching can become synonymous with “crazy time”, something has gone awry. In a stage of life when are teens are starved for guidance and direction, do they think church is a place to come just for laughs?
Given the circumstances, it’s no surprise that many youth are restless, insecure, jaded, and desperately searching for meaning to explain all the hurt and suffering they see around them, meaning for their very existence. Sadly, many within the church offer nothing more substantive than the vaporous teachings of the world. In some churches, “youth group” has become synonymous with over-the-top games, entertainment, and shallow teaching. They are told, yes, life here on earth is a mess, but don’t worry, one day you’ll die and go to heaven. There things will be right. In the meantime, want to see how many marshmallows I can stick in my mouth?
(that last quote cracked me up…chubby bunny, chubby bunny…)
Do we really believe the faith of our youth is so pointless that the best God has for them now is a temporary escape from the world on Wednesday night and Sunday morning? This sort of ministry just reinforces a belief in the meaninglessness of this life.
The church should be a lighthouse of hope, contrary to that lie! Life is not meaningless! Amidst the rising teen suicide rate, we should be shouting that there is real hope. That hope is not some mystical belief, but a person; Jesus Christ.
What student ministry needs to focus on is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which Paul says is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe!
I am firmly convinced that what today’s youth need most is the gospel of Christ Jesus the Lord. He is the one in whom the fullness of God is found, and he’s the one in whom we are filled (Col 2:9-10). Moreover, he is the one who gives meaning to this life.
Are we showing teenagers Jesus? Anything else that we turn their attention to is a lesser thing. Jesus is the pinnacle from which our gaze must not move. So how do we see Jesus?
Where is Jesus found? In the worship of his people, the church. As others have said, the way we come to know Jesus is through the means he gave us: Scripture, true Christian fellowship, the sacraments, and prayer. These are the practices that by faith renew their minds in such a way that enables youth to view and live in the world with purpose and meaning as followers of Jesus. These are the practices that by faith force youth from their technologically imposed isolation, discourage their entitlement, and lead them to a spirit of humility and repentance. These are the practices that by faith expose their dependence on Jesus and remind them of their need for grace.
Student ministries must not separate themselves so much from the cooperate body of believers that teenagers do not regularly see the Body of Chirst in action. They need to see adults worship. They need to partake in the Lord supper (and be taught the meaning behind each part). They need to see prayer at work in the corporate setting.
When we segregate the teens so “they can do their own thing”, we send a contradictory message to them about what it means to be part of the body. “Church is just for adults” can be subconsciously learned after years of practice. And we wonder why college and young singles 18-25 are M.I.A. (missing in action) from church? If what is happening is truly important, why would we not want to raise up the next generation to understand and carry on that importance?
This article is a great reminder that the teenagers need the church, and the church needs teenagers. We cannot except the inadvertent teaching that church is just for adults. No, we need to put our focus squarely on Jesus and show that true meaning and purpose is derived from Him, and it is applicable for all ages. Teens need to see and believe that, just as adults need to see and believe that.
Your fellow worker in the field,  Adam
Lets finish off with an appropriate song from Sanctus Real: We need each other

See-Through HD TVs and the Never Changing Message of the Gospel

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Technology is always changing. And I must admit, I love it. This new see-through HD TV looks amazing for sure! You can read this article about it if you want to learn more. It is easy to get caught up in the newest gadget or home necessity, but it will always leave you wanting. My personal testimony to this is when I got the sweet new iPhone 4…and a month later the iPhone 4S came out. With an ever-changing market we will always have more than enough temptation for materialism. But what can we count on to really last? Is there anything that will never change?

Yes.

Jesus says in Matthew 24:35, Luke 21:33, and Mark 13:31 that “heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” You can count on the stability of Scripture.

So what are the “words” that Jesus is talking about? He is talking about the message of hope for a lost and dying world. This hope is the Gospel. While everything around us is always changing we never escape the sinfulness of this world and of our own lives. We need a Rescuer. We need something we can depend on.

Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” He is our hope and salvation. Because of His substitutionary death on the cross, taking the wrath of a Holy God, a way has been made for us to be righteous. Since we cannot be righteous on our own merits, we trust solely in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Like John the Baptist we call out, “repent and believe”. This is the unchanging message that our generation needs to hear.

While technology will be cool for a moment, Jesus’ words will last forever. Let us focus our lives on what is eternal. Paul echoes this in 2 Corinthians 4:18, “So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Your fellow worker in the field,  Adam