I recently attended the Junior High Challenge at Kentucky Christian University. Great program, by the way, and if you're familiar with CIY's high school conference MOVE, then it's basically like that, except for junior high/middle school students.
Anyway, one of the days during recreation time we loaded up and headed to the lake. We were planning on going to the place we went the day before, but it was closed. So we turned around and decided to pull into another spot close to the lake. I'd seen a church van parked there so I figured down the path, we'd eventually find some water to cool off in after a nice long walk. Sure enough, eventually, we found water, and even other people from the conference. Good so far. This specific spot had cliffs you could jump off from into the lake below. Cool right? Yeah, except that I had heard that it was actually illegal. I told my students to wait before they did anything, and I asked around. After speaking with a few people I found out that the park ranger had been the day before and said that most of these cliffs were illegal to jump from, except one, about 10 feet from the water. So, our group only jumped from that one. We had a good time, and not one got hurt.
The problem was that this other group was jumping from the other cliffs, about 25 feet high, that we knew for sure were illegal to jump from. Later we found out that, the same group had been the day before, the park ranger had showed up, and told them they shouldn't jump, yet they were there again. The whole time, they were led by their youth minister.
Later, when we were leaving, the park ranger himself actually showed up. As we passed each other, I asked him, "What is the official rule about these cliffs? I've heard several things." He said that you could legally jump off anything as tall as you are. I'm 5' 9" so I could jump off a rock 5' 9". Pretty simple. Well now we found out that we were jumping illegally. To our credit, there were no signs posted (because people who still want to jump continually tear them down), and we'd heard that the cliff from which we jumped was legal. We apologized, and let him know we wouldn't do it again, and the first thing I told my students in the van was that we would obey the law and not do it again.
It just really bothered me that the other youth group was jumping off the other cliffs. Not that they were jumping, not that they were having fun, not that they were being together, but that they knowingly, being led by their youth minister, disobeyed the law, which they had been told the day before, by the park ranger himself, and by the KCU staff.
What made it worse, was that they theme of that day at the Junior High Challenge was to be SIMPLY You. Basically what that means is this: Stand up for what you think is right. Be yourself. Don't be the person in the crowd who just conforms to what you think everyone else wants you to be. Do the right thing, even if others want you to do the wrong thing. Have the guts to say no, even if what you are being tempted with looks fun, or cool. A phrase that the speaker used was, "Be a Reuben" because Reuben, in the Old Testament, was the one who stood up for his brother Joseph and convinced the other brothers not to kill him. He stood up, 1 against 9 and did the right thing.
That very day, after hearing that message, a youth minister led his students out to cliffs, and intentionally disobeyed the law, claiming that as long as they didn't get caught, it was okay. I have no problem with Cliff Jumping. I had fun myself, but when it is blatantly against the law, I have a problem with that!
I distinctly remember in youth ministry class in college, and just in conversations with people, talking about kids who graduate from a youth ministry who aren't mature. They don't take their faith seriously, and many walk away within the first several months of graduating from the youth group.
I guess after experiences like this, I'm starting to realize why. When the people leading our moldable youth live with a double standard, why shouldn't they. When teens see a leader in Christ's church more committed to fun than to doing the right thing, then why shouldn't they be in it for the fun as well? When they see a respected role model totally choose whatever they want to do over the laws which the legal authorities (who have been put in place by God by the way, read Romans 13) have set up, then why shouldn't they drink when they are underage, speed all the time in their cars, shoplift or share music as long as they don't get caught?
Is it any wonder that people accuse teens of immaturity, even graduates from youth ministries. Is it any wonder that even "church kids" are more committed to fun, pleasure, or whatever, than what Jesus Christ, our reigning King would ask us to do?
I am by no means claiming perfection, and would say that even today, I did some things that made me feel like a horrible hypocrite. But come on. We've got to do better. May we all step up and realize that if we are a leader of youth, in any way at all (and I mean any way, paid or not, a parent, relative, friend, volunteer, whatever) we've all got the responsibility to lead well, honestly and above reproach, no ifs ands or buts, no matter what else may be fun or cool.
2 comments:
Solid post. It's always a bummer when you have to explain why another youth group gets to be "more fun." It's also a real bummer when a fellow youth worker is leading a charge into disobedience,
I had never thought about obeying the law in this context and how it can help to mature your students. Thanks for opening up this new perspective. I hope it can encourage you, even a little, that you've convicted a fellow youth minister to be a little better.
Thanks,
Matt
Great stuff, Josh. I once heard a youth minister excuse his actions by claiming that they "got away with it", so it must not have been that bad. I agree that it's really frustrating when other guys who are supposed to be setting examples are willing to compromise so that a few jr highers might think they are cool. Great thoughts.
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