So, this morning during my second cup of coffee and my quiet time, I turned on the news and happened upon CBS doing a story about two teenage girls fighting. Not THAT unusual. It was not even THAT unusual (unfortunately), that it had been posted on Youtube. What made it "newsworthy" was the fact that the mother of one of the 16 year-old girl brawlers not only escorted her daughter TO THE FIGHT among a myriad of teenagers, but she was ENCOURAGING her daughter while fighting. She had NO regard for either of the girls getting hurt. The media made it sound like this was the issue and that the mother was living vicariously through her daughter.
The reality is that the REAL issue is much, much deeper! The REAL issue is that our culture and a good number of parents are systemically abandoning their children by not teaching them the difference between right and wrong, how to make wise choices or equipping them with any type of moral compass. The moral compass in America, in the National Psyche, for the most part, is broken! The sad thing is that this is not the first time we have heard of this happening! It is as if America refuses to look in the mirror at itself and while this happens, our children are continually sacrificed on the altar of "self-actualization".
If it is indeed true, as statistics and social scientists seem to be finding, that the age of adolescence now encompasses the 11 to 29 year-old demographic, we inevitably have to ask the question, "When will America grow up and mature?" It seems that every institution is breaking down in America. Financial CEO's have become corrupt, politicians are corrupt, political parties are becoming more and more polarized (at the expense of the American people), we heard the stories of the Catholic Church, we are hearing more local stories of Protestant mega-church Pastors being sexually and financially irresponsible, male and female teachers are having sex with students, parents are escorting their children to fights and videotaping it for all the world to see... When will the madness stop? (Even on the political scene, while I am not a "Tea Party" person, derogatory language of "teabagger" is used by adults on Yahoo to express their opinions. They don't seem to care that teenagers - who know what this term means - will be reading this!)
This is the definition of systemic abandonment: every institution, that was designed to care for the well-being of our society - and especially for the well-being of our children - are sacrificing our children on the altar of agendas of personal, corporate and selfish pursuits! PLEASE re-read the statement above and let it sink in! If you can HONESTLY say this is not true, please express to me how it is not true.
This has come about because these very institutions no longer communicate with each other (for the most part). A county Parks and Recreations doesn't seem to communicate with the Public School, Public Schools certainly (for the most part) don't seem to communicate with local Churches. (Understandably, we can't even get local churches to communicate with each other and work together because of our own agenda driven dogmas!) We have "shallow" partnerships that work as long as it propagates OUR agenda. In the meantime, it is our kids that lose!
We have GOT TO break the cycle of immaturity in America and the only thing that will do that is a sense of accountability toward a moral and ethical standard that will nurture our kids themselves into maturity. It will take every parent FIRST to do so in the home and then societal organizations have got to quit undermining what is happening in the home. It goes all the way from the smallest family unit to the Government! We have got to wake up and start putting our kids a lot higher on our priorities! Not the agendas, not the nice house, the nice cars, all the toys, all our unrealistic expectations - nothing else (besides God) should come first! Raise up healthy children and you will raise up a health country!
These are some really excellent observations. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThe cycle I see from the Public School perspective (that I am sure extends to all areas), which is very similar, is a generation of parents who weren't taught these issues from their parents, schools, churches, arts or government. Of course, this leads into the cycle. The children of those parents will not learn "right from wrong" (or learning, financial, relational skills - whatever the deficiency) if the parent doesn't know it either. But truthfully, the vast majority of learning a child receives is from the modeling of the parents. So where does that leave us as leaders/servants? Its almost like you are preaching to the choir here. Im expressing my frustration here, but Im also ultimately asking the serious question of what can we do as leaders? Targeting the youth to expand their knowledge, wisdom and character is a step (and possibly the only step), but it seems that without the active involvement of the parents in this learning process, we are fighting a tough battle.
I think you hit the nail on the head with "We have GOT TO break the cycle of immaturity in America and the only thing that will do that is a sense of accountability toward a moral and ethical standard that will nurture our kids themselves into maturity." and to reiterate "It will take every parent FIRST to do so in the home and then societal organizations have got to quit undermining what is happening in the home." As these youth grow to our future leaders - hopefully they will take up the mantle of cleaning up the "societal organizations".
Regarding Churches communicating and acting as one, many others are thinking along these same lines. I have been pleased with the Unite! Atlanta campaign who seem to be taking up this call as we speak. Its a first step in the right direction.
Sirvig (not sure who you really are) - but thank you for the thoughtful feedback and comments! There are a couple of things I am "trying" to do to help with the immaturity issue, at least at my Church: 1. We are pushing our students to "step up" to leadership - and to this point in time, it seems to be working. This year, we have been moving in a direction of "Adult Mentored/Student Lead" ministry. Ironically enough, after starting this in September, the recent "Group Magazine" came out with an article using this same terminology in their October/November volume. (I felt like I was "ahead of my time", which has happened several times in my life, LOL!) 2. We are putting a LARGE push and emphasis on mentoring as a whole in our Church. Reality is that the average Youth Pastor in America does not have the luxury of a Lead Pastor who is his or her advocate, making the Youth Pastor position function in a bit of isolation. On a separate note, as far as unity among Churches, it is easy to see why Churches cannot work together. Case in point, this Summer we had an event called, "Unite" (ironically enough) where several youth ministries in the area combine for Summer programming. Knowing that the next "Twilight" movie was coming out the next day, I used this as an opportunity to share the authentic Gospel in light of the cheap Hollywood substitute (as you may know, Twilight deals with immortality, "love", sacrifice, etc. - but is, again, a cheap substitute). I was told that Unite was an "outreach" event, which in my mind, means a lot of "un-churched and de-churched" students. When referencing "Twilight", it was clear that most of the students had been to the movie. To make a long story short, I was pretty much looked down upon because of my references to the movie. Instead of celebrating the fact that "Twilight" was exposed as a cheap substitute for the Gospel and for sharing the REAL Gospel, it cause a rift in the "United" spirit. If this were an even for "churched" kids, I may have chosen my message a little differently. Now, however, I am kind of looked down upon as a "black sheep" in the Youth Ministry community here. Very unfortunate, but this is what happens when we try to force Christian standards on a non-Christian culture. My question is, "If our loving Father and God does not force Himself upon us, how can we force God on others or force them to live by Christian standards?" IT is very complex and convoluted! Anyway, thanks for the interaction. I'd love to continue chatting!
ReplyDelete