Part Two: Do As I Say Not As I do

Last week I asked everyone to read an article by CNN's John Blake about Teens becoming Fake Christians. The article was the result of a study done by Princeton professor, Kenda Creasy Dean, about the shallowness of teens' faith, and their general inability to talk about their faith/beliefs. In my opinion the most notable finding of the study was that most teens who profess a faith in God, practice something that Dean calls 'Moralistic Therapeutic Deism,' which in short means they believe God exists, wants them to be good, and be happy. Somewhere Christianity has been misconstrued to teenagers, because following Jesus is so much more than just 'being good' and he didn't die just so we could 'be happy.'

At the end of my last post I challenged everyone to join the discussion about where the disconnect was, and what we should be doing about it. Some of the causes we came up with were that America's 'What's in it for me?' Culture, the medias constant advertising barrage, self-centered morals, and a lack of genuine Christ followers.

I have a nephew who is nearly 2 years old named Ryan. Alicia and I got to visit him just last week at my parents' house. Right now Ryan is at a stage where he will do absolutely whatever you tell him. We had our miniature dachshund, Hans, with us and he started licking Ryan's face. "Ryan," I said, "When he licks you, you should give him kisses back." Sure enough, Ryan leaned in right away and started trying to lick Hans. The moral of the story isn't just that I'm a bad Uncle either.

Its not just toddlers who mimic what they see or do whatever they are told. Ryan, will grow out of the stage where he quickly does whatever is suggested to him, but he won't outgrow looking at the people around him to see how he should act and behave. His parents, family, and friends will constantly be shaping his beliefs, and his actions.

One of the passages that Clayton, Paula, and I are always coming back to is Deuteronomy 4:9 where God challenges His people to not forget His words, and to pass them on to their children so that they might now what is right. Ephesians 6:4 echoes that challenge and tells fathers to train and instruct their children in the Lord. Paul says it this way in 1 Corinthians 11:1 , "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ."

Students from early childhood to their late teen years look to the action, behavior, and culture around them to form their own behavior and beliefs. We clearly see in the Bible that God not only recognizes this truth, but created it for us to use to raise up children to follow God and be an active part of God's Kingdom.

John Blake told us on CNN.com that most Christian teens' faith is shallow, and they really can't even express what they believe. We can clearly see how as a child grows up their beliefs and actions are shaped by the people in their lives. So the questions I want you all to answer this week are simple. Are we doing anything as God's church worth following? What's it going to take for teenagers to discover a real faith built on a deep foundation?

Part One: Are We Talking About the Same Person?

We have all seen it before. We will be watching some sitcom on TV. Two of the characters will have a complete conversation about two COMPLETELY different people. The comedic effect? Both characters think they are talking to about the same person. The conversation goes on to the point that your sides hurt from laughter. Finally, they realize that something isn't quite right. In unison they exclaim, "Are we talking about the same person?"

This past week an article written by John Blake from CNN was put up on their website and went all over internet in an instant. There is no question in my mind that it was the biggest piece written about the faith and beliefs of teenagers all year. Blake discussed a topic that has been the main point of discussion in nearly every Student Ministers' circle I am a part of. We are all talking about the growing reality that when we talk about God with students, we might not be talking about the same person. The same is true when we talk about living your faith in your everyday life. We keep asking the question, "Are we talking about the same thing?"

I have included some quotes from the article to hopefully get you interested in reading the whole article on CNN's website. I would love for you to take the time to read the article and post your thoughts on this blog. My next post or two will be my thoughts on this growing reality. As Christ followers we need to look at what is causing students to be 'pseudo' Christians, and what God is calling us to do in response. So go ahead and read the article and let me know your thoughts.

Quotes from CNN's article Almost Christian by John Blake

• ...more American teenagers are embracing what she calls "moralistic therapeutic deism." Translation: It's a watered-down faith that portrays God as a "divine therapist" whose chief goal is to boost people's self-esteem.
• (Kenda Creasy) Dean is a minister, a professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and the author of "Almost Christian," a new book that argues that many parents and pastors are unwittingly passing on this self-serving strain of Christianity.
• The study, which included in-depth interviews with at least 3,300 American teenagers between 13 and 17, found that most American teens who called themselves Christian were indifferent and inarticulate about their faith.
• Many teenagers thought that God simply wanted them to feel good and do good -- what the study's researchers called "moralistic therapeutic deism."
• Dean, a United Methodist Church minister who says parents are the most important influence on their children's faith, places the ultimate blame for teens' religious apathy on adults.
• "If teenagers lack an articulate faith, it may be because the faith we show them is too spineless to merit much in the way of conversation," wrote Dean, a professor of youth and church culture at Princeton Theological Seminary.
• She says parents who perform one act of radical faith in front of their children convey more than a multitude of sermons and mission trips