While there are many reasons I’m a fan of students taking a gap year, in this post I will briefly mention two. But before I get to them, I want to say a few words from the perspective of one who wants to see students flourish as Christ-followers’ in college and beyond. I have the privilege of working with high school and college students both in the local church setting and as I speak around the country. I’m more convinced than ever…(read the rest of my guest blog post at the Lid).
A new documentary featuring Christian hip-hop artist PRo (along with Lecrae and others) makes a compelling case for biblical community. I had the opportunity to be interviewed in it and am excited about helping spread this important message. Check it out!
Also, PRo’s new album comes out March 27th – you can get it here.
“The problem arises from the inadequacy of preparing young Christians for life beyond youth group.” Kinnaman pointed to research findings showing that “only a small minority of young Christians has been taught to think about matters of faith, calling, and culture. Fewer than one out of five have any idea how the Bible ought to inform their scholastic and professional interests. And most lack adult mentors or meaningful friendships with older Christians who can guide them through the inevitable questions that arise during the course of their studies. In other words, the university setting does not usually cause the disconnect; it exposes the shallow-faith problem of many young disciples.”
Unprepared and a Shallow Faith are something we can do something about. But not if the church continues to parrot pop-culture’s “faith as a feeling” mentality and embraces a general “anti-intellectual” posture. (more from Barna)
These are fleshed out in the new book You Lost Me by David Kinnaman. Here is one of the six reasons:
Reason #5 – They wrestle with the exclusive nature of Christianity. “Younger Americans have been shaped by a culture that esteems open-mindedness, tolerance and acceptance. Today’s youth and young adults also are the most eclectic generation in American history in terms of race, ethnicity, sexuality, religion, technological tools and sources of authority. Most young adults want to find areas of common ground with each other, sometimes even if that means glossing over real differences. Three out of ten young Christians (29%) said “churches are afraid of the beliefs of other faiths” and an identical proportion felt they are “forced to choose between my faith and my friends.” One-fifth of young adults with a Christian background said “church is like a country club, only for insiders” (22%).”
We need to do a better job of talking about truth in our churches. It is not enough to say that this is the right and answer and leave it at that. As Christian leaders we need to model the process of how to arrive at truth. What are the reasons we hold our views? Why are the slogans and soundbites like “that may be true for you but not for me” mistaken? Narrate the difference between false tolerance and true tolerance. We can no longer assume people (even Christians) accept the Bible as an authority; they don’t. In our feeling culture, we need to recover the ability to think well–dare I say Think Christianly–about the biggest questions in life. I offer some analysis and suggestions here.
I am grateful for the work of the Barna Group and David Kinnaman for helping clarify the assumptions and questions of this generation. Learn more here.
