As the words come on the screen, everyone raises their hand at the same time. As the music starts, they all rush to be the best worshipper at the front. As the speaker talks, the “good ones" make sure to put their phones down and silently judge those who may be looking at it for a brief second longer. This is what you see when you go into a youth group now a days. A group of well-oiled robots programmed to believe that they are living life for God, while they drink the night before and judge those sitting right next to them.
It is crazy to think that this is our view on worshipping Jesus now. The youth programs today do not accept the unwanted. They want every individual to be polished to the tee, to be a perfect Jesus clone. The lost are not welcomed. The confused are not welcomed. The ones who made mistakes, they are not welcomed. They constantly drill into the heads of their youth that perfection is key to religion. They teach them when the right time to raise their hands to worship their God is, not when they feel the Holy Spirit moving in them but when the right words appear on the screen. They teach them to run to the front, no matter what they are feeling. Despite the bad day, the awful event, or anything they are going through, they should put on a polished face to worship the Lord. Then they are taught to judge their neighbor who is on their phone during the service, instead of ask them if life is going okay.
We need to stop trying to formulate a well oiled machine for the battle at the end of the world. We need to stop trying to make the army of God perfect. We need to stop. And start being like Jesus. We need to act with our hearts, lead through love. This phony, fake Christianity is just proving to the world that what they believe about us “Christians” is a hundred percent true. It is showing them how immature and juvenile we are. It does not show the glory that God wants us to show.
These youth programs are killing the fire in the courageous souls of the young. These programs are taking those who are running after Jesus and telling them that they are doing it wrong. Instead of critiquing every move we make… why don’t you act like Jesus and encourage us along the way?
It's time for the youth of America to take a stand. No longer should they become Christians, but followers of Jesus. It’s time to take a stand and show the world that they don’t know what a true Christian is.
A Christian is imperfect. A Christian makes mistakes. A Christian messes up over and over and over again. A Christian loves. A Christian forgives. A Christian accepts all people.
A Christian loves all people.
