It is a well-known rule among youth ministers that any youth wanting to do something great for the Kingdom will encounter the greatest opposition, not by their unchurched friends, but by their churchgoing parents.
During my nine years of youth ministry, I cannot tell you the number of students who wanted to do something radical for God- go to the mission field, start a school-based ministry, go to Bible college, go into full-time ministry- but simply didn't because of their parents.
I believe it boils down to the fact that many parents, as well-meaning as they are, aren't as concerned with raising their children to follow God as they might believe.
Oh sure, I believe churchgoing parents want their children to be good people. They want them to make honest decisions, live lives of integrity, forgive others, and other things like that.
The problem is that non-Christians can do all those things. None of those things requires the presence of the Holy Spirit within their child. And if your biggest goals for your child can be accomplished without the leadership of the Holy Spirit, there is a big problem.
The main reasons that parents gave when they found out that their children wanted to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit to do radical things for the gospel were 1) it was too dangerous, and 2) it would ruin their lives. I'm not arguing with reason #1. Following God with a passion IS dangerous. You can't read the Bible for five minutes without finding someone up to their neck in trouble for following Jesus. However, if you were able to ask those guys if following Jesus was worth the risk, 100% of them would say absolutely yes.
I wholeheartedly disagree with reason #2. Doing radical things for God's kingdom will not ruin their lives. The only thing that it will ruin is the complacent vision of suburban American life that has invaded the church and is passed off as acceptable to God. We truly have people in our churches who, to quote Mike Yaconelli, "want their kids to grow up to have a nice life, a nice house in the suburbs, a nice BMW in the driveway, 2.3 nice kids, a nice jacuzzi, and a nice closet full of clothes."
I would argue that the OPPOSITE is true. I think that following this complacent vision of suburban America is what will ruin their lives. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Most men lead lives of quiet despair." I have found that is true. The only people that I know that aren't leading lives of quiet despair are the ones whose lives have been gloriously "ruined" by God. They are people who are doing amazing things for God's kingdom- loving the unlovable, planting churches, going to the mission field, stepping out on the edge, adopting children, and other radical things that complacent people criticize.
Parents, I understand that you want your children to be safe. I want that for my children too. However, I don't want my children to be safe at the risk of them not accomplishing what God wants them to accomplish on this earth. John Wesley said, "I am immortal until my work is done." So are your children. If they are going out to be obedient to the call of God on their lives, it is God's job to protect them. Believe me, He will. It takes no faith on your part whatsoever to keep your kids at home, discouraging their every attempt to follow God in a way that you deem unsafe. It takes great faith to turn them loose into the hand of an Almighty God who has big plans for them.
What I am afraid of is a bunch of people leading lives of quiet despair cranking out another generation of people who will lead lives of quiet despair. A generation of parents leading lives of quiet despair preventing the next generation from living out a fantastic calling from God because they themselves cannot imagine anything other than a life of quiet despair.
So, if you are a parent, stop opposing your children's desire to serve God in ways that you don't understand. Let them step out in faith and follow God if they have a calling. Help them discern their calling through prayer and wisdom, but don't oppose them. Maybe we'd have more giants of the faith coming out of our churches if their parents hadn't discouraged them early on. Maybe the reason that the church in America is in such trouble is that the very ones God is calling to ignite it are being opposed, not by Satan, but by parents who claim Christ as Lord and Savior.
Parents, stop opposing your kids' desire to serve God.
During my nine years of youth ministry, I cannot tell you the number of students who wanted to do something radical for God- go to the mission field, start a school-based ministry, go to Bible college, go into full-time ministry- but simply didn't because of their parents.
I believe it boils down to the fact that many parents, as well-meaning as they are, aren't as concerned with raising their children to follow God as they might believe.
Oh sure, I believe churchgoing parents want their children to be good people. They want them to make honest decisions, live lives of integrity, forgive others, and other things like that.
The problem is that non-Christians can do all those things. None of those things requires the presence of the Holy Spirit within their child. And if your biggest goals for your child can be accomplished without the leadership of the Holy Spirit, there is a big problem.
The main reasons that parents gave when they found out that their children wanted to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit to do radical things for the gospel were 1) it was too dangerous, and 2) it would ruin their lives. I'm not arguing with reason #1. Following God with a passion IS dangerous. You can't read the Bible for five minutes without finding someone up to their neck in trouble for following Jesus. However, if you were able to ask those guys if following Jesus was worth the risk, 100% of them would say absolutely yes.
I wholeheartedly disagree with reason #2. Doing radical things for God's kingdom will not ruin their lives. The only thing that it will ruin is the complacent vision of suburban American life that has invaded the church and is passed off as acceptable to God. We truly have people in our churches who, to quote Mike Yaconelli, "want their kids to grow up to have a nice life, a nice house in the suburbs, a nice BMW in the driveway, 2.3 nice kids, a nice jacuzzi, and a nice closet full of clothes."
I would argue that the OPPOSITE is true. I think that following this complacent vision of suburban America is what will ruin their lives. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Most men lead lives of quiet despair." I have found that is true. The only people that I know that aren't leading lives of quiet despair are the ones whose lives have been gloriously "ruined" by God. They are people who are doing amazing things for God's kingdom- loving the unlovable, planting churches, going to the mission field, stepping out on the edge, adopting children, and other radical things that complacent people criticize.
Parents, I understand that you want your children to be safe. I want that for my children too. However, I don't want my children to be safe at the risk of them not accomplishing what God wants them to accomplish on this earth. John Wesley said, "I am immortal until my work is done." So are your children. If they are going out to be obedient to the call of God on their lives, it is God's job to protect them. Believe me, He will. It takes no faith on your part whatsoever to keep your kids at home, discouraging their every attempt to follow God in a way that you deem unsafe. It takes great faith to turn them loose into the hand of an Almighty God who has big plans for them.
What I am afraid of is a bunch of people leading lives of quiet despair cranking out another generation of people who will lead lives of quiet despair. A generation of parents leading lives of quiet despair preventing the next generation from living out a fantastic calling from God because they themselves cannot imagine anything other than a life of quiet despair.
So, if you are a parent, stop opposing your children's desire to serve God in ways that you don't understand. Let them step out in faith and follow God if they have a calling. Help them discern their calling through prayer and wisdom, but don't oppose them. Maybe we'd have more giants of the faith coming out of our churches if their parents hadn't discouraged them early on. Maybe the reason that the church in America is in such trouble is that the very ones God is calling to ignite it are being opposed, not by Satan, but by parents who claim Christ as Lord and Savior.
Parents, stop opposing your kids' desire to serve God.
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Great Blog,Nice Information About Parents: stop opposing your kids' desire to serve God.