KneEmail - a devotional by Mike Benson associated with Forthright Magazine
Leaving
ACCORDING TO VARIOUS studies done by organizations such as The Barna Group and the National Network of Youth Ministries, between 69 and 94 percent of Christian youths will abandon their faith after they complete high school...
...Why are our youth leaving home for college, and leaving the church at the same time? We will start the blame game, (and there is enough for everyone), with the youth ministers. Have you noticed the change in youth ministry over the past decade or two? It seems the trend today is to separate the youth from the congregation and keep them entertained. Let's play cool music and make lots of trips to fun places. Sure, it gets kids in the door where they can hear the gospel. However, are they really learning what it means to walk in the servant shoes of Jesus? Are they learning what it means to be part of a church family and not just a fun-filled small group? My friends, when it comes to entertainment we cannot compete with what the world has to offer! Our young people leave that close-knit small group and go looking for something else to entertain them, and Satan gladly provides it.
...Ultimately, the responsibility falls on us as parents. Too many parents hand their children over to the youth minister and expect them to turn their children into Super-Christians. Parents, God have us the responsibility to train our children! Take a look at Deuteronomy 6:6-9. Notice in verse 7 it says, "You shall teach them diligently to your children" (ESV). We need to realize they are learning from us whether we like it or not. I don't care if your youth minister is Mickey Mouse or the Apostle Paul, your children are going to learn by watching your example. Our children will learn a thousand times more about what it means to be a Christian by watching our example than they will from watching "The Passion of the Christ". We need to teach it, but parents we need to live it! (Johnie D. Fredman)
KneEmail: “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates" ( Deuteronomy 6:6-9).