This Morning

So this morning I got the pleasure of hearing Tony Campolo in Winkler. He was doing a Youth Workers breakfast/session. This is now the third time I have heard him, and i have to say, he is so amazing! I love to hear his insights into our culture and into the world we live in. He had many good things to say, some that were super funny, and others that were very profound. Essentially though he said there are three issues that need to be dealt with in Youth Ministry.

1) That our Youth know the REAL Jesus.
Bernard Shaw said, "God made us in His image, and we turned around and returned the favor." It is important for us to take a careful look at the Jesus we worship, and make sure that we are actually worshiping Him, and not what we would like Him to be like. Perhaps obviously to us, is the United States and their blend of Patriotism and God. However, we aren’t free from turning God into our image either it just manifests itself differently in Manitoba
2) Youth need to have faith that there are great things in life.
Essentially he says, our youth need more than what society tells us is important. i.e. Get married, live a good life, make money, and keep your nose clean. These are good, but it isn't enough. To me this brings back the whole discussion of 300, the idea that these men buck society, and live for something greater than themselves.. It isn't enough just to make money and have a good life. We need a cause that can move us to die, it is what we all really want. It is also important to remember that what is in our past DOES NOT define who we will be. Campolo points towards those who survived the concentration camps during WWII. The only thing that those people had in common was that they hoped for the future, and had things they wanted to accomplish. It is interesting that there are more Nobel Peace prize winners that survived the concentration camps than any other group of people. We need something great to live for.
3) Sexuality
This is obviously an issue that we need to talk about. How do we teach our youth about sexuality in a healthy way. Campolo talked about those chastity pledge cards that a lot of teens in the states sign. The problem with those is that teens who sign them are 10 times more likely to engage in oral sex. Campolo also suggested that we as a church need to teach our young people how to break up lovingly. Often break ups are incredibly painful, and are made more painful, because we don't know how to do it. So sex is a big issue that needs to be dealt with.

So like I said, it was awesome, and there was lots of brain food and laughs. And as usual after hearing him speak I wonder if I should sell everything I own and go and live in the slums somewhere. I guess I still have to wrestle with this whole materialism thing.