According to a recent study performed by the Barna Group (How Teenagers’ Faith Practices are Changing – July 12, 2010) teenagers are less inclined to have spiritual conversations about their faith in Christ with non-believers in hopes that they might accept Jesus Christ as their Savior.
David Kinnaman, president of the Barna Group, noted: “Christian teenagers are taking cues from a culture that has made it unpopular to make bold assertions about faith or be too aggressively evangelistic.” Furthermore, the research also revealed that the vast majority of these teenagers found it “cool to be a Christian”, but don’t find it worthwhile to talk about their faith to someone else.
As I read over the disappointing stats of this study I asked myself the question, “Why?” Here are 6 brief reasons why I believe today’s Christian teenagers are ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ that has the power to save souls from the penalty of sin (Rom. 6:23).
Parents aren’t burdened for souls – Most teenagers base their passion for lost souls by the passion their parents have. I’m finding more and more Christian parents not having a burden to reach the lost for Jesus Christ and it is being transferred and reflected in their children. We as parents ought to be the pacesetters and teach and demonstrate to the next generation how to reach the lost for Christ.
Church ministries aren’t providing opportunities or training – I know this is not the case in every Bible-believing church. There are many awesome church ministries that are equipping their members and providing opportunities. However, most church ministries are content with the status-quo. The “our 4 and no more” mentality is more prevalent than you think! When a church loses the passion for souls it will not see the need to equip the saints to witness, which results in the church becoming intellectual and eventually closes its doors. It’s time for Bible believing and preaching local churches to renew their zeal for lost people and diligently train their members to boldly and aggressively impact their communities with the gospel of Jesus Christ!
Culture’s push for post-modern philosophies – Many of the secular universities and colleges (along with several compromising “Christian” colleges) are teaching a post-modern philosophy, such as relative truth, pluralism, rejection of the deity of Jesus Christ, rejection of biblical authority, etc. The bottom-line is to question anything and everything. Unfortunately, many Christian teenagers are weak in the area of apologetics (defense of the faith) and are accepting and tolerating these secular and unbiblical worldviews.
Persecution is heating up in the USA – Believe it or not, but religious freedom is slowing fading away in America. Not only does persecution reveal the bold committed Christians, but persecution also reveals non-believers in the church and the carnal Christians who are focused more on “living the life.” Many are ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ because of fear of rejection. What does the Bible say in Matthew 5:10-12? “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”
Intellectualism – In many Christian circles today there is a lot of thinking and talking taking place and little doing. I’m more and more convinced that when Christians neglect to win souls to Christ the more intellectual they become. Yes, Christians must know what they believe and why they believe it, but this age of reasoning we are living is a result of Christians not putting behavior to their beliefs.
Christian Bubble – This research also noted that Christian churches appear to have fewer interactions among non-Christian teens than in the late 1990s. In other words, Christian teens are living in a bubble. Many can live their entire week without any interaction with unsaved people. They eat their Christian breakfast in their Christian home and then get in their Christian car to arrive at their Christian school to hang out with their Christian friends then participate in their Christian sports then conclude their day with their Christian shower and sleep in their Christian bed. I’m using exaggeration to make a point. It is important to have a Christ-centered life, but we must have interaction with unsaved people so we can be salt and light. It’s time to live outside the bubble! What did Christ do in Matthew 9:10-13?
The sin of silence is causing many Christians to be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love what Paul said in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power to God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” May this be our heart beat too!
