Revolutionaries
Revolutionaries is a popular word these days in church circles thanks (or no thanks depending on what side of the fence you are on) in large part to George Barna's book "Revolution". I haven't read the book but I pretty much get the idea.
This post isn't about Barna or the book but rather about a prophet I heard last week who talked about the Christian youth (an age group he defined as 25 or under although he did say if you were 26 and really wanted in you could) and how they were revolutionaries. This is a list of the characteristics he gave for revolutionaries.
1- They refuse to follow people who cast a personal vision before God's vision
2- They refuse to follow people who value popularity over truth.
3- They reject leaders who desire to leave their own legacy.
4- They won't donate their money to manmade movements.
5- They won't listen to people who promise God's power but their is no substance to their lives.
6- It is not enough for them to simply "go with the flow".
7- They desire transformation.
As I listened to him with my sons sitting next to me I realized there are two ways I could react to what I was hearing, ok, maybe three. I could get defensive and say basically this guy doesn't know what he is talking about. I could say "that's interesting" and settle back thinking God is going to do His thing in the next generation of believers so I can relax. Or I could realize that God is doing something in this young generation (something that I have believed for years) and I have to do everything possible to lay a foundation on which they can build. Even though I don't quite fit the 25 and under crowd I can still live with the values listed above, as a matter of fact, as a follower of Jesus I am not sure I am supposed to live any other way.
Regardless of what you have read or what you believe about revolutionaries I am sure you could agree that we need to do everything possible to prepare the next generation. We need to be praying for our kids. It's not nearly enough to send our kids off to Sunday school once a week so they can learn some bible stories or youth group on Fridays so they can have some fun in a safe setting. They need, and desire, to experience Jesus. They need to see us living a life of dependency on the Risen One. Seeking Him in prayer for all decisions big and small. They need to see us really loving our neighbors and remembering the widow and the orphan. They need to see us feeding the poor and clothing the naked. They need to see us making the decision against making our walk a little more comfortable and for denying ourselves, picking up our cross and following our Lord into life. They need to see us seeking and walking in truth, owning our mistakes and failures vs rationalizing our actions as we seek to cut corners to get a little more or make life a little easier.
Simply said, they need to see us simply trusting in the love of Father by which we are being ever transformed and made into the likeness of Jesus.
This post isn't about Barna or the book but rather about a prophet I heard last week who talked about the Christian youth (an age group he defined as 25 or under although he did say if you were 26 and really wanted in you could) and how they were revolutionaries. This is a list of the characteristics he gave for revolutionaries.
1- They refuse to follow people who cast a personal vision before God's vision
2- They refuse to follow people who value popularity over truth.
3- They reject leaders who desire to leave their own legacy.
4- They won't donate their money to manmade movements.
5- They won't listen to people who promise God's power but their is no substance to their lives.
6- It is not enough for them to simply "go with the flow".
7- They desire transformation.
As I listened to him with my sons sitting next to me I realized there are two ways I could react to what I was hearing, ok, maybe three. I could get defensive and say basically this guy doesn't know what he is talking about. I could say "that's interesting" and settle back thinking God is going to do His thing in the next generation of believers so I can relax. Or I could realize that God is doing something in this young generation (something that I have believed for years) and I have to do everything possible to lay a foundation on which they can build. Even though I don't quite fit the 25 and under crowd I can still live with the values listed above, as a matter of fact, as a follower of Jesus I am not sure I am supposed to live any other way.
Regardless of what you have read or what you believe about revolutionaries I am sure you could agree that we need to do everything possible to prepare the next generation. We need to be praying for our kids. It's not nearly enough to send our kids off to Sunday school once a week so they can learn some bible stories or youth group on Fridays so they can have some fun in a safe setting. They need, and desire, to experience Jesus. They need to see us living a life of dependency on the Risen One. Seeking Him in prayer for all decisions big and small. They need to see us really loving our neighbors and remembering the widow and the orphan. They need to see us feeding the poor and clothing the naked. They need to see us making the decision against making our walk a little more comfortable and for denying ourselves, picking up our cross and following our Lord into life. They need to see us seeking and walking in truth, owning our mistakes and failures vs rationalizing our actions as we seek to cut corners to get a little more or make life a little easier.
Simply said, they need to see us simply trusting in the love of Father by which we are being ever transformed and made into the likeness of Jesus.
posted by Mike Rea at 6:46 AM
1 Comments:
i consider myself somewhat revolutionary....or at least un-orthodox.
the problem I've found myself easily falling into is this....
"look at me, i'm a revolutionary. that's what makes me"
WRONG! Jesus Christ makes me, nothing else. I must remember that.
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