Considerations...

It came out of a single thought on a website that I frequent -- namely creative worship tour (http://www.creativeworshiptour.com)

How do you get teenage and child presentations in the church out of the realm of "a moment in the spotlight" or entertainment and bring them into true worship? This becomes even closer to my heart as I prepare for Sunday's Easter program.

Raised in a Pentecostal church in the Pentecostal culture, I was encouraged to worship at a youngish age (My parents got into church when I was six) Kids are in worship service with the adults and sing and worship with them. Often it starts as imitation but it then will blossom into true worship as they get older. By the time you are a teen, you take some adult responsibilities on in the church and when doing drama or music are taken as seriously as an adult.

Does this have to do with the sincerity of the child or teen? I think not actually. I think it has to do with adult expectations and what they model for the young people in their congregation. Do we want to dumb everything down for our children and young adults or do we want to raise the bar so that they experience God at a young age?

Granted, this takes a shift in many denominations, instead of keeping the children "entertained" during church, maybe they should participate in the worship. The more they participate and the more they get of the presence of God, the more they will want it. God is what keeps them as they grow up, not programs or activities but having the presence of God in their own lives and experiencing him for themselves.

Now lest anyone would think that I'm against Sunday School or programs for teens, I am EMPHATICALLY not against them. I'm the Sunday School director at my church and deal with childrens' programming, including our newly formed choir/praise streamer team. But my goal is not necessarily to be perfect, but rather to teach them to worship authentically and to experience God for themselves.

If we loose this generation because we are more concerned with being entertained then we are about their walk with God then we have lost our future as a church. With people talking about "the fall of Evangelical Christianity" we can no longer afford to just sit and wait on our kids to grow up. They need to take the leadership they are called to NOW and maybe even to give the adults a few lessons.

Jesus said to "suffer not the little children to come unto me". He did not say to wait until they were older, he wanted them in his presence even at the earliest of ages and the children in this story WANTED to be in the presence of Jesus.

What does that tell us now?

I'm disturbed by what I see in Christianity today, from changing standards to moral relativism to the whole "Emergent church" concept. Kids are learning the moral relativism in school, in pop culture, everywhere. Let's not let them learn it at church too.

Instead, let's lead them into a passionate relationship with Jesus Christ himself, teaching them right and wrong as we go. And let them embrace the creativity that they were gifted with. If those two things occur, then truth will continue to thrive.