Some Stupid Punk-Kid’s Shoulder

Last night a few other leaders and I took a pack of kids from our youth to go see Hillsong United’s “The I-Heart Film,” which was a one-time event, broadcast via satellite from Australia to North America. Since we have youth group every Wednesday night, we couldn’t take everyone (potentially 200 kids), so we made it optional for whoever wanted to come along. If you’re a follower of Christ and don’t know what this film is, first, emerge from the cave in which you dwell (take no offense, I’m kidding, sort of), then do a Google search with terms like “The I-Heart Revolution” or “we’re all in this together” and read up on this movement. Or just go to I-Heart.org and get involved.

I could talk all about the injustices and horrible atrocities that we were made privy to through this film, but I won’t. I could talk about how I have been given a kick in the butt to start reaching out to the people around me, but I won’t. I could talk about a lot of the things this film was mostly intended to get us talking and thinking about, but I won’t… because there’s other bloggers that are probably doing the job better than I can. And to be honest, I’ve heard it all before. Don’t get me wrong, I mean that in the most positive way because we need to keep hearing it. We are a desensitized people living in our affluent Western bubble. What was different about this film compared to the way we’ve heard it before was the delivery. It wasn’t an old guy holding a hungry and dirty child in his arms asking for $.04 a day (which nonetheless is still somewhat effective on me), it was a broad reawakening to the condition of the “have-not’s” and a call to action for us “have’s.” It was an empowering message to us that, for example, leaving ten minutes early for work and chilling for a bit with the homeless guy that sits outside of your office can actually put a dent in this pandemic of loneliness that knows no cultural or socioeconomic boundaries. Like they said in the film, “it’s happening on your doorstep if you want to look for it.”

But I said I wasn’t going to talk about all of that “help the poor” stuff. One of many things that really stuck with me about this film was what I believe Jadwin Gillies (can you find a more Australian name?) said, “…a lot of people look at us as the future, but I think we need to see that we are the present as well.” Cliché? Maybe. True and pertinent? Yes.

Joel Houston, who co-wrote the film, did a wonderful job throughout to point out various stories of people in every part of history who took initiative and had a serious impact on the world. The trend in each of these stories was that these “game changers” were all young men and women/teenagers/20-somethings. In every generation, it’s primarily young people who stand up and challenge the status quo. Why do you think it’s so popular for the youth of today to take a liberal political stance as opposed to a conservative one? It’s not just Viacom’s subliminal influence through MTV to push the left wing agenda on teenagers (conspiracy!), it’s simply in our nature to think forward and progressively, and to not “conserve” the ways of our fathers, but to rethink them. (I am not advocating any political view.) This is especially true in this “your-MacBook-Pro-is-outdated-three-weeks-after-you-buy-it” society.

It’s funny because probably every tired and worn out status quo was once a progressive idea that was pioneered by some group of young people. Then that same group of young people grow old and hang on to their once progressive ways until another group of young people come along and challenge that status quo. It’s a beautiful cycle. It’s a natural cycle. We need not fight it, or we will suffer the consequences of division and generational gaps. Do us youngsters need guidance and wisdom? Absolutely. Do we have it all figured out? Not a chance. But we are free, full of energy, and ready to conquer the world. So why not harness this fervor and zeal, rather than reject it? Harness it, and watch your local church body revitalize with a passion for God and a heart for the lost. Reject it, and your local body will likely die in its ways. Every time I turn around, I hear about another traditional church in New England closing its doors. Our generation is no longer concerned with religious ceremonies, pretty buildings, stained glass windows, and the like. We want to see church as it relates to those who are not yet part of it, not how it relates to those who are “preferred customers.”

And finally, let me throw some scripture out there. I think Ezra 3 captures this concept well. The Jews had returned from Babylonian captivity and had begun laying the foundation for the new temple. To make a long story short, some of these Jews were old enough to remember Solomon’s temple, yet some of them only knew a life of worship without one. As construction commenced, there were mixed emotions: shouts of joy from the young who were grateful to have a temple at all, yet weeping from the older priests and family heads. There are two explanations for the weeping. One says that these older folks were letting out cries of joy. The other explanation says they were weeping because this new temple wasn’t nearly as elaborate and extravagant as the last one, so they let out cries of nostalgia for the “good ol’ days.”

Maybe there’s a reason theologians can’t decide on why they were weeping. Maybe it’s because we are supposed to make a choice between the two. I have seen the glorious unity that takes place when generational gaps close as those who have gone before us come to our side and let out cries of joy as the old passes and the new rises up. Yet too often in church our fathers and grandfathers fall into the latter category, holding tightly to the way things used to be, letting their cries of nostalgia taint and discourage the young cries of joy. It’s important that we keep a healthy balance of praise between where your local church has come from and where it’s headed.

I often joke with my buddies that we’ll never turn out to be petulant old men with no tolerance for the youngins, but we don’t know that. It’s just too easy to settle down into our ways. I see Ezra 3 as a challenge to stay forever young, as Bob Dylan sang. Some seek perpetual youth with Botox and Acai berry extract concoctions, but as a friend once Tweeted, “Old or young isn’t about age. If you find your excitement in the future, you’re young. If you find it in the past, you’re old.”

When I’m all ripe and grown up, I want to put my hand on some stupid punk-kid’s shoulder and weep for joy as we peer into the metaphorical sunset and look to the days to come. After all, We’re All In This Together, and that stupid punk-kid could be the next Martin Luther for all we know.

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