If Only...

Last Wednesday night Zannie and I both raised the average age in our mid-week service considerably.  The Decatur D-Now kick-off was at Decatur Baptist Church and we wanted to see what was going on.  The young man leading the concert was, so I was told, the worship leader for Andy Stanley's church in Atlanta.  Yeah, we were a bit out of our element-in the presence of about 1500 sreaming, rocking, jumping, worshipping, and praising high school students. 

I began thinking later about when I was in high school and the youth group events we had. I remember going to the youth evangelism conference in Nashville one Saturday and I remember serving for a Valentine banquet.  That's about all the activities besides an occasion pizza party we ever had.  I began to wonder how things would have been if we had 1st Priority.  We've had almost 200 students across our county saved already this year because of 1st Priority.  I wondered how many young people might have turned out differently in years past if the youth pastors were like the dedicated student pastors of today.  I know that there have been great youth leaders in my generation and we probably have some not so good ones today.  But that is not what I have experienced and am experiencing today.

I do actually envy students today.  I have seen in recent days some of the most dedicated young men of God anywhere!  I see young people being taught to not only live out their faith on a daily basis but I see students leading frineds to Christ and brining their lost friends to church.  They are not doing this out of obligation or peer pressure but from a deep desire to see their friends enter into a saving realationship with Christ.

There is hope for this generation.  In fact, we could learn much about their commitment.