Please see two important resource links for you below:
There was a Super Bowl commercial this year that featured Bruce Springsteen and it caught my attention. Did you see it? If not, check it out here. One day after it came out during the Super Bowl, it already had 28 million views on YouTube. It speaks of “the middle” as being a place where we need to meet. Yes, there is some great truth in there…our culture needs healing from the bitter division that has crippled our interactions and relationships. In many ways and on many issues, we need to meet in the middle. Yet, in other ways, we should never meet in the middle. There are some issues on which we should never compromise.
Maybe if you’re like me, you’ve found that the thing that gets left out of the conversation in society is the effect upon our young people and future generations. My heart is always tuned to them, and I ask myself and the LORD in prayer, “How will this affect students?”
Students bridge the significant gap of culture right now. I often envision them with a foot on each side as they drift further and further apart. Eventually, they will need to choose a side. Imagine facing the complex world that they do. A world that says to them, “You can choose your own gender,” “The Bible is a myth” at worst, and “one of plenty of options for truth” at best. These messages and many others are bombarding our students. What is your message to them? Do you ignore these other messages? …do you confront those messages? Do you stay silent and therefore appear neutral? These can be overwhelming questions. But remember, you DO have a voice.
As you speak into their precious lives, how do you decide what issues you should help students “meet in the middle” on, and what issues do you show them the importance of how to “stand your ground”? If you follow me or any of our staff at Never The Same on social media, you’ll notice we don’t speak about “news cycle” events that come and go constantly. And we don’t speak about politics. This is by design. Yes, we have our own personal opinions, and as always, we strive to hold those opinions to the Truth of Scripture. But what about when those views clash with culture? Right now, the differences are more and more evident. Hear this:
THE NEXT 2-3 YEARS IN MINISTRY WILL IMPACT THE NEXT 20-30 YEARS OF OUR CULTURE
Biblical truth, sexuality, and other issues are important ones to speak about in our ministries.
Let me share 2 important conversations that can help you.
- One is about your voice in political and social issues found here.
- Two is about the future of youth ministry and why this 2-3 year period is absolutely defining for youth ministry. Found here.
Keep fighting the good fight for your students!
Jeff Eckart, CEO
Never The Same
PS – Our podcast, the Thought Factory, is available on all podcast platforms. Subscribe and join the conversation.
© 2021, Never The Same