Years ago, author and speaker Mike Yaconelli gripped my attention with a description of the human condition so accurate that it has remained with me ever since:

‘I live in a small, rural community. There are lots of cattle ranches around here, and, every once in a while, a cow wanders off and gets lost… Ask a rancher how a cow gets lost, and chances are he will reply, “Well, the cow starts nibbling on a tuft of green grass, and when it finishes, it looks ahead to the next tuft of green grass and starts nibbling on that one, and then it nibbles on a tuft of grass right next to a hole in the fence. It then sees another tuft of green grass on the other side of the fence, so it nibbles on that one and then goes on to the next tuft. The next thing you know, the cow has nibbled itself into being lost.”’ [He goes on to apply this metaphor to Christians saying…] ‘We keep moving from one tuft of activity to another, never noticing how far we have gone from home or how far away from the truth we have managed to end up.’

As a teenager and young Christian, I was intrigued by the words of Proverbs 3:5-6: ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.’ Years later, at my wedding, the words of Psalm 119:105 ‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path’ were part of a song we selected for the service, reminding us of the need to follow God’s word in our new life together. It has been my life’s desire to allow scripture to guide my every move and yet for me, like most believers, it is a difficult task. After years of youth work, the importance of sharing this desire with young people has become an increasingly prime focus in all that I do.

 

 

Often I have been heard to say in school assemblies and church sermons that the entire message of the Bible can be summed up in six words. God wants a relationship with us! Scripture sets the parameters and basis of that relationship. In other words, how we as imperfect (sinful) people are able to be in a relationship with a Holy God is made clear as God reveals not only himself, but also his plan for redemption. As we understand that truth, we begin to see the Bible not as a book about God but rather a way for our lives to grow in relationship to Him. This view is especially important in an age when some contend that the Bible is simply a great book of metaphors and stories. It contains both, but is so much more! The temptation in youth work is to use scripture as a text to support our ideas or to illustrate out talks. We too easily lose sight of the fact that the Bible is the living word of God!

The more we study scripture, the more we recognize that it contains the reality of relationship, the response we are to make in that relationship, and the resources we need for the relationship. It’s effect on our lives is summed up well in the words of Paul to Timothy (2 Timothy 3:16-17): ‘All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.’ If I take these seriously, then how specifically does the book shape my life? Quite simply, it teaches me how God wants me to live in relationship with Him, rebukes or shows me the errors of my ways, corrects my mistakes in both actions and thought, and trains me to live an upright life. 

 

Many Christians find it to be a major struggle to really spend time in the Bible and allow it to shape our lives. We make excuses such as “I don’t have time to read it” or “it’s a difficult book to understand”. The reality is that many of us regularly read newspapers, magazines, or information online. The Bible is really no more difficult to read than any of these as long as we are reading a good modern translation such as the NIV, ESV, or NET. A good study Bible has helpful notes to shed light on the tricky bits. The truth is that many believers are simply too comfortable in their present lives to be challenged by scripture to live differently! If we are honest, many times we just don’t have a desire to be transformed.

How does scripture transform us? As we read, the Bible informs us of the ways that God would have us live. As we recognise the gap between the life that God wants and the life that we are presently living, the spirit transforms us so that we conform to God’s ways. In this we become more like Jesus, which is what the word Christian means – to be like Christ. This is the process that Paul is referring to in Romans 12:2 ‘Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will.’ Our minds are renewed by scripture, which transforms our understanding of God, of ourselves, and the world around us.

There are plenty of books that go into great detail on how the Bible transforms us. I will just share a few examples to get us thinking. The Bible changes our…

 

We live in a world that seeks immediate gratification and freedom to pursue all pleasures. Yet, Titus 2:11-15 indicates that God wants us to live lives marked by purity rather than pleasure in order that we are set apart as His people. This is radically different to the culture around us no matter how strictly we interpret the passage. God desires us to be different! Not only that, but God wants us to encourage others and seek to help them to live such lives. This is the challenge of transformation, God seeking to mold and shape us. As we allow His word to transform us, we begin to see the world from God’s perspective.

 

‘For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope - the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.’

 

As youth workers, our perspective is often shaped significantly by the youth culture that we are immersed in. Most of us absorb the same media and pay attention to the trends that young people are being influenced by. We seek to see the world through the lens of teens. However, our understanding of this culture must be subjected to the lens of a
Biblical worldview. When our own lives are being transformed, we have something to say to those whom God has called us to give guidance to.

 

 

Years ago I used to visit a monthly antiques market in pursuit of old furniture for my house. I would wake up on those Saturday mornings, excited for the bargain hunt (though no one there said ‘cheap as chips’). My morning was consumed with preparation and by noon I was on the road working hard to stay within the speed limit. Rain, snow, or sunshine, I was ready for action! Collecting antique furniture to restore was a passion of mine. Over the years, I realised that my passion for God was not the same. Had it been so, waking up every Sunday morning would have produced a similar effect. Time spent in scripture directs our passion in life. 1 Peter 2:1-3 suggests that we shift our passionate pursuits to Godly pursuits. ‘Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.’ Notice the word ‘crave’ which to me conjures up the image of desperation and excitement. When we crave something, we will go to great lengths to gain it. David, in his 63^rd Psalm expresses ‘O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you...’ and goes on with great expressions of the passion that he had for God. Reading the Psalms ignites such passion in us as well. Our lives are shaped by our passions. It is for these that we are willing to endure and suffer many things.

I have rarely questioned my passion for youth work. For over twenty years I have felt the rush of adrenalin before youth group meetings, residentials, events, school visits and so forth. I have however, faced a few ‘darker moments’ when I struggled to gather up the energy for my work. After a few of these, it became clear that there is a direct correlation between my passion for God and my passion for youth work. In those times I recalled the words of a wise friend who said ‘your ministry will only be as strong as your walk with God’. We can find a degree of passion for youth work from a desire to succeed (or simply to not fail) or from other internal motivations. However, nothing will last or be as effective as the passion stirred up by time spent in the living word of God.

 

 

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, he gave them the pattern that we now refer to as the Lord’s Prayer. I take great comfort in knowing that even the disciples who walked with Jesus needed to be taught how to pray. Scripture shapes our prayer lives as we read the prayers of others in both the Old Testament and New. Paul instructed the Thessalonians to pray without ceasing and in most of his letters he refers to a constancy of prayer in his life. Philippians 4:6-7 reminds us of the important effect of prayer, that we replace earthy worries with the peace of God. ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’ Scripture shapes us to be people of prayer. Prayer shapes the sort of people that we are. This is the conversation that sustains our relationship with God. The end result is transformation, becoming something that we were not previously.

Acts 1:14 points out that the early church was devoted to praying together (‘They all joined together constantly in prayer…’). Not only does scripture teach us to pray in order that we develop an intimate relationship with God, it is the primary source of power and transformation in our leadership communities. Youth leaders need to be devoted to prayer both personally and corporately. Prayer shapes the way we collectively view our work and transforms us as a team. Prayer shapes our young people as well, both personally and collectively.

 

 

The beautiful description in Psalm 1 of the person whose life is guided by scripture first captivated me while leading a small group Bible study with a group of teenagers. The image of a tree planted by a living stream, bearing fruit in season, and living a long and prosperous life is very appealing. I recently heard a well-known Christian author and speaker describe himself as a ‘red letter Christian’. He explained in an interview that his desire is to live faithfully to the words of Jesus. If we recognise that the Bible shapes our lives, then we should expect to live differently. If perspective describes how we see the world, passion describes how we feel, then prayer is how we relate to God, and the natural outcome of all three is the new pattern for our daily living.

James 1:22 reminds us ‘Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.’ Head knowledge, while essential, is not sufficient for life change. As James also reminds us ‘faith without works is dead’. In my last year of school, I was in an ecology course that took long walks at least once a week. Nearby to our school was a forest where we studied a stagnant pond. Without a source of fresh water and no outlet either, the pond was in a sense dead. As we approached the pond, we could smell the decay within it. The challenge for us is to allow God’s word to be a living stream, bringing life into our souls. The only alternative as believers is to end up stagnant, smelly, and dead in the water. The reality in youth work is that teenagers can spot a fake from a mile away!

 

Reboot

As the most basic of computer and technology users know, the simplest strategy when a computer has an error is to reboot, that is to stop and start it again. I find this works with my mobile phone as well. It gets stuck, the screen goes blank, and a simple restart will fix the problem. Given that we are like cows that easily wander astray, the grace of God’s word is that we can start fresh each day. The process of shaping our lives is a life long journey that begins each time we open the book.

In Deuteronomy 6:4-5 we read the summary of the law recited by the Jewish people on a regular basis. It was also the foundation of Jesus’ summary of the law, reminding them of who God is and how we respond to that truth. Verses 6-9 instructed them in detail how to teach this to future generations. Jesus’ great commission found in all the gospels and the book of Acts, instructs us to teach others to obey all that Jesus has commanded for us. We only begin to do this when the teaching of scripture is changing our perspective, shaping our passion, guiding our prayer life, and moulding our patterns of living. As this book shapes our lives, we are equipped to begin to shape the lives of others with it. This the real calling in youth work: to engage young people with the truths of scripture so that their lives will be transformed as well. Next month then, we will look specifically at how this book shapes our work with teenagers.

Dave Wright is the coordinator for Youth Ministries in the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina. He also served for 15 years as a full time parish based youth minister in both the US and UK.

 

 
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