Picture
Imagine this:

You receive a card in the mail.  It's nicely wrapped and packaged, and you're kind of excited to open it.  You tear off the ribbon, open the envelope, pull out the card, open it...and it says this:


You are invited to come to my house
Hope you can make it!

You stare blankly at the invitation, confused and a little annoyed.  You ask questions like, "When am I supposed to be there?  Who sent this?  Where is the house?  Should I bring anything?  How long will the party last?"

You can't make a decision to go or not to go...because you have no idea what you're committing to.

Or maybe you can do what I've seen hundreds of teenagers do:

You write a note in reply that says, "I'll be there." 
You jump in your car and drive, though you don't know where you're going.
You bring nothing with you because you haven't been asked to.
You choose a direction on the highway because you haven't been given one.

You were confused by the invitation.


We had a great time this past weekend at Rock the Universe in Orlando.  We saw some great concerts, rode some great rides, and made some hilarious memories.

During the Sunday morning worship service, which was @ Universal Studios, I witnessed yet again an extremely confusing invitation time.

The speaker was engaging.  A former All-American wrestler and a current Lifeway executive, he told some funny stories and challenged several hundred kids to prepare educationally, physically, and spiritually for the life that lay ahead of them.

All of a sudden, seemingly out of nowhere, I hear him say, "If you'd like to begin that relationship today, I want you to stand up."

Maybe 50 kids stood up.

The speaker then led the congregation to rejoice in seeing so many teenagers become "part of the family" of Christians today!

With no mention of the cross, no mention of sin, no mention of repentance...students who stood up were told that they had just become a "part of the family".

I saw two teenage guys stand up on the front row in the center section.  The first one to stand up was dozing as the invitation was given and seem to be awakened from his sleep as soon as the speaker said, "...i want you to stand up..."  So what did he do?  He stood up!  The kid next to him very reluctantly stood up, looking all around himself in every direction, as if asking, "Should I be standing up?"

The speaker stood directly in front of that second kid and said, "Welcome to the family.  This means we'll be seeing each other in heaven!"

Listen...I'm not trying to drag anyone through the mud.  But as preachers, as teachers of the Bible, we have a great and constant responsibility to preach the gospel FULLY (Romans 15:19).  We can't leave out sin.  We can't leave out the cross.  We can't leave out repentance. 

And we certainly can't offer someone the assurance of salvation simply because they chose to stand up out of confusion.

I'll be honest.  As a pastor to high school students, I was pumped that my kids stayed seated.  I'd rather have those conversations one on one than have to clean up that kind of theological mess.

TEENAGERS:  Count the cost of following Christ.  It's not as easy and pain-free as some make it out to be.  It is, however, worth every minute.

YOUTH LEADERS:  If you can't, or are unwilling to, approach sin, the cross, and repentance while giving an invitation, then leave it to someone who will. 


til the whole world knows,


Pastor Kevin
 


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