The commitment level model gives the impression that all people hop onto the conveyor belt, moving from the pre-Christian to the ministry level through six simple and natural steps. In reality spiritual growth is anything but natural or smooth. Churched youth face the danger of backsliding because they have heard it all before; they have lost the excitement of the basics; they do not have an earth-shattering testimony to tell; they are battling to discover a first-hand faith; they have the ongoing struggle of living a good life; and they struggle with apathy die to failures in their lives. The original model of youth ministry, as developed by Duffy Robbins, highlighted the Grow level person as one who will submit to spiritual growth - they don't take the initiative for spiritual growth in their lives. They could be classed as stunted in their growth. These Grow level youth could be Non-Christian (Christianised but not converted) or they could be Christian (believers who are calloused).
What do we do about new converts who suddenly stop coming to youth group? What do we do when growing believers suddenly seem to reject the faith that they have held to closely for so long?
1. Causes of Backsliding
Revelation 2:2-5 seems to imply that even Christians may lose their first love. What are some of the causes of this condition? What could possibly steal the love of a believer for Christ? What attitudes or actions could cause us to leave our first love?
A. Carnality
This is the condition where a Christian knowingly and consistently lives for themselves and not for Christ. There are four kinds of people: (1) the natural person - 1 Cor 2:14 (the non-Christian), (2) the spiritual person - 1 Cor 2:15-16 (the mature Christian), (3) the babies in Christ - 1 Cor 3:1-2a (the infant Christian), and (4) the carnal person - 1 Cor 3:3 (the carnal Christian). Paul refers to this condition in 1 Cor 13. Here he says four things about the carnal Christian: they are (a) genuine Christians (1 Cor 3:1), (b) stagnant Christians (1 Cor 3:2-3a), (c) fleshly-minded Christians (1 Cor 3:3), and (d) rebellious Christians (1 Cor 3:3b-4).
B. Inappropriate Response to God’s Word
In Jesus’ parable in Luke 8:44 he speaks of four responses to the Word of God: (1) failure to respond - (v11-12) these people reject the Word outright; (2) shallow response - (v13) these people accept the Word but when trials or troubles come they quit; and (3) choosing the world over the Word - (v14) these people receive the Word and grow.
C. Going Backward
This is a state of persistent spiritual regression - which is often called backsliding. There are five signs that this is happening: (a) neglect (Heb 2:2-3a) - either passive disobedience or taking things for granted; (b) spiritual insensitivity (Heb 3:12-13) - they have hard hearts; (c) refusal to use the spiritual diet needed to grow (Heb 5:11-12) - they have dull ears; (d) withdrawal (Heb 10:23-25) - they have idle feet or absent bodies; and (e) rejection (Heb 10:26) - they give up completely.
D. Fleshly Living
This is the condition where people are living to self and doing evil things.
E. Temptation to Quit or Turn Back
Stagnation actually involves losing ground, going backward. Christians can go so far back that it is impossible for others to bring them to repentance - Hebrews 6:6.
F. Tolerating Sin
Sin, like a cancer, must be treated - it cannot be left. The person must admit their sin, then the cure must be applied. If the person will not confess, then discipline is needed. At times there is a place for surgery (1 Cor 5:9-11).
People in these conditions need to understand that there are high costs for continuing in their state: (a) divine discipline (Heb 12:5-6); (b) unanswered prayer (James 1:6-7); (c) loss of assurance (2 Peter 1:10); (d) spiritual amnesia (2 Peter 1:10); (e) physical death (1 Cor 10:1b-5); and (f) judgement day (2 Cor 5:9-11) where people will be judged for their deeds, dependability, and declarations. There is always the possibility that the sinner can be brought back (James 5:19-20a).
Tom Bisset, in Why Christian Kids Leave the Faith (Michigan: Discovery House Publishers, 1992) researched why Christian young people leave the faith and came up with the following four fundamental reasons (for each he has a chapter on how to respond):
(1) People leave because they have troubling, unanswered questions about their faith. They begin to doubt that the gospel is able to answer the tough questions of life. Response: provide them with a faith of evidences and expectations. Our attitude to youth who doubt is as important as our answers. We must show that we understand why they are questioning and doubting. They need to know that it is safe to ask questions. Youth Leaders should also answer questions before they are even raised by youth. Youth also need to know that adults are not absolutely sure about everything and that on some issues there are different views. While we must avoid an over- intellectualised faith we must fall into the opposite extreme of an unthinking faith.
(2) People leave the faith because their faith isn't working for them. They have tried but seem unable to find the peace, joy, meaning and happiness the Christian faith has promised to them. Response: provide youth with a faith than works. People who are spiritually disillusioned are probably the hardest to help. To help them we must firstly be more open and honest about ourselves and our Christian experience - we must stop pretending and start telling the truth. It is okay to share about our weaknesses and struggles - in fact it is essential. Second, we must support this honesty policy by incarnating God's truth and love in authentic Christian lives. We have to demonstrate that the gospel works by translating it into words and actions.
(3) People leave because other things in life become more important that their faith. They slowly drift away preoccupied by business, pleasure, material ambitions, personal problems or other hard realities that are part of life. Response: provide youth with a faith that endures. There are so many temptations around that can lead young people away from the faith. Leaders need to provide spiritual safe havens where youth can find refuge from the attraction of the world but also a context in which they are strengthened to deal with the distractions of life. Also leaders need to teach youth about God and the realities of the spiritual world around them.
(4) People leave because they never personally owned their own faith. They have made few, if any, authentic faith choices in their lives, having conformed to the spiritual expectations of others. Response: provide youth with an authentic faith. Most young people feel that they are expected to behave and believe in a certain way. They never feel free to make decisions about what or how they will believe. To encourage a first-hand faith leaders need to aim for authenticity, decide to let go, encourage freedom with responsibility and make room for failure.
Apart from these four reasons, Tom came up with the following secondary factors: personal tragedies, child abuse, divorce, dysfunctional family or church life and homosexuality.
2. Cures for Backsliding
How do we deal with people who have lost their first love? We have a responsibility to care for believers: (a) to care enough to comfort (2 Cor 1:3-4); (b) to care enough to stimulate (Heb 10:24-25) and love, to meet together; (c) to care enough to share (Acts 4:32); (d) to care enough to confront (Matt 5:23-24, 18:15-17); (e) to care enough to withdraw (2 Thess 3:6); and (f) to care enough to restore (Gal 6:1).
Revelations 2:5 provides a way back for those who have lost their first love: “Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.”
A. Remember
There are three things that must be remembered: (1) Remember who Jesus is - We have to remember our previous relationship with Christ - and with this we think of Christ Who was God, Who became man, Who lived for us, died for us and was resurrected and exalted at the right hand of the Father. (2) Remember who we are - Romans 6 says: (a) we must know something (v1-10) - we belong to Christ; (b) we must reckon something (v5-11) - we died to the old life, we now belong to Christ; (c) we must yield to something (v12-14) - to our new identity in Christ; and (d) we must end our slavery (v15) - we serve a new master. (3) Remember what awaits us - (a) the reward of contentment (Rom 8:18)l; (b) the reward of needs supplied (Phil 4:19); and (c) the reward in the Kingdom (Rev 2-3), including special intimacy (2:7), special crown (2:10), special honour (2:17), special position (2:26-28), special invitation (3:4-5), special recognition (3:12), and special authority (3:21).
B. Repent
We must come to a place where we repent of our condition: (a) we can do it ourselves (1 John 1:9); (b) we can have others bring us to repentance (1 Cor 5:1-13; 2 Cor 7:8); (c) we can have God’s discipline bring us to repentance (1 Cor 11:29-32); or (d) we can have Satan’s judgement bring us to repentance (1 Tim 1:18-20). We must decide to get rid of the other lover in our lives (James 4:4).
C. Repeat
The restored backslider is to go back and do the first works: (a) restore our mind (1 Col 3:2) and (b) restore our walk (Eph 4:17). Eph 4:22-24 says we apply the mind of Christ by taking off the old life, saying no to it, putting on the new life, saying yes to it by realising who we are in Christ: namely, brand new creations.
Recommended Reading: Returning to Your First Love, Tony Evans, Moody, 1995.
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