Rick Warren, in The Purpose Driven Church, identifies five commitment levels: (1) Uncommitted (Community); (2) Committed to Attendance (Crowd); (3) Committed to Membership (Congregation); (4) Committed to Maturity (Committed); and (5) Committed to Ministry (Core).
"I'd like to suggest that you are missing a level. Actually, it's not my suggestion, but a Youth Specialties speaker, named Marv Penner's, suggestion. Yes, the Crowd, Congregation, Committed, Core and others exist, but there is also the Calloused Kids (like the callous on the back of your foot). This group of kids consist of those kids that have grown up in the church and have, basically, build up an immunity to the gospel message. They are defined by apathy, are impossible to please know-it-alls, who you feel like shaking like crazy yelling "Jesus Loves You" at, but they would only look at you and say, "So?". You know the ones. They require a particular strategy to influence with the gospel and to once again warm their hearts up to the exciting life God wills for them." Dan King, College Drive Youth Ministries, Lethbridge, Canada.
I agree that such a group of young people exist in Christian youth groups, I can name a few in our group at present, but I would prefer to group them under the category of Churched Youth (who may be at the Come or Grow Levels) as opposed to adding a separate commitment level into the model.
The commitment levels are the levels that we hope to move youth through on their way to spiritual maturity. For this reason I would argue against adding Calloused Youth in as a separate stage - we obviously don't want to teach youth how to be calloused before they become committed to growth. Just as there are different characteristics among Unchurched Youth, so there are different characteristics or categories among Churched Youth. I think it would be good
to explore what these churched youth are like.
Jim Marian wrote a book, Growing Up Christian (Victor Books, 1992), where he deals specifically with youth who have grown up in the church. He starts with a list of common types of Christian youth in the average youth group:
1. The Walking Concordance - knows all about the Bible but does not put it into practice.
2. The Attitudinal Apathetic - they have also heard it all before, but have chosen to tune out.
3. Mr Rebellious - this person feels ripped off when they see the fun non-Christian friends are having.
4. The Passive Observer - they are nice, polite and believing, but their real, meaningful involvement in minimal.
5. The Workaholic Worrywart - they are sincere but confused and troubled, viewing the Christian life as a list of do's and don'ts, and service opportunities as a chance to gain spiritual brownie points.
6. The Doubter - reflective, intelligent youth begin to question their faith. Some are sincere and want to find answers, while others become skeptical and critical.
7. The Discipline Problem - the youth with excess energy who cannot sit still for more than five minutes.
Jim summarizes this list by saying: "Obviously, this is not an exhaustive list, and not all church youth will manifest these characteristics. In fact, many are quite enthusiastic, co-operative, spiritually orientated, and balanced as they strive to grow in their Christian walks. But realize that the subculture of "biologicals" in your group are different than other teens who make up your student population. Whether obedient or belligerent, enthusiastic or apathetic, these
students share a common Christian upbringing and heritage that affects them all in some way" (Page 17).
He deals with a number of priviliges and pains of growing up Christian.
PRIVILEGES of growing up Christian:
1. Knowledge of God's love and forgiveness
2. Christian moral and ethical standards
3. Support of Christian fellowship and positive peer influences
4. Exposure to Christian role models
5. Knowledge and application of Scripture
6. Beginning the process of Christian growth and maturity
7. Hope - Christian youth has the assurance of ultimate salvation
PAINS of growing up Christian:
1. A legalistic home
2. Guilt from not measuring up to high expectations
3. Lack of an impressive testimony
4. Boredom with church and the Christian life
5. Struggles to own their faith
6. Curiosity with sin
Jim draws on faith development theory to present four stages in faith development:
1. Borrowed Faith (Early Childhood, 0-6 Years)
2. Reflected Faith (Middle Childhood, 7-12 Years)
3. Personalized Faith (Early Adolescence, 13-16 Years)
4. Established Faith (Later Adolescence, 16-18 Years)
He stresses that Christian youth have to go through a process of relearning, reorganizing and reevaluating their previous Christian experience. They have to thoroughly reexamine their faith if they are going to own it.
From this a number of factors converge to create youth who are calloused: churched youth have heard it all before, the excitement of the basics has been lost (as a family we have been instrumental in leading our neighbors to Christ and as brand-new-Christians they are a rebuke to us in their enthusiasm to hear and practice God's word), they don't have an earth-shattering testimony to tell, they are trying to discover a first-hand faith that is their own and not their parents, they have the ongoing struggle of living the Christian life, they struggle with apathy after trying to live as they should and they experiencing occasional failures.
How can we help Churched Youth to grow in their relationship with Christ?
1. Show them that God's acceptance is based on His love and not their performance.
2. Stress that the standard is progress and not perfection (Philippians 3:12-14).
3. Tell them that when they foul up they are forgiven (1 John 1:9).
4. Urge them to strive for maturity out of love and gratitude to God (Romans 6:1-2).
5. Let them know that it is okay to question what they believe as they search for the truth.
6. Provide a group atmosphere that allows searching and questioning.
7. Help them to develop a personal testimony.
8. Encourage and equip them to evangelize their unsaved friends.
9. Provide ministry opportunities for them within the youth group.
10. Get them involved in serving others - outside their comfort zones.
Our youth group plays volleyball on a Monday night on a beach volleyball court. Most of the court is soft sand and really good to dive into. However, there are part on the court which are as hard as rock. We sometimes have to bring forks and break up the compacted soil, for our own safety. The soil gets like this because of the heavy rains we have and the many feet that compact the sand. In many ways, there is an analogy here to Christian Youth. May God help us to break
up their hardened hearts and lead them to realise their inheritance in the faith and rediscover their first-love!
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