The emerging generation 3

In furtherance of the discourse I started on two days ago, I would like to state a few things we must do as people who want to impact the next generation. Before you tell me you don’t qualify, if you are anything between 28 and 35, let me state a few facts to open your eyes.

The emerging generation 2

One of the greatest challenges most parents will ever face is that of relevance. Parents have a tendency to become holed up in their traditional mind-sets with the inability to embrace new perspectives, not just because of their newness but the freshness they bring to the scene. It is this same challenge that the church of today faces.

I’m not here to lament the level of immorality and spiritual illiteracy in the lives of believers today and even some of those in ministry but to ready us, the church, to infiltrate the field of the world and harvest the souls made ready for the reaping by our God.

If we are to reach this generation, we must drop some of our traditional methods and embrace fresh new ideas that are more productive for today. You need to understand that I’m not asking you to drop the timeless truths of God’s word for newer, snazzier, more hip philosophies. Definitely not! I’m simply advocating that we present timeless truth in today’s expressions.

There’s a serious need for people to enter into the kingdom of God. It is only after someone has been born that he can now grow right? Most of the times, we tend to put the cart before the horse. The devil’s strategy in the last days is simple-Get as many in to hell, as you can, whichever way you can! He employs what someone has fondly called a mass market strategy. The devil doesn’t care if you don’t understand what you are getting into. He just makes sure you get into it first and then we’ll sort out the details later. Would it be blasphemous if we employed the same strategy? Before you crucify me, didn’t Jesus refer to the kingdom of God as a drag-net bringing in all kinds of fish (Matthew 13:47-49)? Besides isn’t that the same thing God did to Adam? He put him in the garden after creating everything and asked him to explore.

Paul, that great apostle, said he became all things to all men so that by any means he would win some of them (1 Corinthians 9:22). Would it be sacrilegious for us to try and do everything in our power (and technology) to reach all men for God? Or should we keep hoping they would come to church one day and give their lives to Christ?

The emerging generation

There is an emergence of a whole new species of individuals that the world, not to talk of the church, hasn’t seen anything like. The emerging youth of today is totally different from any this earth (and the church) has ever seen before and the differences between this generation and the preceding one are as obvious as night and day.

We have a generation of youth whose language is different. They speak more slangs than they speak regular languages (and this doesn’t affect English language alone). Today’s youth is exposed to the internet. No need to “travel” to a cyber café to access the World Wide Web. It’s at his fingertips. Today’s youth has Google (I would have done anything to have a Google when I was 17!) Who’s not on Facebook today? I was at a private secondary school in Lagos sometime last week and even a JS1(basic 7, I think?) student knew who Mark Zuckerberg was and how old he was when he started Facebook.

Ever watched the music videos produced or directed by this generation? They are full of daring expressions; in lyrics, in exposing more (and more) skin, in musical fusions never before explored, just to mention a few. Today’s growing youth are also more tech-savvy than their predecessors. In my days (and I’m really not that old) if your family owned a colour TV, you would be entertaining the whole neighbourhood every evening, not to talk of weekends. If your dad then bought a VCR, ah ha! Ring any bells, ol’ schoolers? It’s another story today. A friend of mine, in his late 30s, was telling me how he couldn’t understand the Nintendo Wii he bought for his children but his 3 year old daughter operates the machine slickly and perfectly.

Dear friends, things have changed. No let me put that right; things are changing (because the changes haven’t ended and neither will they). I’d like to say that if the body of Christ refuses to upgrade its technology (our approach, stratagem, methods, etc.), we will become as obsolete as a typewriter to a 100 level student in University.

It is obvious that the principles we learnt and personal experiences of God we got in our growing years are the bedrock for the success (or failure) of our lives today as adults. We must find a way to transfer these timeless truths to the generation coming after us. Selah.


P.S. Watch out for part 2 tomorrow.

Movies That Saved My Soul

A picture is worth more than a thousand words and moving pictures particularly stick longer in the memory and that's why movies have been a medium for transferring information and changing lives and culture. Transform a lesson into a story and see how easily the lessons are absorbed. God has used moving pictures in the many years of its existence.

That stated one of the most amazing things about God is that He can use anyone or anything to communicate to us. So if we aren't listening to His voice, the promptings He puts in our hearts or our consciences, He uses circumstances and even goes to the length of using unusual happenings (just like a donkey talking to Balaam). I've said all this to point out that if the children remain, the rocks will cry out instead (Luke 19:40), shouting God's praise and declaring His word.

Even with the level of immorality and propaganda that movies have perpetuated, I'm simply saying that God has used that medium to speak to the earth, and His children (when we have been blind or deaf, just as He told Isaiah). Some movies have clearly impacted my life and I trust that some of us too my enthusiasm. I've made a list of some of them below and some of the lessons I learned.

THE MATRIX

Lessons:

You are the maker of your own destiny under God

Renewing your mind is the key to entering the fullness of God

Your true person is your developed spirit. That portion, connected to God, gives you access to a full life.








SPEEDRACER

Lessons:

God endows every man with a gift, something only he can do excellently

Your gift is your platform of ministry-it's your way of communicating the many-sided, multi-faceted wisdom of God









LIMITLESS

Lessons:
This movie brought 1 Cor 2:8-10 to life for me. Most times all we need is to see what other eyes are not seeing, hear what other ears are not hearing and visualize what other minds are not comprehending and our circumstances would change completely.









KARATE KID

Lessons:Mentoring has a way of helping you resolve your own issues or failures.

There's a need for proper father figures in the lives of children in society. Children are like arrows in the hands of mighty men. An arrow is a neutral entity. It's who's using it that determines its target.









KUNGFU PANDA

Lessons:

I should never write myself off. The most unlikely people can be the most exceptional.

I need to look deeply into people and not just know them after the flesh.