Jesus used the opening words of this passage...
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Jesus used the opening words of this passage as his "mission statement" when he spoke in his hometown synagogue in Nazareth. Why are we so uncertain about our own affirmation of faith; especially why don't our young people enunciate the Christian faith more clearly and more firmly?
Kenda Dean, a professor of youth, church, and culture at one of our leading theological schools, has written a recent book titled Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers Is Telling the American Church. Here is the gist of what she said. American young people are theoretically fine with religious faith -- but it does not concern them very much, and it is not durable enough to survive long after they graduate from high school. One more thing: we're responsible.
The adults are responsible, Dean says, because in many ways the teenagers' tepid response to religion reflects a lack of clarity among their parents and among adults from their congregations about their own beliefs. In other words, teenagers don't have much to say about faith because many of the adults around them don't either.
Dean urges adults who want to convince teenagers that the Christian faith really matters to "do something that strikes at the root of who we are as Christians and to articulate their motivation."
Kenda Dean, a professor of youth, church, and culture at one of our leading theological schools, has written a recent book titled Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers Is Telling the American Church. Here is the gist of what she said. American young people are theoretically fine with religious faith -- but it does not concern them very much, and it is not durable enough to survive long after they graduate from high school. One more thing: we're responsible.
The adults are responsible, Dean says, because in many ways the teenagers' tepid response to religion reflects a lack of clarity among their parents and among adults from their congregations about their own beliefs. In other words, teenagers don't have much to say about faith because many of the adults around them don't either.
Dean urges adults who want to convince teenagers that the Christian faith really matters to "do something that strikes at the root of who we are as Christians and to articulate their motivation."
