What is a Consumer Christian? One way of looking at it is what Dallas Willard (an American philosopher and Christian writer) describes as “Vampire Christians”. He writes: “ One, in effect, says to Jesus: “I’d like a little of your blood, please. But I don’t care to be your student or have your character. In fact, won’t you just excuse me while I get on with my life, and I’ll see you in heaven.” But is this really acceptable to Jesus?” In short, Consumer Christians do not take holiness seriously, because faith is what they receive, not how they obey. Faith is about what they can get, but little about what they can give and sacrifice. They have Jesus as Saviour, but not Lord of their lives. The cross becomes a vending machine, rather than an example for life.
But God’s word tells us that we are to “put off the old self… and put on the new” (Eph 4:22-24), we are to be “holy for Yahweh is holy” (1 Pet 1:16), Christ has ‘saved us and called us into a holy life” (2 Tim1:9). How does this influence CY?
For Reflection:
What if the goal we have for every youth coming out of CY was to become what the bible says every Christian should be?
What if, Year 12s coming out of CY:
Every Youth = Every Christian captures something that we’ve been aiming to do at CY this year. In my teaching training, I’ve been told that when we set high expectations for our students, you will get high results. Peter Adams, at our last Getaway said, “Have the highest expectations for those around you, and the greatest amount of grace.” Every Youth = Every Christian, sets high expectations that our youths would be “empower[ed].. to join in the Mission of God wherever they are” throughout adolescence and as they enter adulthood. But before we can understand how these goals can be achieved, we need to understand our context.
Over the next few weeks, we will explore these felt needs and the goals and objectives that will help us strive for “Every Youth = Every Christian.” |
AuthorReflections from the Campus Leaders on Youth Ministry Archives |