Finally - A Paragraph That Correctly Diagnoses The Problem

And it comes from a guy whose over student ministry at Lifeway. Here's the paragraph that nails it and it's just an excerpt from a disturbing study about teens and Christianity.

"This is where confusion and perhaps a bit of self-made salvation have crept in," Scott Stevens, LifeWay's director of student ministry, noted in a column at www.lifewayresearch.com." Why would teenagers feel the need to add anything to Jesus' work on the cross? Maybe it's because so many of them are fully engulfed in a performance-based existence where they are constantly striving to earn the favor and acceptance of those around them, especially those in positions of authority. How often do these teens experience unconditional love at home, school, or even in their church?"

UPDATE: And then you read this and you go right back to concern mode.

In a first-ever venture for the state convention, Dakota Baptists rented booth space on a busy street at the massive Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in 2006 and offered the 400,000-plus visitors a chance to win a new Harley-Davidson limited-edition motorcycle. All they had to do was to listen to a three-minute Gospel presentation and they could put in their name for a chance to win a pristine white Harley

Now tell me exactly how you share the Gospel in 3 minutes? My Bible has over 2,000 pages in it and I want to know how you share all that God has to say about who Jesus is in 3 minutes? That's amazing to me.

The next paragraph is very telling:

Dakota Baptists sent to each person who made a profession of faith a Bible, a discipleship book for new believers and a letter encouraging them to immediately connect with a church home. They also followed up with those who lived in North and South Dakota. Names and contact information from people in other states were sent to the North American Mission Board's evangelism response center to pass on to churches near the new believers' homes.

A Bible, a book, and a letter. Yep, that's follow up. We've done our job now, so let's all go home. WOW!

And finally to top it all off:

Training in three-minute Gospel presentations will take place at 8 a.m. every day during Sturgis, to be led by Texas evangelist Ronnie Hill. The 20-by-30-foot booth will open at 10 a.m. and close at 8 p.m., while it's still broad daylight. Housing is available at area churches

If someone who reads this blog actually goes to that training, I would love an email to know how you are trained to "declare the WHOLE counsel of God" in 180 seconds.