OOPS!

Some mistakes can be easily corrected. Others take some time and effort to rectify. Still others have only minimal affect on life in the grand scheme of things.

But, what about a mistake that has wreaked unbelievable havoc and has cost the Church dearly?

I believe, and this is probably only my belief, that the Church as a whole has made a critical error. Just a few short years ago, ministries such as Teen Mania revealed startling statistics about the young generation. Below are a few of these statistics...

THIS IS A GENERATION IN CRISIS
* 1 out of 11 attempt SUICIDE each year.

* 1 out of 10 fifteen year olds and younger have gone through family divorce in their life-time.

* 58% have been involved in objectionable content on the web.

* 40% have experimented with SELF-INJURY ("are "cutters").

* Use of prescription DRUGS (Ritalin, anti-depressants etc.) by children/teens has increased substantially in the past few years.

THIS IS A GENERATION WITHOUT MORALITY
•By the time the average child graduates from high school, he/she will have watched 19,000 hours of TV including about 200,000 sexual acts and 1 million ACTS OF VIOLENCE.

•1 in 10 high school females have reported being RAPED at some point in their life.

•Fear of violence in schools is now the leading "worry" of public school teens.

•48% of high school seniors are SEXUALLY ACTIVE (had sexual intercourse in past 3 months).


THIS IS A GENERATION WITHOUT TRUTH
•91% say there is NO ABSOLUTE TRUTH.

•75% of teens in America believe the central message of the Bible is, "God helps those who help themselves".

•53% believe Jesus committed sin (40% of born again teens believe Jesus committed sin).

(Source - Teen Mania Ministries )

As I look over these statistics, I immediately see a common denominator. Sure, it is easy to see, you see it too. That denominator is the lack of a godly example in the form of parents in a Christ-centered marriage.
 
As if these statistics are not disturbing enough, I see a even more disturbing trend. Although the Church has ramped up their youth ministries and are investing a few hours a week into the lives of teens, many of these same teens are still under the majority influence of only moderately healthy to unhealthy, and even, broken marriages as depicted by their parents.
 
I am extremely thankful for these ministry efforts and the youth pastors and youth leaders who fight courageously and passionately for the lives and souls of the teens that they minister to. However, the influence of the home will not be overcome in the vast majority of these young lives, until the Church intentionally engages in marriage ministry, single parent ministry and even divorce recovery with a slant toward reconciliation.
 

Instead of taking a holistic approach to the epidemic, we put a band aid on a symptom while allowing the disease to continue. Instead of intentionally treating the dysfunction both within the Church and outside of the Church, we allow the majority, the primary influence, to continue spreading the disease while we build ministries that do not address the root cause. Sure, the disease is sin and the Gospel, presented in it's power, and the subsequent acceptance on the part of the hearer, remedies that portion of the epidemic.

But the influence of the parent(s) is critical.
 
"My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water." James 3:12 NIV

The words spoken into this young generation and the actions that this young generation sees in their homes will have a profound impact on their lives.

The Church, in her failure to be intentional in ministry to marriages and families, in whatever form exists within and without of her walls, has fueled the continuance of the epidemic. Hence, the pinpoint accuracy of these statistics today. What will it take to remedy this?

Intentionality.

The Church needs pastors who are courageous enough to implement gifted leadership into these areas and set a clear explanation of why these ministries exist. Who raise up an accountability and expectation process that says, we have these ministries for you and we expect you to avail yourself to them. In short, pastors and leaders who say, "Husband and Wives, Fathers and Mothers and Families, as members/partners/attendees of this church, we expect you to strive to have Christ-centered marriages and families. And, If you are no longer married, we expect you to avail yourself to the ministries that will help you prepare to have a Christ-centered marriage in the future."

Besides leading people to salvation, the Church must be about the business of dicipling new and existing believers. As humans, we do not inheritantly know how to be a godly husband, father, wife or mother. The Church desparately needs ministries to address these issues.

As I stated in a previous paragraph, these are only my thoughts. But I firmly believe that, while this error cannot be reversed, the course can be redirected for the benefit of our current and future families. Seamless ministry involving, pastors, counselors, marriage ministry leaders, youth pastors/leaders and children's ministry pastors/leaders, together working in the same direction can bring great results through Christ.

Climbing down off of my soapbox now.

Blessings!