Yuck Night...

Yes, we survived Yuck Night at Flood last evening...It was quite an experience, watching the guys wimp out at the smell of a little buttermilk, and the girls chowing down on pig brains in milk gravy like it was ice cream. It wasn't all fun and games, though...We had a hard-hitting sermon on Proverbs 26:11---"As a fool returns to his foolishness, so a dog returns to his vomit."

One of the greatest challenges to working with teenagers is seeing young people with great promise make the same mistakes over and over again. Youth pastors everywhere see this, and often, the message you hear in their ministries centers around behavior modification. Problem---behavior modification won't save you.

I want our students so badly to run from their sin, and live pure lives. The great challenge is finding balance. Our ministry strives to plant God's Word deep in our students' hearts, ground them in solid spiritual habits, then allow the Holy Spirit to change their lives. I can't change them. No matter how good my sermons are, no matter how much time I spend with them, it's up to Jesus to change their hearts. We plant the seed, do all we can to promote growth, and pray. We encourage avoiding sin, and challenge our students to avoid the heartbreak of missed opportunities to do something great for God by simply doing something. Mark Twain said that "In twenty years, you'll be much more disappointed by what you didn't do than what you did". I believe that's true. Our ministry stands for action...Do something for the Kingdom of God, Do something to eternalize your life, Do something for people, Do something for Jesus. Doing something may involve some changes in behavior---eradicating foolish things, adopting wise habits---But most of all, it involves loving God and loving people, and "loving" is a verb. It requires action.

Pray that our students wouldn't be complacent Christians, but that they would be people of action.