Youth Sessions

We had in front of us what seemed like a daunting task: driving fifteen hours away from Maryland's perfectly pleasant weather into the sultry summertime of Kalona, packed into a crowded fifteen-passenger van with inadequate quantities of leg room and with a youth pastor who gains great satisfaction from performing frequent and spontaneous (and completely unnecessary) brake checks. Despite these colorful circumstances, my youth group plunged westward with much enthusiasm, and we had an absolutely excellent weekend.

Much like my youth group, CMC youth Speaker Jon Showalter had in front of him a task of the most daunting nature (all right, so maybe it wasn't exactly daunting). Still, a difficult task was placed in his capable hands: teaching the difficult topic of church and state to a difficult audience composed of 1) youth and 2) former students. I seriously doubt, however, that Jon would label us a difficult audience, for his quick wit and knowledge kept us thoroughly interested in the sessions. Of course, who wouldn't be captivated by a speaker who asks, "Why should we talk about church and state when we can talk about more interesting things like dating and courtship?" So, dating and courtship it was, but after about five minutes of introducing us to Ethiopian dating rituals, Jon moved on to the task at hand.

"Why are we here if we can't be part of it?" Jon asked, in reference to our involvement in the world. As Christians, we are called to be strangers in a foreign land, and yet we want to fit in so badly. But "what fellowship can light have with darkness?" (II Cor. 6:14). We serve a king from another place; should we not therefore be citizens of this other place? Realistically, as Jon pointed out, it is simply not possible to follow Jesus and be an insider in the fallen world. We had better feel out of place in this world. If not, something is drastically wrong. Jesus called us to a radically different way, through a narrow gate which the world ignores, and though our calling is not to an easy standard (or one which comes naturally, for that matter), Christians must come to terms with being completely and hopelessly out of place on this earth.

Though Christians are called to live as citizens of the heavenly kingdom while inhabiting an earthly "waiting room," we must still allow the light of our heavenly home to shine through to our earthly neighbors. The world should be able to clearly see Jesus through His people in everything they do - and in what they don't do.

Using this as a basis for Christian living, Jon spent the second session developing the case for nonresistance in the life of the believer. How exactly should Christians relate to the use of force? Certainly, war does not become morally right simply because the government views it as being appropriate. And though some individuals espouse the just war theory, which deems war as acceptable in certain cases, the reality is that too many holes exist in this theory for it to be a plausible solution.

Advocating the way of peace, Jon quoted a statement made by John Drescher: "The government does not have the right to tell me who my enemies are, and furthermore, if they did, God has already told me how to treat them." Clearly, nonresistance is not merely a Mennonite distinctive; rather, it is a central part of the teaching of the New Testament, which believers must uphold.

Though it is certainly wise to consider the nonresistant Christian's view of war, today's youth are not facing this matter. Rather, they encounter other decisions needing to be approached from a two-kingdom perspective. In his final session, Jon addressed many of these serious issues such as voting, capital punishment, and using self-defense. If we are in fact citizens of another place, we should live our lives in such a way that we'll appear as strangers on this earth. The mindset of Jesus should dictate all our decisions, actions, and responses on this earth. When the world hates and hurls judgment, we should love and accept. After all, what does it truly mean to love people, to return good for evil? As humans, we have huge capacities to hate and show anger when our rights are violated, and it is impossible for us in and of ourselves to simply decide we will love others. Instead, we need the Spirit of God to transform our hearts at a very deep level. Part of allowing God to transform our hearts involves fully surrendering ourselves before His throne in worship. The voices of CMC youth echoed throughout the unfinished sanctuary as they lifted their hands and their voices to their Maker.

It was refreshing to feel God's Spirit move in such mighty ways among us as we worshiped together in spirit and in truth. The heart for worship held by the youth was unmistakable: one night, in addition to the regular youth activities, several youth organized an "extra" time of praise and worship that lasted until 2:30 a.m.! The previous night, the youth had experienced another incredible time of praise and worship led by Dan Utz of Clearwater Ministries.

Saturday night, however, the youth activity was of a different nature - many went ice skating and had a wonderful time of fellowship.

As I watched a group of beginners learn to skate, I had to think of how nerve-wracking it is to step onto the ice for the first time: the task ahead seems huge. I am reminded of my youth group's "daunting" task of traveling to Iowa, and I am reminded of Jon's difficult assignment. But most of all, I am reminded of the task and the challenge Jon set before us - the charge of walking the narrow road of Christ-likeness when the world points us in countless other directions. But then, I am reminded of a quote I once read, "The task ahead of you is never as great as the Power behind you." Knowing this, I agree with Jon: may we embrace our task with joy.

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