That's what I keep hearing from certain charismatic evangelical circles with the word "city" incorporated somewhere in the name of their church that host an annual generation conference. In fact a quick search of "generation conference promo” on YouTube will bring up dozens of videos showing clips of youth pastors and teachers affiliated with these churches preaching all sorts of hype about how their conference will "change young people for God," or "ignite the hearts of people to see Jesus invade our culture," or "bring a radical impact to society." These are the claims year after year after year, yet I don't see any of it. In fact I don't see this generation of young people, say 13 to 23, acting any different today then any generation did 10, 15, or even 20 years ago. Many people would even say kids have gotten worse over the generations, not better. So why do these people continually tout their church/conference/gathering/message/etc. as the one that will "win this generation for God?" I wish I had the answer; maybe then there would be no need for a blog like this.
Deep down I really am concerned about the perils of society, and I wish these gatherings would do more. But right now, I just don’t think they are. I mean these churches have so much money, with so many resources and so many volunteers, why in the hell can't they actually make a difference? Now inevitably someone will say "Generation (fill in the blank) Conference" changed my life. And as someone who participated in a few of these things I totally get it. In fact I'm not even saying they are all bad. What I am saying is that they could be so much better! I mean if you really look at it, a majority of these conferences recycle the same 20 speakers, with the same 20 messages and the same 20 worship songs, reaching the same 20 types of people. Can't you see what's wrong with that?
So for those who absolutely swear by these events, there's nothing anyone of us can really say or do that will cause you to think outside the box. But for the rest of you out there, ask yourself WHERE IS THE CHANGE? Not that I think the entire city of Portland, or Seattle, or San Diego, or Atlanta (or anywhere else these conferences are spreading) should become Christian Capital USA, but it should be safe to say that if these conferences really were "igniting a generation for God" or causing a "global movement" (as one promo claimed), there would be SOME sign of spiritual uprising, correct? Am I wrong for thinking this? I just want these churches and the people who run them to WAKE UP! Stop positioning yourselves for fame and fortune. Stop trying to be the most sought after conference speaker. Stop using impressionable youth as a way to create name recognition. And please for the love of God, stop trying to be so cool and hip and loved. DO start representing Jesus the way He called you to, with truth, grace and most of all, humility.
So this is a call to anyone and everyone who participates in these giant gatherings to be more then just sheep lapping up everything put before you and following the ways of every other church that holds these things. Ask questions, explore truths, seek answers and do not let your mind be lost in the “oo and ah” of the moment. Because if you do, 10, 20, maybe even 30 years later, you will find yourself lost in a world of spiritual confusion that will take a long time to recover from.
Amen to that!
Statistically, 4 out of 5 Christian youth (across ALL denominations) drop out of church altogether after high school. There is no doubt in my mind that youth ministry as a whole should be making a bigger difference. And the big conferences should be a more visible sign of progress.
But as you point out, this just isn’t the case.
I’m not involved in youth ministry at all. But I live in a university town and see first hand the dramatic drop-off that happens when “Christian” youth graduate. And I’m searching for a solution, or ANY sign of hope, just like everybody else.
When I was attending GC, I was certainly involved and very eager. Even though I was “drinking the Kool Aid”, so to speak, it was still quite evident that there was a definite cyclic nature of what was happening.
One could really identify all the different groups (cliques) and types of believers, and after witnessing one cycle, it was quite easy to predict it the next time around. I felt like I was being “bad” for seeing a type of person and perhaps foreseeing how things would end up a little while down the road for them in terms of their Christian walk.
You would see the punk girls and guys who would catch on fire for a few months, and then you would never see them again. There were the crying backsliders that were always the first to the front. The jocks for Jesus, etc…
Coming back from camp was the best illustration of this–seeing how the air can just be let out of the room. Everyone who was insane for God just a few days before, were now back to their old shenanigans again. Such events and cycles are essentially micro-scale mock-ups of the grander scheme.
Retrospectively, it seems like they didn’t really care that there was a constant flux of people– some coming in, while others snuck out the back, so to speak. In fact, it almost seems as if they preferred that. Why? Because as long as there was a constant sense that God was moving, then it all looked and felt good. What does it look like when God is moving: new faces that are excited. If there is “spiritual dead weight” (i.e. the persistent backslider, or the person who never goes all out for God, etc…), then it almost looks better to replace them with a newbie that looks the part, and gives the impression that God is at work. In fact, even if the same old faces are on fire, that can kind of get old too, as you come to expect it from them.
I am of the belief that as long as there is a constant flow of people walking through their doors, people playing the parts they want them to play, then they really don’t care who is leaving. In fact, as I stated earlier, I can see certain instances where it would be preferred for people to leave. They can have the opportunity to regenerate the same “first time” experience over and over, for different people, again and again. It can always seem new, because in a way, it is.
WOW. I had never thought of it this way before but I think you are right on.
The younger version of myself was looking for something in church and that was a reprieve from the world I was encountering on a daily basis. I needed to be strengthened and encouraged in my faith, to be reassured that God is truly for me and has a vested interest in me so that I could, in turn, help others come to that same conclusion. If I had that once a week or so, I could maintain my faith during the rest of the week.
What we’ve observed with these types of churches (that we’ve been discussing on this blog) is they seem to thrive in the world’s stystem which is enamored with celebrity and frenetic hype. People are elevated or ignored based on their looks, social and financial status, talents, and their ability to incur favor from the leaders. So there is no reprieve from the worldly system we already deal with in the work places – no safe harbor where we are supposed to be “accepted in the beloved” – no restorative factor at all. How is that supposed to reaffirm God’s interest in a person’s individuality and unique blueprint for life if the church culture is operating in the same way the world culture works? I’m not talking about the kind of music and things like that. I’m talking about how people are treated and the expectation for conformity.
When I finally realized that I was feeling bad about myself every Sunday, that going to the MFI church (that I was part of for over 15 years) was the cause of my feeling worse about myself every week rather than helping me move forward in my faith, I left. I had to collect my thoughts, my feelings, and learn again what my true standing is before the Lord.
But given the way humans tend to organize themselves and pick leaders (that we deem worthy of worship rather than old fashioned respect), maybe there is only one way to do church – maybe what I am looking for can only be found in heaven. Maybe it’s simply not possible for people to behave in a biblical way in churches. Yet it can be a standard to try to attain to rather than just let the carnal nature of man run rampant in the church.
jeezlouise, the American church could at least be trying to exemplify the love of Christ, instead of setting up megachurches across the US that seem more like a churchy version of Entertainment Tonight than anything I see in the scripture.
Now this is some truth! I don’t think a youth pastor or youth worker will ever admit it, but subconsciously it’s very hard to deal with hormonal kids who are excited about things one day, then crying about them the next. That’s why youth pastors on average only last a year or so or use youth pastoring as a stepping stone to bigger and better things (meaning a brighter spotlight).
I know these guys who run these conferences and preach at GU every year love the spotlight salvation moments, it get’s there juices flowing. But forget about discipleship. Those dudes got no desire to get down in trenches and deal with the mundane day to day tasks of youth pastoring. If they can’t get public applause for their work, they are no were to be found. And in the end it’s the kids the suffer. I would love to hear from some 19 and 20 year olds who moved on from City Bible and City Church after participating in all that madness during high school. I wonder what they have to say about it now?
Anyway, I know people who participate in GU are reading this thing. They may not be commenting, but they are reading. Hopefully the next time they walk into a giant conference of hype, they will think twice before claiming it is “the greatest thing ever!”
Yes! That is a motivating factor to why I decided to post here, and a reason why it is good that a site like this exists. When these huge hype-machines like GC get rolling, it is very crucial to have a means of gaining perspective from an outside entity.
And speaking of “getting down in the trenches”, though I was never involved in their cadre groups, I always got the impression that this was a kind of “outsourcing” of this responsibility. Perhaps someone with a little more perspective can help me out with this. It did seem like people that paid to be Generation Interns could get some contact with the pastors in a one-on-one setting, but everyone else was pretty much not a priority. Again, perhaps some people here could shed some light on this.