War - Next Generation Ministry

I ended my last post by writing about how we are fighting against an enemy we cannot see in the coronavirus. Many in the media have compared this fight to a World War and claim those battling on the front lines are not soldiers but rather doctors, nurses, and first responders. I think that is a fairly accurate assessment because at the end of the day, the coronavirus is taking many people’s lives and these deaths are taking place all around the world.

I understand how serious the fight against the coronavirus is. We are not only battling against a virus but against time. That is why our national government has taken precautionary measures such as stay at home mandates and social distancing requirements for broad numbers of the population. They’re trying to flatten the curve by staying ahead of the curve.

Again, I think that’s the right move because after all, many more deaths would result if these laws weren’t in place. But it is at this point that I want to diverge into a topic that is even more serious than the coronavirus. With the coronavirus, we’re talking about a matter of life and death. I want to talk about a matter of eternal life and eternal death.

As followers of Christ and fishers of men/women, we’re always in a war. The fight for the souls of men and women has been raging since time began. At the end of the day, each person has to make his or her choice on who Jesus is. Peter got it right when he answered, “You are Christ, Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). Our job is to help people make the right choice and then to disciple them when they do (Matt. 28:19-20).

But we’re not only fighting for the souls of men and women. We ourselves are constantly fighting against the world, the flesh, and the devil. First John 2:15-17 speaks of our fight against the world, Galatians 5:16-26 of our fight against the flesh, and Luke 4:1-13 of our fight against the devil. But we also have to make war against sin. Jesus was tempted in every way like us, but the difference is he did not sin (Heb 4:15). When we are tempted, Jesus provides us a way out (1 Cor 10:13).

In a famous sermon on declaring war against sin, John Piper says, “I hear so many Christians murmuring about their imperfections and their failures and their addictions and their shortcomings — and I see so little war. Murmur, murmur, murmur. “Why am I this way?” Make war! If you wonder how to make war, go to the manual. Don’t just bellyache about your failures. Make war!”

How do we make war and what again are we battling? We’re not battling against flesh and blood (other humans). Ephesians 6:12 says, “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

The fight starts in us and with us. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 says, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

How do we take captive every thought? By renewing our mind in God’s Word and not conforming ourselves to the pattern of this world (Romans 12:1-2). This act is called transformation and it is something we cannot do without the grace of God working in us and upon us. Most of the time, these acts are called spiritual disciplines or community practices which allow us to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

No my friends, war is nothing new for the Christian. What we’re experiencing with the coronavirus is a small glimpse of the eternal battle against an enemy we cannot see.

Jesus says we will continue to hear of wars and rumors of wars but tells us in the same line to not be frightened (Luke 21:9). This is because unlike the world, we have a hope that will not disappoint (1 Thess. 4:13-18).

My favorite toy to play with as a child was GI Joe. I also loved the cartoon. As a boy, I would take a beanbag and figuratively speaking turn the bag into a mountain. Using all of the bag’s natural crevices, I would station Joe’s on one side of the mountain and Cobra’s on the other. From that point on, it was all-out warfare between the forces of good and the forces of evil.

Over time, God has blessed me with many good friends who have served in our nation’s military. I have always had a profound respect for the service men I personally knew (not all are still alive) and would glean as many insights and lessons as I could to implement in my own life. The Bible speaks of a soldier’s discipline (2 Tim 2:4). The apostle Paul was well-acquainted with spiritual warfare (2 Cor 4:8-12).

I think the terms “spiritual warfare” and “war” are apt descriptions of the Christian life. As Christ-followers, we are always on call. The war never ends this side of earth, though the victory has already been won. We never get a break. 24-7 for 365 and do it all over again the next year. For the Christian, life is war. I have always appreciated John Piper’s call for the Christian to “make war.” The status quo, games as usual, go with the flow, ho-hum Christianity just isn’t good enough in a time of war.

But there are so many battles to fight. Where do we start? And why? A great general or commander knows whom, when, and how to fight. A great general also knows where the battlefront is. The battlefront must be defined because the army who controls the battlefront often wins the war. We could just as well ask the question, “which hill are we willing to die on?”

Do we die fighting against gay rights, abortion, gambling, porn, immoral media, or a host of other cultural and political travesties? No, we don’t (Barna would say). We know Satan is the enemy and we know the gospel is of upmost importance. But still, where do we begin and what hill are we willing to die on? I think George Barna was right when he wrote, “the battlefront is found in the minds, hearts and souls of our children.”[1] Barna continues, “Ever the strategic mastermind, Satan knows well that if you destroy the character and hope of children, you rule the world!”[2]

We must do everything we can to help the next generation obtain a biblical worldview. If we can train children to love God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength, Barna says we won’t have to invest time battling over moral and spiritual issues (see above) because the culture will have been shaped from within. Barna reiterates, “The cumulative effect of their character and beliefs will redefine the contours of our culture” and we will not need to then “worry about how to motivate people to read the Bible, how to encourage people to attend worship services, how to raise enough money to maintain the ministry and how to get believers to pursue the Great Commission.”[3]

If we could produce a world where we won the entire next generation to Christ, I know Barna would be right. In that kind of world, we would experience spiritual utopia. But realistically, this isn’t going to happen either (read the Bible). There is always another battle on the landscape and we are told to put on our spiritual armor (Eph 6:10-20). All moral and spiritual issues are worth fighting over because they all encapsulate what we would call the biblical worldview. Suffice to say, however, I think Barna is onto something the church has all too often missed: Battling over the next generation should take priority.

Yet actions prove where priorities are when church leaders are unaware of the spiritual content children in the church are learning, the only thing that matters is babysitters (oops, I mean leaders) are in place, leader training and recruitment is minimal if not non-existent, and “less than 15 percent of the average church’s ministry budget is allocated to the needs of children’s ministry.”

Next generation ministry is about prioritizing students in both word and deed. Let’s not just say children are a priority. We know that they should be. Let’s show them they are!

[1] Barna, Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions, 50.

[2] Ibid, 51.

[3] Ibid.