Friday June 18th saw 20 young adults from across the nation (ok, mainly Minnesota) gathered together for our Young Adults Dinner and Forum. Yep, forum is a fancy word, oooo, for discussion and we are using it. Who knows this could possibly turn into an annual event.
Pastor Jason Holt shared from his time as a young adult and those who had impacted him during that time in his life. He also shared a from a great passage of scripture, which I unfortunatley have to admit I cannot remember! (so if you were there and remember... please share) Pastor Holt used a word that stood out: Insolating. Insolating means to expose to sunlight. He asked us how we seek out times of insolating in our young adult walk. What a great question, how do I purposfully exposed myself to God's light? The second question was, How do we invest in the unsaved? The word intentional came up in our discussion and we asked ourselves if we were intentionally making and finding time to witness. Number three, instead of a question, was a time of prayer. What a blessing to go around our table and pray for one another.
One question we asked this group in a survey and the question I will leave with you is:
1. What do you think the role of the young adult in the Church is?
I think it's easy for us as young adults to feel misplaced. We're not in the kids programs or youth group anymore - we're too old for those. But, at the same time, "adults" seem so much more like . . . well, adults. I know that I have thought of many things, "I'll leave that for the adults, the people who've been around the block a bit, the ones with more experience ..."
ReplyDeleteThis, however, is wrong. We are to set an example for the believers (1 Timothy 4:12). I believe that we are to be involved in the Church in whatever ways the Lord has gifted us. Leading worship, teaching Sunday School, coordinating VBS (yikes!), leading Bible studies, even going to the Annual Conference. We have been blessed, so we must bless others.
We are blessed to be a blessing. We are young and able. We are a generation that can make a difference. Let's keep given'er for Jesus Christ.
ReplyDeleteI would pretty much agree with what Sarah says. Although the level of responsibility may not be the same for each young adult, especially if they have just recently been born again, each one of us has been given a spiritual gift that we ought to be employing. Yes, the transition from youth group into the adult world of activities can be hard and that is where thosewho recognize that and have a few more years of experience can come alongside others and offer them the support and encouragement that others might need. Whether old or young, as believers we all have a part in the body of Christ and if we don't do our part the body suffers and if we do our part the body thrives.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, let me say that this is a great question to wrestle with...and one that we MUST wrestle with. I once heard something similar to the following, youth can give the elderly a purpose to their existence and the elderly can give wisdom to the youth. There is obviously more to this relationship than would appear at the face value of this quip, but you get the idea. The point is that for the past many years we have done a great job in distinguishing the children from the youth from the adults from the seniors. I don't think that this is how it was meant to be. Sure, have good friends who are your age, we need peers, but don't neglect the wonderful opportunities at both ends of the spectrum. There is wisdom in the saying that we all need three people in our lives. We need a Paul to teach us, a Jonathan to be a brother/sister with us, and a timothy to be investing in. This doesn't have to be an age specific thing, but think of all of the elderly people brimming with wisdom and overflowing with time to invest in us... and also think of the teens and people our age that are currently lost or need a roll model in their lives. Our task right now is to continue to be a part of the body, and maybe even be a portion of the change that will bring restoration between the generations. Thoughts?
ReplyDelete