A friend said to me recently “I’m so angry about all the injustice in the world. It’s making me question whether God really cares, if he is there at all.” When I asked him what he was doing to tackle the situations that grieved him so much, he looked surprised. “Nothing. What can I do?”
This sort of response is not unusual within the student generation and it should be. There is a virulent strain of slacktivism eating away at the energy of our young adults. The notion that, “I want to change the world, but I can’t be bothered” is rife. Apathy like this freezes activity, hope and passion and I believe we, the church, have a responsibility to call an end to it.
Usually, it is in the first half of adult life that God envisions his people with world changing dreams. It is imperative, therefore, that we become very good at equipping, preparing and releasing young adults to be and bring that change. We need to launch a generation while they still have the audacity to believe that things can shift.
In Revelation 3:14-22, Jesus whoops the tail of the church in Laodicea. He rebukes them saying, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold or hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are luke-warm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” This is very serious and I believe that there are many similarities with the church in Laodicea and the 18-30’s generation. We need to wake up and take note.
That is why I am committed to helping local churches to work with students. Fusion are working with NewWine we are launching a new venue at the North & East Summer Conference this year called “BURN”. You can book here! Anyone is welcome but its purpose is to model and fuel church that works for 18-30’s. We need to turn up the heat because this tepid lethargy will dissipate in God’s refining fire.
My hope is that God will use this venue to ignite people into holy fireballs. I hope that it will incinerate apathy and raise white-hot faith within a generation of change-makers. I pray that people will encounter the living Jesus so tangibly, they will lay down their lives for him. As we allow God to burn in our hearts, we can’t help but set others on fire.
The time has come for a change. It is time to call a generation to burn with a passion for Jesus that will set the world of fire for him. Let’s look at injustice with our merciful Master and act. Let’s blaze with God’s all-sustaining love for a hopeless world that we affect every nation on the earth.
Break time is over. It’s time start firing on all cylinders!
