Get In The Game!

Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him—but some of them doubted!

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  Matthew 28:16-20

You know, turning fifty is an amazing time in your life.  Many people become afraid of what the future holds as their life may have fallen short of what they expected.  Others find purpose and spend time focusing on the next chapter in their life.  I believe that I would fall more toward the latter having been blessed by what God has done in my life.  If you are like me, you realize that while there is much to be grateful for what He has done, He is not done with us yet.  I realized as much yesterday as I felt Him tugging at my soul.  A friend sent me a link to an article about Millennials, and it was titled, “12 Reasons Millennials Are OVER Church.” (see http://tosavealife.com/faith/12-reasons-millennials-church/) 

As faithful Christians, this is OUR problem.  It does not matter if we are in our early twenties or retired, we are officially in crisis.  How much so?  The stats are telling.  Only 1 of 5 Millennials attend church regularly.  Almost 60% of Millennials raised in church drop out.  More than 1 in 3 Millennials are anti-church.  We are not saying neutral here.  We are saying firmly against it!  It was as if God punched me in the face, and said, “So Kent, what are you going to do?”  While there is much that I have wanted to do over the next part of my life, looking deeply into this article made it clear what my calling would be.  As a pastor once told me, we can’t just be in the huddle every Sunday and not play in the game Monday through Saturday.  As this election should have taught everyone, the time to act is now.

There is a reason God asks of us to make disciples of all men and women.  We are His voice for those who cannot hear any voice.  An entire generation hangs in the balance on what we decide to do.  Yes, God can do anything, and here’s the funny thing.  What does God moving have to do with our obligation to serve Him?  You see, we often look to God to handle things when the reality is, God chose us.  We are both responsible and accountable.  It’s easy to pass this off on others, but the reality is when God asks, we are to respond as humble and obedient servants.

God wants us to be engaged in the battle for souls.  We are not just responsible for ourselves for as Rick Warren so perfectly stated, “It’s not about you.”  We are often caught up into our circumstances, and as such, get distracted from the big picture.  When we are in crisis mode, we need to respond pronto!  Along those lines, we must acknowledge that an entire generation is in crisis, and God calls on us to respond.  Are you going to ignore the warning signs anymore?  How will you get involved?  My prayer is that we do as God called on us to do and get in the game!  Amen!