90% of Life is "Showing Up"!

Psalm 78

¹ My people, hear my teaching;
    listen to the words of my mouth.
² I will open my mouth with a parable;
    I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
³ things we have heard and known,
    things our ancestors have told us.
⁴ We will not hide them from their descendants;
    we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,
    his power, and the wonders he has done.
⁵ He decreed statutes for Jacob
    and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
    to teach their children,
⁶ so the next generation would know them,
    even the children yet to be born,
    and they in turn would tell their children.
⁷ Then they would put their trust in God
    and would not forget his deeds
    but would keep his commands.

This psalm repeats a theme that we hear a lot in the psalms, which is to remember the things we have heard and known from our ancestors.  History repeats itself, and the psalmist wants the people of God to remember the mighty acts of God in the past.  Importantly he says that they needed to teach their children, so that they would know them and teach their children.

As they remembered what God had done in the past, they could trust him in the future by keeping his commands.  Of course they could break God’s commands, but they would then be reminded what happened to their forefathers as a result of their disobedience. 

As a pastor, I have often heard the phrase, “the church is one generation away from extinction”.  While that may be a little extreme, it does point to the fact that unless we are passing on faith to our children, we endanger the future of the church and its mission to make disciples of all nations.  Discipleship has always been intentional and no less so with discipling the next generation.  Much like any discipleship process, it is highly relational. 

The saying, “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care” is especially true for young people.  It is easier to decry our youth and their behavior, then take the time to get to know them on their level.  Just today our youth director drove a half an hour to watch my son’s football game.  That mean a lot to us and my son.  It reminded me that, “90% of life is showing up.”  Reaching the next generation for Christ is not an idea, or a plan, it is a lifestyle created by people who actually care for the future leaders of the church. 

So here is a question for you if you have any concerns about the future of the church?  How are you involved in the lives of young people?  If you are not, ask your pastor how you can be?  Or, go to a game or a dance recital and cheer someone on!  When kids see how much you care, they will be more interested in what you know!