Holy Roller (coaster)
Holy cr*p, man! It's been so long since I've posted- I guess i'm just working too hard.
Ok, so- I've been thinking of this a lot. I went to Kingdom Bound a few years back (was it really back in 99? I'm so freaking old) and if you know much about it, you know that it takes place at Six Flags in Darien Lake. Which means- you guessed it- dippin' dots. No, seriously, tho- it means roller coasters. Everyone's favorite coaster is, of course, the Superman- ride of steel. Because it makes them feel like they're what- superman? yeah right- if only I had real x-ray vision so I could see what's in my christmas presents- hehe.
Anyway, I was thinking about this the other day, and I was thinking about what kind of a ride my youth was, and I've decided something- for a person who personally does not do many roller coasters, I certainly seemed to (and still sometimes still do) enjoy the roller coaster life. If you were a Christian teen, you know what I mean- go to a conference and you're up- but you get home and your family really p*sses you off (I have a friend who'd hit me if i actually said the word p*ss) and you'd be back down again- and you'd go to camp and keep your devotions up for a little while, and you'd be down in the "valley" again.
I've realized a few things- first- this is not what we were meant for. We were not bought out of sin and slavery by Christ so we could be up and down in our lives with him. He did not die for us so that we could live for him after Acquire the Fire, and then get back down after we're home for a week in the "real world".
I was a co-leader of a prayer group in my high school- and it was really funny my sophomore year because we took a whole freaking busload of kids to Acquire the Fire in Providence, Rhode Island- and after ATF, we had our attendance in our prayer group skyrocket- it was like- have a real meeting. And peopel were interested- and... yeah- but within a few weeks, our final number of people that we increased was maybe a couple... And friends of mine in other schools and towns who went on the trip with us felt as though they wanted to start their own prayer groups in their school- most of them lasted for a couple months maybe before they just died entirely.
Point being- we were not intended for continually going up and down, and being on the roller coaster. There is more to being a Christian than this.
Another thing I've realized along side of that is this- if we do not kill the roller coaster habit, we will do no better than that. If we do not find a way to stay full of passion, zeal and vigor, then we will be destined to go up and down at the absolute best- with many who do not even stay at doing that well and just end up in the valley all the time. I am not saying that we are not allowed to feel overextended and make sure we take time to nurture ourselves, but i'm saying that if we do not kill the habit, it will be habit and we will do no better.
Finally- the last thing worthy of note here is this- it is not easy! Many of us- a generational thing, i'm sure- are looking to get by without having to work hard. people are looking for a job where they can sit and do no strenuous work- they want to do something that dosn't require them to think hard- they want ease. That's why in the movie Office Space, the protagonist says, "I did nothing all day long- and it was everything I thought it could be" and why his dream of what he can do with his life is nothing.
We do not want to work hard, and in the spiritual world it is no different- but it requires hard work for anything in the natural- feeling of accomplishment after a job well done, a marriage- needs HARD work-, getting through school- anything. So how much more should we expect hard work in the thing that is worth anything- living a spiritual life conforiming to Christ and reaching out to our friends.
It is not easy, it is not for the faint of heart- it takes work, practice, and ultimately- a lot of determination- along with our "faith". I am not saying you are saved by works, i'm saying that if we are to cultivate spiritual growth in ourselves, we cannot just sit by and wait for God to impose that into our brains as though we will then just magically get it.
1 comment:
As a fellow youth pastor, I think a lot about this subject. I hate the roller coaster stuff. I hate seeing my youth go through it. I wonder why they can't just be consistent, and, more than that, I wonder how to help them be consistent. Part of the problem lies in the fact that many youth ministries don't offer things that ATF or conferences or retreats or camps offer: a real spiritual awakening, a focusing, etc. etc. While you can't take your youth group on a weekend trip every week, many youth ministries don't aim as high as they should. I have wondered if I look at this all wrong: I think, "Man, these kids just had this great experience, now they're leveling off much lower than where they started." and I wonder how much worse their leveling off would've been had they not done the conference, retreat, camp, etc. I don't know. It's a big subject to think about. Adult Christians do the same thing, too. We all do. Many Christians of all ages lack the ability, or will, or commitment, or awareness, or something to keep themselves going when times are dry. It kills me to know, in my heart, that the percentage of Christians who are truly committed is small. Very small.
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