This is the new Barna survey of teens that I mentioned on a different thread. I think it is most illuminating.

"Survey shows teens moving away from God" (from the Oklahoma Baptist Messenger, Nov. 9, 2000)

A new Barna research poll says American teens who describe themselves as Christians are moving further away from the truths of the Bible.

In the Barna survey of just over 600 teens, 86 percent of them said they were Christians. However, 60 percent endorsed the false teaching that salvation can be earned through good deeds. In another disturbing finding, 53 percent said they felt Jesus was a sinner. And regarding the Bible, 60 percent thought it was totally accurate, yet 66 percent turned around and said Satan was not a real living being but a mere symbol of evil.

Not surprising then was the fact that after a series of questions probing their salvation, researcher George Barna concluded only one-third of them were born again.

He says the teen survey points to an ongoing problem he has also seen among adults who call themselves Christians. On one hand, they say they beleive the Bible, but make statements about their beliefs which run contrary to scriptural teaching.

-- Anonymous, November 11, 2000

Answers

Brethren:

Now, just what does all this, which Dr. Jon has brought to our attention, say about the viability of all those thousands of "exciting youth programs" we have had in the churches all these many years! In the business world, if a progam of any kind related to earning a profit for shareholders failed even remotely as miseably as these programs have failed they would be scraped with no consideration of the feelings and hopes of those in charge of them at all.

But of even greater concern I must ask. What does this say about each individual parent who raised this host of ignorant unbelievers? And if one will only listen closely to the ignorant and pathetic sermons of the majority of our preachers today he will find a great source of this unbelief among us.

You may not agree with these statements that I have just made. I do not really expect it. But I do ask that you pay close attention to the things you hear over the next few months and judge for yourselves how true they may be. Listen to see how much scripture is being taught from the pulpits. Compare it to the many feeble attempts at producing laughter and entertainment and exilerating emotions and strained efforts to please the audience that you hear. Just watch for a few weeks brethren and I am certian that many, though thank God not all, of you will see one of the major sources of and reasons for this severe ignorance and pathetic unbelief that we find among far too many teens today. You will not find many of them among those who are staunchly faithful to the teaching and following of the precious word of God.

Your Brother in Christ,

E. Lee Saffold

-- Anonymous, November 13, 2000

Preach It Brother Lee !!!

You are absolutely right. The days of milk-toast sermons and church youth (er baby-sitting) programs need to come to an end.

People have been asking me for months why the country is in the shape it is in and how could a "Christian" vote for the Abortionists like Gore & the rest of his buddies. The answers to those questions are obvious - the church hasn't taught them any better. I find it interesting that Alexander Campbell always addressed the hard, confrontational issues in his sermons and debates and was praised for it and the Restoration Movement "moved" because of such a stance. Now, putting a name and face on such evil men & practices from the pulpit is way too often frowned upon (trust me, I tried it recently and the results weren't too pretty).

I am determined to do my part to change this both from the pulpit and from within our youth as it grieves me to watch our nation go to "hell in a handbasket" and to hear our Bible College Professors make comments such as "we have 'dummied-down' our courses because each year's students know less and less about the Bible".

If the Preachers and church leaders in this country don't start standing up, standing out, & standing upon the Word - the future before the coming of Christ is going to get real ugly (and maybe afterwards as well, as I figure our stewardship of the Gospel may well be called into question by the Judge if we don't start doing better).

-- Anonymous, November 14, 2000

I have to agree with both of you there. The church in America has failed its youth. And the anology Lee gave of business is equally true too. Churches don't make money, they make disciples. Our "profit" is the spiritual enrichment and growth in people's lives. The churches failed. Unfortunately, we have generations of people who have been failed, who raised generations who were failed. The parents failed because there was failure all the way down the line. It's not a pretty sight. It makes it kinda clear how the mass apostasy and falling away predicted can happen. If your don't believe in the first place, its not that far a skip to denying outright.

-- Anonymous, November 14, 2000

What I said in another thread I'll repeat here.

I don't believe our failing is in having youth nights, pizza parties, etc. Our failing is in not utilizing these activities effectively. We have created ample opportunities, and we have blown them by being afraid to teach our kids the hard truths of Scripture. We have too long been preaching to our children (and ourselves!) a namby-pamby milquetoast Christ who winks and nods at our failures, rather than calling us to holiness and calling us to account when we are disobedient.

-- Anonymous, November 14, 2000

Brother John:

No one has said that going out to enjoy an evening with our young people is the cause of our failure. Nor have we said that having pizza with them has caused our failure. We have, however established that our "youth programs"have failed. And one reason for that failure has been the fact that most of our so called "youth programs" consist of nothing more than having a youth night out and eating pizza and providing entertaiment for them and as Brother Wisniewski has said, "baby sitting" them.

Try having a program that consist primarily of diligent Bible study that requires these young people to research the scriptures and recite them and has only ocassional "pizza parties" after a long and hard session of diligent and serious Bible study and see if your "youth program" does not do better. Our Young people are not lazy nor are they apathetic about spiritual matters and they would thoroughly enjoy and greatly benefit from intense study of the Bible. Maybe the pizza would be justified on the basis that the teens have been studying the word of God all day on Saturday at the Church and need to eat and have some break with refreshments. But this is not the content of most so called "youth programs". Most of these programs consist of little more than mere "alternative entertainment" designed to "keep them out of trouble" and prevent them from running with their worldly friends. I have not seen very many that are designed to actually help them understand God's word and come to know Christ our Lord. Sermons designed for them are without question often "dumbed down" and have as their prmary objective to keep them interested in a religion that we are pathetically unwilling to teach them in any effective way!

I can tell you of a congregation that has no "youth program" tp speak of. In fact they do not even consider taking the kids out one night for pizza. The only time this happens is when the parents go out after Church to enjoy a fellowship with each other at a local restaurant and the kids come with them. But this congregation has a curriculum that takes the entire congregation, including all ages of young and old alike, through the entire Bible in three years and they repeat that cycle every three years. And I can tell you now that I could take any one of those teens at that congregation and put them against any false teacher in the country and they would defend the faith once delivered in a fashion that would put many of our so called "great preachers" to shame! And the young men among them can give expositiory lessons worthy of serious publication when asked to do so. They are knowlegeable, articulate, and very different than their peers in school. In fact, the impact and influence of their training in the scriptures at this congregation upon their study habits places them in the top of their secular classes at school. And it is interesting to note that they are very happy to have been challenged in this way and are the object of much praise and encouragement from the saints with whom they worship. The only fear is that they may become too proud of their superior knowledge of the scriptures. But I hasten to say that their parents are always ready to administer a dose of humility when they detect this disease of pride coming upon their children and they have enough Bible knowledge to show them that they have a long way to go before they can claim to be Biblical scholars!

I just thought you might want to know why I am opposed to our so called "youth programs" that have failed so miserably because they are made up of nothing more than pizza parties, night outs and other forms of entertainment and are completely devoid of any real serious attempts to make them knowledgable of the word of God and the salvation that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Baby Sitting is not a work of the church. Parents should provide programs for their youth and the church should not "leave the word of God to serve tables".

Your Brother in Christ,

E. Lee Saffold

-- Anonymous, November 14, 2000