Shut up and sit down or stand up and speak out?

[LENA]

Recently I have had a chance to view the "networking" site myspace.  And boy was I in for a very shocking surprise.  I found that many of the youth at my church had very explicit pages. Many of them in provocative poses, cursing people out, and even representing gangs. All the while stating which church they attend.  My question is, as a church I feel that we need to have something in place to keep this from happening. Oh I forgot to included that fact that many of our so called youth leaders have the same type of pages.

I myself do not have any children but it hurts my heart so bad to see this happening and we are letting it happen. What can I do??

[Gracious]

Hello Lena,

You wrote:

Posted by: LENA - Today at 03:52:29 PM 

I myself do not have any children but it hurts my heart so bad to see this happening and we are letting it happen. What can I do??

Thank you for presenting this ... I guess I've heard of the "ungodly" explicitness that goes on regarding our youth and our sick sadistic adult brethren. This is sooooooo saddening.

What can YOU do???  Whelp for me anyways ... YOU'VE DONE IT!!!

EXPOSED THE ENEMY!!!  Oh, sure this may not seem like much ... but ... the one thing (I believe) that the enemy of our soul fears is EXPOSURE ... BY GOD FEARING SAINTS!!!

We as Christians know how to defeat (win the battle) regarding the enemy within ... and that is:

·  To FIGHT him (satan) with HOLY weapons ... and they are HIS WORD - WHICH exposes the ways of the wicked one & AND EXPOSES GOD's promises to us,

·  HIS/GOD's POWER - the anointing -the release of HIS POWER through received "gifts of HIS SPIRIT,

·  PRAYER - which unlocks the DOOR ... maintaining a DIVINE spiritual connection with Abba Father-

·  THE HOLY GHOST / Divine knowledge ... AND ... application through our FAITH - which allows all of this to be channeled properly within us, giving us divine wisdom & direction!!!

Plainly,  Lena my friend, to me you've started wisely by making your concern known ... which should be a concern to us ALL ... making it known!!! Now it is up to ALL of us to seek the face of GOD regarding what the next step should be!!!

Personally, I teach adult & children's Sunday school & occasionally Bible Study at a local Community Center & and at my church-home. And I will make it a point to research this topic; to do as you've done for me through this thread ... make others aware of what's going on in cyber-space (MY-SPACE) ... so that we can hopefully embarrass /shame the old folk who should know better AND re-teach our babies!!!


What do you think    


Gracious[/color]

[LENA]

Gracious,

     Thank you so much for your response. The whole myspace thing seems so small but it's so big it's crazy!! Now don't get me wrong it's not all bad and some kids are just talking to other friends and posting innocent pictures. But they are few and far in-between.  Before yesterday I was going to just sit down and shut up but now I will at least email my Pastor to make him aware of the problem.

[1EagleSky]

The questionable material posted on myspace by church youth leaders and many of the youth themselves is indicative of another problem we are having in churches across the country as a whole.

Sadly, far too many churches are using worldly metrics to choose leadership within the church, instead of using tried and true methods that work, such as fasting and praying, as well as careful observance of potential leaders' lives before making the decision to put them in leadership or not.

Too many churches are making people leaders in church (youth leaders as well as other kinds of leaders---Bible Study teachers, finance managers, etc.) based on the wrong criteria. People are being placed in leadership because they are considered to be very attractive, friendly, popular,  have college degrees, are business owners, or simply because they are related to the pastor or the original founder of the church. All of these measurements are wrong.

In 1 Samuel 16:7, the prophet Samuel is looking at the sons of Jesse from whom to choose Israel's new king. Samuel, as he looks at Jesse's son Eliab, assumes he is the one to be anointed as the new king, because he is tall and handsome. The Lord rebukes Samuel for this error, telling him, 'Do not see as man sees. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.' Had Samuel ignored God and chosen Eliab or any of Jesse's other sons other than David, Israel would have suffered for it, and Samuel would have been killed by the Lord for his disobedience.

Many of our churches are suffering today because the leadership is making the same error that Samuel initially made before he was rebuked by the Lord.

As far as some of the youth/youth leaders involved in the church's youth group posting questionable material on myspace is concerned, well let me put it this way: If the individuals who have posted this material assert that they are saved, they need to be reprimanded for the postings on their site, and it should be removed. The others, who may not be saved but simply like to attend the youth group on a regular basis, should not be reprimanded.

[LENA]

Eaglesky,
Thank you too for your response. I emailed the youth Pastor at my church with my concern. And all day I have been thinking that maybe I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill. That if it was that big of a deal it would have already be addressed . We have highly intelligent leaders at my church and I can't see how they wouldn't know what was out there. Especially with dateline showing what goes on I believe every Friday night.

[Gracious]

Hello Again Sweetie,

Some more encouragement for ya'

You wrote:

"...We have highly intelligent leaders at my church and I can't see how they wouldn't know what was out there. Especially with dateline showing what goes on I believe every Friday night."

Chile, I feeeeel you ... I truly do ... BUT ...

May I encourage you that, it was YOU that GOD purposed to expose the enemy in this My Space situation - to us here & in your House of Worship. And neither your Pastor, nor the leadership of your church are any the less for it!!! You see, YOU are the "fruit" of your religious House, and it is obvious to me, that you have been groomed & nourished (fed spiritually) very very well!!!

Lena, many times we Christians feel that it is the responsibility of our church leadership to enlighten us and or solve almost EVERY ill that besets us. My Sista', YOU are just as able to "get a prayer through" & receive Divine-insight regarding ANY thing ... as the leadership of your church. You may not walk in their shoes (thank GOD!!!), but you are just as capable of receiving wisdom (spiritually ... connecting the dots) as ANY other human being. 

The fact that YOU brought this to your church leadership, says that THEY are doing EXACTLY what they ought to be doing ... feeding their flock, so that their flock is mature enough and secure enough to recognize and OBEY GOD's voice when they hear it ... so as to recognize the wiles of the devil when they see them.

Have you ever noticed, that a regular person will be going on with their regular life and BOOM, all of a sudden, something extraordinary happens to them ... that will touch the heart of humanity ... and forces humanity to change - to alter it's course forever. I'm sure that the honorable Rosa Parks could have told us ALL about that ... God rest her soul!!!

Jesus was a master educator ... Amen? And though HE preached throughout much of HIS earthen life, it was through priceless parables that HE was led to give righteous life-principles ...Praise GOD!

There is a parable found in the Gospel of Luke that comes to mind, and I think that it speaks to your question of why something is sooooo clear to you, that's apparently invisible to others?[/color]

LUKE 8
(NIRV)
A Lamp on a Stand

16 "People do not light a lamp and then hide it in a jar or put it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand. Then those who come in can see its light. 17 What is hidden will be seen. And what is out of sight will be brought into the open and made known.
18 "So be careful how you listen. If you have something, you will be given more. If you have nothing, even what you think you have will be taken away from you."

[/color]


My friend, to me GOD gave you HIS Light in this situation - you are being obedient (careful to listen) and you have enlighten many, you have planted the seed ... what we do with it is on us!!!


Gracious


P.S

Now I shall take my seat ... in da' AAAAAAAAAAAmen corna' of da' sanctuary (LOL)

[Breathedonme]

Sister God bless you and be encouraged!

Our Bishop had a forum since our ministry is largely college students or recently college grads.

It was great.  In preparation for this forum (he had young people on the panel), we were able to review some of the "my space" and "facebook" pages.  As you stated, "terrible!!!"

Well, one thing he did after listening to the various opinions was to explain that we are trying to win souls for the Lord and that so many negative seeds have been planted in the media and otherwise (justifiably and not justifiably so).  He requested that they take our church's name off of their sites if the insisted on having such negativity on there (which is our church's policy that anything media-related has to be approved).

More than that, he encouraged them to search themselves and seek God (the Word) about how the behavior in church and outside should be the same.  He taught much more, but it is too much to put here.  However, I am pleased to say that many have either stopped having a page or have cleaned up their pages.  How do I know?  We have a small ministry FOR NOW! 

[LENA]

Ok so now I have yet another question about this myspace madness.......

I emailed the youth pastor last week and I haven't heard from him.  I must admit that I'm not the most patient person but at what point do I say well I did my part and walk away?
  I totally agree with you that this type of display doesn't match up with a "Christian" life style.  And I know that it only reflects poorly on our ministry. I have had several people laugh at me when I tell them what church I attend, they say I might as well go to the club.
   Not only am I concerned about the bad rap for the church but my faith as a whole. I'm also concerned about all the other stuff that comes with these pages.
  I'm so sick of going to church and we building beautiful buildings but the world is still messed up.  I fell like I'm watching a football game where one team looks like they not even trying to win. You know just letting the other team walk all over them.  Maybe this is just my own issuse and not the church as a whole.

[Forum Administrator]

Hello Lena (and All). The Bible tells us that we are salt and we are light. Salt has to come in contact with what it is going to influence. The same is true of light. What you are seeing in the MySpace culture, particularly with the youth of our churches, is an exposure and uncovering of their hearts and mindsets. Many of our youth come to church, lifting their hands and praising God, but then post explicit photos of themselves and explicit comments in MySpace. I actually see this as a positive thing.

In MySpace, these young people are revealing what's really going on in their hearts and lives, things we may not have ever otherwise known. I see this as an opportunity for those of us who are sincerely concerned to encourage them in love; to be pointers to Jesus for so many of our young people who are in a state of desperation. What our young people need is hope. They also need examples of godliness without hypocrisy.

You don't have to forward this to your youth pastor. It is troubling you because God wants you to do something about this. You are just as much salt and light as your youth pastor is. Ask the Lord to give you a heart of compassion and love -- His heart -- for these young people. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom to encourage in a way that will be productive and effective. You are salt. Let your words be seasoned with salt so that they will build up and not tear down. You are light. Shine into the dark places and help others see the Way out. That Way is Jesus.