Be happy, and celebrate all of the goodness of youth while you are young. Cultivate a cheerful heart every day you have youth. Go where your heart takes you. Take in the sights. Enjoy, but remember that God will hold us accountable for all that we do. – Ecclesiastes 11:9

If we care about our children and grandchildren… then there is nothing more important, or effective, than the decision we make to follow Jesus and to live out our faith in the context of intentional community.

First, thank you all so much for the care and prayer surrounding our daughter, Naomi, as she has had such a tough week at the hospital. She is home now, but it’s a big deal to lose an organ (one kidney) and the weeklong struggle with pain certainly took its toll. But she felt – and was moved by – all the love and support and we appreciate it very much.

Equipping Kids for Life:

Here in Tarboro, this weekend was “Youth Sunday” at our church. As I said to a visitor, “This is always the most unpredictable hour of worship in the entire year. But whatever happens, I can guarantee it will be interesting.”

I had the privilege of working with a couple of my young friends. Davis has a strong pure voice and his younger brother, Turner, is learning to play guitar. They presented one of my favorites as the offertory, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” to the tune of “The Water is Wide.” I played guitar lightly behind them, just to help keep them going, but they really didn’t need it.

I messed up but good!

Apparently the power cord to my guitar was not properly engaged, so my instrument had no volume (which I believe was a serendipity). Then, as I reached to unplug, we experienced that unintentional harsh explosion of electronic noise that comes from a poor connection, resulting in both me and Turner diving for the on-off switches on our amps!

This is a fairly small (but strong) church; the potential to reach out to young people, however, is huge. And what I have noted, over so many years of observation, is that if we want our children to be faithful, our teenagers, our young adults, then the most important tool we have at our disposal is our own commitment.

Simply put, it doesn’t matter how old we are, or even if we have kids of our own, each one of us serve – day in, day out – as critically important role models.

If we are excited about faith, if we love God with a passion, if we are faithful and consistent in worship… then the next generation will be too.

There is nothing more important, or effective, than the decision we make to follow Jesus and to live out our faith in the context of intentional community.

If we love these young people, and if we want them to know something of the joy that is a life of faith, then we are the evidence that will teach and motivate them.

Regardless, one way or another, each one of us live our witness to the truth (or our demonstration of the irrelevance) of the Good News message.

Remember that advice from your writing teacher? “Don’t tell me, show me.” Well, the principle has broad applications – DEREK