Teenagers Need a Purpose



Clip “Dewey Knows Best”

“What kind of a God makes us think outside of school?” Although Dewey, a character from the show Malcolm in the Middle, isn’t a teenager, he expresses many teens and young adults initial aversion to church and matters of faith. Dewey’s premise is that God is too big and different for us to know and we are too small for God to really care about. “There’s nothing we can do about it,” is what Dewey concludes. That belief is more prevalent than we may realize.

Recent polls and census data tells that the fastest growing category of response on questions of faith in this country is the “no faith” category. Young adults and teens are a large part of this response. The number of young adults who respond “I have no faith, I am nothing” has doubled in the last 20 years. Remember, these statistics are real people. These are our sons and daughters, our grandsons and granddaughters. What if these trends continue? What if nothing changes? If nothing changes we will lose a generation to the faith. And if there is no strong witness to Christ in one generation, who will speak to the next generation, to their sons and daughters?

This is what is so urgent about our mission and message. We are here to Make Disciples and Create Community in such a time and place as this. We must continue to orient ourselves outward, toward those not yet a part of us, so those who have no faith may come to have faith in Jesus Christ. This is the last week in a series called How to Save a Life – Things Every Teenager Needs. We have talked about how teenagers need Room to Grow, Parents to Love and Instruct, how they need a Cheering Section, how they need forgiveness. But there is one more piece that we need to consider in what Teenagers Need. Teenagers need a purpose. As we’ve discussed, teenagers should not be relegated to a no man’s land between childhood and adulthood. Teenagers can and should grow in knowledge, wisdom, character, skill, and leadership. We do our teenagers, and our young adults for that matter, no favors when we treat them merely like older versions of our little children. They are persons becoming adults in their own rights. Too often we cater to teens worst instincts.

“Here we are now entertain us. . .I feel stupid and contagious. Here we are now entertain us.” Kurt Cobain

There is an episode recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s Gospels concerning a man who approaches Jesus and asks, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus responds by saying you probably know the commandments and your responsibility to obey. The man responds all these I have kept since I was very young. Jesus responds by telling him the one thing he lacks. Go and sell your possessions, give to the poor, and come and follow me.

Matthew’s Gospel refers to this man as a young man. (Matt. 19.20) For Matthew this wasn’t an incidental detail. Here was young man who was seeking God. But there was an obstacle to this young man’s spiritual journey – his materialism. Jesus says remove that and you can, and will be able to, follow me.

“But when the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions.” Matthew 10.22

Mark’s Gospel says he went away shocked. He shocked that Jesus would suggest his lifestyle was an impediment, or had anything to do with, his being a spiritual person, let alone a follower of Jesus. He was a materialist. Materialism is when you get your meaning in life from your stuff. The young man was a religious person. Unfortunately his everyday god, his real god, was materialism.

It is a sad scene. This young man is the only person mentioned in the Gospels who is invited by Jesus to follow and turns him down. Materialism is the specific idol and god here at work, but there are others, then and now. Our young people are giving their lives to false gods. They are settling for little or no purpose beyond having stuff and looking hot.

“Everyone has a purpose in life. Maybe yours is watching television.” David Letterman

The rich young man was probably not a teenager, but people like him are held up as models for our teenagers today in a culture saturated with selfishness but precious little purpose and vision. God wants to call our young people to lives of purpose. He not only wants to save them from their sin for heaven. He wants to get heaven into them so that they are Kingdom people doing the work of King in their generation.

The Bible is filled with examples of how God calls young persons to lives of purpose. Samuel was a young man serving under Eli the priest when God called him. The introduction to that story goes like this:

“Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.” 1 Samuel 3.1

What are the consequences for a young person who lives in a time when hardly anyone is speaking of the Word of God? What are the consequences of living your life with little or no vision? God called Samuel, like he called Isaiah, like he called Jeremiah, like he called Ruth and Deborah and Mary. God loves to call young people because there is a lot that young people can do in the Kingdom that God is bringing to fruition.

Notice as well that God called Samuel while he was “ministering to the Lord.” We are most likely to hear God’s call and see some vision in our lives when we are already seeking to serve God. What are the implications for our church and ministry? Young people are a constituency that we merely do for. You know, get them pizza, buy them soda, keep them entertained and hope they will come to church once in awhile. Young people are people we minister with. Young people are also people who minister to us.
I had lunch with a guy in our church not too long ago and I asked him a standard question that I often ask people, “How is it that you came to be a part of Hicks?” He looked at me with eyes shining and said, “I have never told anyone this but I want to tell you. I came to church one Sunday but I wasn’t planning on it being more than a one time thing. But that morning the confirmands were giving testimonies and Ethan stood up and talked about how important the church was for him, how there were a couple persons who didn’t give up on him and made him feel cared for and appreciated, how he saw faith in God through that. When I heard that, that God was doing that in this kid’s life, I was challenged that maybe God could do that in me.”

Young people minister to us. God is pouring out his Spirit on all flesh and young people are getting vision and dreaming dreams


It’s not too early to ask our teenagers what their passion is, where they sense God’s leading in their lives, and how are they going to live God’s purposes. God knows, our young people don’t need to be entertained more. They are like us. They are happiest when they are living lives of purpose. They get joy when they can serve others.

I don’t think it’s an oversimplification to say that young people are taking their own lives today for lack of purpose. It’s been said that suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. We need to show our young people that their lives are not just problems, their lives are filled with promise and purpose.

“Let no one look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in your speech, your conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity. . .Do not neglect the gift that is in you.” 1 Timothy 4.12,14