Borrowed Light

Why I’d Prefer Youth Groups to Plaster 1 Timothy 4:15 On Walls Instead of 1 Timothy 4:12

January 20, 2015Mike Leake

Is it really a youth group if it doesn’t have 1 Timothy 4:12 somewhere on the wall? 1 Timothy 4:12 is the life verse for many teenagers. It has within it all that is right about being a teenager. Allow me to interpret for you:

Let no one despise you for your youth…”take that you old codgers”

but set the believers an example…”with your youthful vigor wake up those old coots and show them what authentic Christian faith is supposed to look like”

in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity…”hey look a PS4…”

Far too often 1 Timothy 4:12 becomes a rallying cry for teens who feel disrespected. Why aren’t they given leadership roles in the church? Why aren’t they allowed to preach on a Sunday morning or lead a Sunday school class or lead the church in worship?

Never mind that if “youthful” Timothy showed up in your youth group you’d wonder who this thirty-year-old creeper is hanging out with teens instead of joining the adult Bible study. Timothy has probably known Paul for awhile by the time he receives 1 Timothy. So, he’s hardly the poster boy for Teen magazine.

But even if Timothy were a teenager I believe 1 Timothy 4:15 might be a better verse for todays teenagers.

The Case for 1 Timothy 4:15

When Paul tells Timothy to “let no one despise you” what he is saying is preach and teach in such a way that people cannot dismiss you without consequence. Positively set an example in the way you live your life. (It’s most certainly not saying boisterously make sure people listen to your ideas).

Paul then outlines what such a ministry will look like. It is a ministry that is devoted to the Word, “to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching”. Timothy, had been called to be a proclaimer of God’s Word and he must continue on this path.

And then you have verse 15: “Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress”.

The idea here is that Timothy has room to grow. As a young minister he is going to blow it, but the more he practices exhorting people with the Word and living a holy life the better he is going to get, especially if he immerses himself in “these things”.

I’d prefer this to be on the walls of youth groups because it reminds teenagers that they have a ton of growing yet to do.

It is also saturated with grace. It encourages churches to view the trajectory of teenagers instead of grumbling about their immaturity. Sure the junior high kid stumbles through the public reading of the Word—but he’s gotten better since the last time he did it.

If you work with teens I urge you to take a posture with them more akin to that of 1 Timothy 4:15 and not the mistakenly militant posture of 1 Timothy 4:12.

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photo credit: MTSOfan via photopin cc

Today in Blogworld 01.20.15

January 20, 2015Mike Leake 2 Comments

Which Promises Are For Me?

Jen Wilkin answer this important question: “How can we lay claim to the promises of the Bible without overstepping their application?”

Religious Liberty vs. Erotic Liberty

You can guess which one is losing.

On Being an Ordinary Christian

Tim’s honesty here resonates with something in my own walk with Christ.

Every Lofty Opinion

Here is why preachers cannot afford to pummel straw-men in the pulpit.

I apologize for making you listen to the atrocity that is country music—but this proves my point. It is all the same and it is all terrible:

Why the Battle for Traditional Marriage Will Be Different than Fighting Roe v. Wade

January 19, 2015Mike Leake

In 2012 Justice Scalia told us it would only be a matter of time before “the other shoe drops”. That other shoe will likely drop in 2015—same-sex marriage will be constitutionally allowed in all 50 of our states. When the Supreme Court meets in 2015 to make a ruling on same-sex marriage the likely decision will be just as defining of a moment as the Roe v. Wade decision of 1973 which legalized abortion.

Since 1973 the church has been fighting to end abortion. And though we don’t seem to be winning court or legal battles on this topic it does appear that our nation is becoming more pro-life than pro-choice.

Will the same thing happen with same-sex marriage? Will we be talking in 2057 about a decline in same-sex marriages? Will the cultural tide turn at that point?

I don’t have those answers, but I do know that our hope for traditional marriage will be a much different battle than our discussion over abortion.

I say this because murder and killing children is not an acceptable practice in our culture. As such, one really does not have to believe the Bible in order to disagree with abortion. All you have to do is believe that life begins at conception, to value human life above human choice, to believe that taking human life is wrong, and voila you’ve got someone that is pro-life.

But in order to oppose same-sex marriage it is almost necessary to do so from a biblical perspective. Yes, there are those who argue against it for societal reasons. But at the end of the day the most vigorous opponents of same-sex marriage are those who believe it to be sin. Those who believe it is sin also believe sin destroys humanity, and out of love for humanity oppose that which is believed to be killing them.

This is why at foundation most debates over same-sex marriage are actually debates about Scripture and authority.

I had a discussion with a young lady the other day about human sexuality. And I’ve got to confess I totally botched it. I botched it because we talked primarily about human sexuality. What I should have done was start with what she believed about the Bible and authority. Because if we can’t agree there then we aren’t going to agree on issues of sexuality.

And this is why I say that this debate will be much different. We don’t have emotional appeals like we do in abortion. We cannot appeal to common grace and say let us not take the chance that we really are taking the life of a human being. Our shared humanity is enough.

But in this debate we don’t have that emotional appeal. In fact those who argue for same-sex marriage have a very strong emotional appeal. Love wins the day. How can Christians be seen to oppose love? In fact I’d argue that in our culture opposing same-sex marriage feels like being anti-gospel.

So, I’ll be interested to see what direction the discussions over same-sex marriage take once it becomes illegal? Will persecution happen? Will the church in America slowly be at home with same-sex marriage?

I don’t know the answer but I do know we won’t see same-sex marriage overturned in our nation until we see God change hearts in such a way that His Word is our authority.