And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.” Nehemiah 1:5
Let me rephrase that for ministry today: “The remnant in the __________ school in my community is surviving, but is in great trouble and shame.” The body of Christ is alive, but it is shrinking while the overall student population is growing. Even at that, the ‘Christians’ are becoming Samaritans (if I may stretch the analogy). Let me explain. My middle child (daughter) turned 10 in July. She had a sleepover at our house with six friends. Let me tell you that the conversation was eye opening. I didn’t realize that we are sheltering our kids. Ten year old girls with iPhones, playing mine craft at will, watching Usher on Saturday night live, and Barbie has been turned into a zombie! What has America come to?? Barbie? Is nothing sacred anymore? (note sarcasm) Know that this is not all of them, but it is the popular culture creeping in younger and younger. These are ‘Christian’ girls being raised in ‘Christian’ homes. Where will the ‘cool’ conversation be by the time they hit high school? I think I know, because I hear it in the music and watch it in the movies. Nehemiah and I reacted the same way. Here is how he reacted:
As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. Nehemiah 1:6
How do you react when you see popular culture creeping younger and younger? What can we do about it?
Thinking out loud,
Brad Schelling, Mark Roberts, Brandon Starnes
First Priority of America New Start Team
