Are You a Cross-Cultural Missionary?

Our young people need to learn from our own cross-cultural skills. by Reid Kapple

“This generation is going to hell in a handbasket.”

There is so much about that statement that confuses me. For starters, why is a handbasket the vehicle of choice for an expedited trip to the lake of fire? I mean, really, when was the last time anyone wanted to send something fast and said, “If I just had a handbasket…”?

In all seriousness, this sentiment seems to find its way into the minds and onto the lips of adults in nearly every generation. And it is not uncommon for this rant to be made directly at youth.

I don’t believe, however, that this generation of teenagers has a greater proclivity to sin or even that the culture is more perverse and sinful than other generations. True, today’s culture is different than in the past. So that just means we need to be cross-cultural missionaries—to understand our culture and live in it—and train our youth to be the same.

Just like any good missionary, our churches need to understand the gospel and understand youth culture, then work to connect the dots between the good news of Jesus Christ and the unique challenges our youth are facing. We need to answer the question that one student recently posed to me: “What does the death of a homeless Jew 2,000 years ago have to do with my struggles right now?”

[blockquote] Just like any good missionary, out churches need to understand the Gospel and understand youth culture… [/blockquote]

Today’s Youth Culture

Let me highlight what I think is unique about today’s youth culture that has deep implications for teenagers, and then show what we must and can do to bring the gospel to bear upon these particular challenges:

• PORNOGRAPHY / Sexual sin has always been an issue in the lives of young people, but it appears to have more onramps in our culture thanks to the accessibility, affordability and anonymity of online pornography. Pornography is no longer just a form of perverted entertainment but a form of pernicious education—in many cases, the primary source of sex education for teenagers.1 This is only compounded when you learn that the average age of first exposure to pornography is 11.2 Pornography is deteriorating the view of sex in the lives of our teenagers and also reshaping their identities.

• STRESS / By far the most frequent prayer request I hear from students is in regard to their schoolwork and the pressure they feel. Now, I’m confident that every teenage generation has dealt with various pressures and stresses. However, it appears that our students today are being pushed to perform at incredibly high levels, with virtually no room to fail.3 It is either sink or swim, and I see many students drowning. No wonder, then, that recent studies show teenagers are at greater risk of suffering from anxiety disorders and other mental-health issues caused by stress than teenagers from earlier generations.4 Sure, they may be maintaining their 3.8 GPA, holding their spot on the varsity soccer team and serving as a student leader in their youth group, but inside they are screaming for rest and deliverance.

• SOCIAL MEDIA / We have more ways to communicate and connect with other people, and yet we are finding that people feel less happy and more alone than ever, according to MIT Professor Sherry Turkle. In her book Alone Together, Professor Turkle asserts that social media (and other forms of technology) change not only what we do but also who we are. Texting and Facebook are unintentionally conditioning teenagers to view communication and relationships as superficial and even artificial.

• GENERATIONAL GAP / Most people don’t disagree that there is a growing chasm between the church and teenagers. Like any complex cultural phenomenon, there are a myriad of contributing factors. I believe that one of those factors is the widening gap between youth and the older generations.

Today’s youth are experiencing systemic abandonment, according to Chap Clark, professor at Fuller Theological Seminary. Throughout history, teenagers have often verbalized their desires to distance themselves from parental and adult authority; but in recent years, adults seem to be granting them their wish. In his book Hurt, Dr. Clark writes these stinging words:

“As society in general moved from being a relatively stable and cohesive adult community intent on caring for the needs of the young to a free-for-all of independent and fragmented adults seeking their own survival, individual adolescents found themselves in a deepening hole of systemic rejection.”

I believe that teenagers in today’s world have fewer and fewer significant relationships with adults, which is causing them, in some ways, to grow up on their own. Our young people are drifting away from church, too, because there are fewer adults “showing them the way.” Or perhaps, as Kenda Dean argues in Almost Christian, adults are showing them the way, but it is a weak and watered-down version of the way.

[blockquote] The key lies in helping our students see how the gospel applies to their unique struggles. [/blockquote]

Where Do We Go From Here?

In some ways, this is a really depressing read. And it should be. Our hearts should break for any person or people group facing inherent cultural norms that appear to create a distance between them and the gospel of Jesus.

However, we mustn’t stay in that state of mind for long. If we do, we will essentially be saying that the gospel has been rendered weak, irrelevant and ineffective. The truth is that the gospel is indeed the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16). The key is in helping our students see how this power applies to the unique struggles they face every day.

So what is our role as adults in the church? How does the gospel speak to these unique youth culture phenomena?

When it comes to pornography, we must navigate through the cross-cultural waters alongside our young people in order to convey that their body is not their own; it was bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). We must also show them that God’s design for sex and sexuality is not just for our good but for our joy. The gospel is our source of purity and joy.

When it comes to stress, our role as cross-cultural missionaries is to remind them that their identity, value and significance is not rooted in how well they perform but in Christ’s performance for them (Galatians 2:19-20). When they begin to see themselves in light of what Christ has done for them, they can fail and still not be crushed, because they know that they are defined and marked by more than their grades. The gospel is our source of worth and identity.

When it comes to social media, we as cross-cultural ambassadors must live out what it means to have deep relationships. With our lives, we’ll show young people that Christ has redeemed us to bring us into a relationship with Him and with others (John 13:35, Galatians 6:1-10). We must continue to be intentional in creating authentic Christian community that our students do not simply observe but actively participate in. We must not simply do ministry for, but ministry with, our students. Through this they can come to see that Christian community is not just something they need but something that needs them. The gospel is our source of community and belonging.

When it comes to the generational gap, we must be cross-cultural disciple-makers who take seriously the call to be disciples who make disciples. The people of God (not just parents and pastors) are called to love and lead the next generation (Psalm 78:1-8; Titus 2:1-8). We must be willing, as our Lord Jesus was, to meet our students where they are and invite them to follow Christ with us. The gospel is our source of discipleship.

While today’s barriers to belief and discipleship may be different from when we were young, the timeless gospel of Christ is still the power of God unto salvation. We must help our students see that the gospel is not simply the good news that saves our lives, but it is the very measure of our lives.