A couple of years ago, I was introduced to a local peacemaking organization. Their heart’s cry is to live out the kingdom of Jesus on earth as it is in heaven, actively working for peace for all people around the world. They have been on the news protesting the development of nuclear weapons, trying to engage and inform the general public that violence only begets more violence. They share life with the homeless and people in need in their community, practicing the words Jesus preached.
I started reading more about this peacemaking group and was interested in partnering with them. I was impressed by the practicality of their theology and the fact that their love for Christ permeates everything they do. They are not reactionary with their faith but seek to partner with God in bringing about the redemption of all of creation.
I invited some parents and teens for discussion to get their feedback on what it could look like to partner with this ministry and was completely surprised by the responses I received. Immediately, the teens understood the vision of the peacemaking group as offering a way forward, of bringing hope and life to people around the world through the lived-out love of Jesus Christ. Their imaginations were engaged; the adrenaline was flowing. But the parents refused to listen to the wisdom and faith of the teens. They said:
“We need to make sure we’re the strongest nation to keep us safe from ‘them.’ Nuclear weapons are a part of life, and we should be thankful that we live in the country with the best military.”
“Those people ‘over there’ are nothing like us. They don’t think like us. They don’t look like us. They are scary.”
“I don’t understand this obsession with peacemaking. We know things will get worse before the last days of Jesus, and we just need to wait for him to take us away from all of this.”
My spirit sighed, and I did not push the envelope any further. It was apparent to me that the fearful theology of these parents had been informed more by popular Christian fiction than by reading the red-lettered words of Jesus.
Jon Huckins understands the limitations of this kind of theology and its implications for the next-generation followers of Jesus. He notes, “Rather than immersing myself in the living narratives, I had been content with a theology and narrative that had been formed for me.” Instead of wrestling with the testimony of the Scriptures to the Living Word, who still speaks peace into our violent tendencies, Huckins chose the comfortable theology that promoted the Western way of life as the new promised land. This theology was passed on to his students.
Huckins shares the beautiful and eye-opening conversation with his friend Milad and how his theology was challenged.
“Rather than seeing my role as a guide to help my students navigate the global village in light of the good news of the kingdom, I subconsciously understood my role as the guide to the inner workings of students rooted only in the narrative worldview of the West.”
Thankfully, Milad challenged Huckins’ Western-based theology and replaced it with a global-kingdom consciousness. He understood the importance of continuing to grow and wrestle through one’s convictions and theology as well as passing that on to the next generation.
I wish I’d had access to Huckins’ article a few years ago. I would have asked the youth and parents to read it before we entered into our discussion on the power of peacemaking and our call to follow Jesus into the world on a mission of peace. Huckins writes that he had formerly “missed out on the opportunity to invite my students into a way of life that acknowledged Jesus’ life, death and resurrection as representative of a new kingdom that doesn’t demand division but unity and doesn’t rule with military might but calls its inhabitants to live the cruciform life—the way of the cross—for the sake of others.”
This is the essential call of youth ministry: to invite students to live into the fullness of the new covenant of Jesus—loving God and neighbors—wherever our feet may go. We are a people of the cross, who understand that sacrifice and love are the weapons God uses to bring his kingdom come.
As youth ministers, it is imperative that we constantly push the boundaries of the worldviews of our students. It is natural for teens to be self-centered and somewhat apprehensive of those who look different than we do. But Jesus came and destroyed all barriers that kept us from communion with God and real fellowship with one another; a fellowship that crosses ethnicities and geographic boundaries to live out the love of Jesus—loving my neighbor as I want to be loved.
For the last several years, I have invited guest speakers to come and worship with my youth, to share their stories and experiences of life in the goodness of the kingdom of Jesus around the world. We’ve heard stories of missionaries from Brazil and Guatemala and St. Louis. We were inspired by a world traveler who resided in Ireland and journeyed extensively through Europe. We heard the horrors of human trafficking as well as the amazing power of the Spirit to bring healing. We’ve had a couple of artists come and invite us to get our hands messy in creating works of art with God. We have been asking ourselves the very question that Huckins’ wrote: “What can we learn about the kingdom from people who follow Jesus in ways and contexts that differ from our own?”
My favorite part of Huckins’ article, however, is his description of Milad’s passion. “He and his wife run a nonprofit for Palestinian kids in the West Bank that promotes peace and reconciliation through the arts.” As we engage the imaginations of our students, challenging them and daring them to live out the radical call of Jesus to extend love to the end of the world, we will witness the Spirit breathing new dreams and new visions into them, finding ways to grow this mustard-seed kingdom on earth.
We should always be suspicious of any theologies that come easily and comfortably, that seem to promote one nationality above another. We should strive to wrestle with the words of Jesus and the testimony of Scripture, inviting our students to join us in asking the question, How do these words affect my neighbors around the world?
And we should pray for every church in America to find its own Milad.
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