My Dad was overseas in Vietnam; my Mom was a busy restauranteur (owned and operated two of them); I was immersed in a "safe" Christian community. It had a leader, named Gus. It accepted me, when no one else would. It had a guidebook, the Bible, with their interpretations. It had unwritten rules that were strictly adhered to. And it didn't take kindly to asking questions or leaving. Sound like a cult?
Youth For Christ had two goals: 1) Get saved; and 2) Teach you to get others saved. I struggled with, but succumbed to the first one and utterly failed at the second. Each rally would close with an altar call. The altar was the audience-edge of the stage; the call was a heartfelt plea to accept Jesus into your heart, all accompanied by the incessant singing of Gospel verses until someone responded. It didn't usually take long.
I never went forward, but on one occasion, following a rally, I went home, knelt by my bed, and said the words that were supposed to change my life. From then on I proudly boasted (to my Christian friends only) that I had accepted Jesus. The second part of the altar call was for those who felt that they hadn't been living for the Lord and wanted to rededicate their lives. I recall wondering how so many of the kids around me, the same ones who had recently gotten saved, were already backslidden to a point where they had to go forward again.
Shortly after my salvation experience I wrote to my Dad in Vietnam and spoke to my Mom, who was at that time living a less-than-pious lifestyle. I got a letter back from my Dad, saying that he was pleased that I had salvation, that all the years of taking me to church must have took. My Mom lectured me on how she used to sing in a gospel group as a child, that her daddy (my grandpa) was a preacher before he got cancer and took to drinking, and that I couldn't teach her anything about Christianity.
After you got saved, Youth For Christ, like Billy Graham's crusades, would steer you into a local church that had similar teaching. Somehow I ended up at Edgewood Baptist, not far from my home (but not down the street), where I would be encouraged to be baptised by immersion. While I was assured that baptism was not required for salvation, it certainly rounded out the process and was "commanded by our Lord."
One other important YFC experience. I had a brief relationship with a cute Italian girl that I met in the youth choir. A few years later we would meet again and commit to a marital bond that is now going on 40 years.
With salvation firmly in hand, I was prime for another Christian group that was lurking in the shadows of Youth for Christ, seekng new converts to fill their agenda. This was the experience that would move me from the pew to the stage.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
There is something both beautiful and terrifying about the zeal of young people. When I was a child, I prayed the prayer of salvation several times just to be sure I had it right and I fully believed that the eternal torment of the children who died in third world countries would be all my fault if I didn't act somehow.
As I look towards the idea of rearing my own children to be righteous, mature people, I'm confused about what to teach them. It does seem like children respond so much better to routine and clear, simple rules...but I have personally left many of the routines and rules behind. Do you think children are ready to grasp deeper spiritual truths?
I think that children start out having a deeper spiritual base --- absolute trust, vivid imagination, unconditional love. Maturity, with the right nurturing, gives reason to what they already believed. Unfortunately, bad influences (and there are many) chip away at their spiritual foundation.
You really don't think children start out with selfish tendencies? Are things like sharing and discipline really fundamental if they are just left alone? If they bite or push other children, is that all learned behavior?
I believe that children leave the starting gate ready to receive vast amounts of data from all of their senses --- like sponges. We often overlook just what kind of data they are receiving. Even adult behavior, like arguing or selfishness, can translate to pushing or grabbing in a child's world. That's why the nurturers must maitain a proper balance between good examples and correction. A common misunderstanding is that discipline just means punishment. A good foundation in love prepares the child for the bad influences, which will inevitably come.
Post a Comment