First Century Lessons in Understanding Today's Youth

ROSEMONT, IL (January 31, 2005) - What can first century Christianity teach us about how to deal with today's ever-changing spiritual culture?

Youth Worker Connection (YWC) worship service speaker Doug Pagitt believes that the conflicts that plagued the early church teach a critical lesson for those desiring to understand today's generation. His stirring message at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare culminated a multifaceted weekend's worth of activities on Monday morning, prefacing the week-long Midwinter Pastors Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church that began later in the day.

"If we're not continually being converted by the Good News, maybe we're missing the meaning of the story," says Pagitt, pastor of Solomon's Porch, a Covenant congregation in Minneapolis. He illustrated that point as he discussed the meeting of Cornelius and Peter as related in Acts Chapter 11.

Pagitt drew comparisons between issues prevalent in the first century and those facing today's younger generation, noting they are markedly different. Using Acts Chapters 10 and 11, he reminded his audience that first century Christians were concerned with answering the question whether Jews and Gentiles could both possibly be part of God's plan of salvation.

While the Jews versus Gentiles issue doesn't seem to be polarizing the current Christian culture, Pagitt suggests that today's culture is asking many other questions that churches do not seem to be answering. He challenged youth leaders in the Covenant to be willing to model lives that might provide a flesh and blood answer to those "answers" the world might be providing superficially.

"Perhaps there is no time where the world is changing at a greater rate than this one," said Pagitt. "Christianity's changing at a pace that's unprecedented and in the next three years, the change could be so profound that the past 30 years may not make any sense at all. That's how it felt for the first century Christians. But our job is not simply to take yesterday's answers to today's world. Maybe the question is this: What does it mean for the Kingdom of God to be inside you?

"Growing up, the Good News seemed to be the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus," Pagitt continued. "But in the Bible, it seems what's most important is that Jesus proclaims that the Kingdom of God is alive and well among you and that we should repent and believe in the Good News. Are we as evangelicals in the U.S. playing the same role as those who circumcised in the book of Acts?"

In a quick review, Pagitt retold the story of Cornelius, a Centurion who feared God but who was considered a Gentile, and Peter, a Jew who would not consider eating an unclean animal out of respect for the law. He told of the Holy Spirit anointing both Jew and Gentile represented in the Acts 10 passage, signaling that both Jews and Gentiles had the same access to God's salvation. Peter recognizes this and eventually the first century church is able to take it in as well.

As Pagitt examined how current Christianity has responded to divergent views, however, he wondered aloud whether the church of today could be as open-minded.

"Are we willing to follow the spirit of God when it expands beyond the boundaries the church has set for it?" he asked his listeners. "Our choice as a church is to be led by the Peter (we see) before he met Cornelius, or to be led by the Peter (we see) after he met Cornelius."

Earlier in the weekend, YWC participants heard about the upcoming Covenant High in Christ (CHIC) conference that is scheduled for July 16-21, 2006. The theme of the CHIC event – to be held once again on the campus of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville - is "No Ordinary Day." More about the 2006 CHIC event can be found by visiting www.noordinaryday.org.

A host of seminar leaders and speakers were part of the YWC event. Pastor Efrem Smith of Sanctuary Covenant Church in Minneapolis spoke during Saturday evening and Sunday morning worship services. Kris Causton, a youth ministry consultant heading the CHIC executive board for 2006, was the Sunday evening speaker. The YWC was also aided by the work of a diverse praise band including Matthew Lundgren, Jelani Greenidge, Sandra Van Opstal, Patrice Richmond, Brian Wu, Eric Case, Thomas Egler and Kreg Moorhouse.

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