Staying out of trouble

"We haven't given them something worthy of giving themselves completely over to. Instead we've settled for simply trying to keep them out of trouble. We are training them to be good little boys and girls... The truth is you can stay out of trouble but fall short of your calling. You can stay out of trouble, but live a life of little impact or significance." - Steve Furtick

I love working with high school students and their outrageous belief that God can accomplish the impossible. But I think we often fail them. We try to contain that belief and tell them to be realistic. We try to make sure they follow the big three of no sex, alcohol or drugs. We try to set up all of the boundaries that they need to stay within. We say here are the rules and if you follow them, then you will stay out of trouble. It isn't about staying out trouble. It is about chasing the amazing example of being like Jesus. See he didn't do a very good job of staying out of trouble. He hung out at parties (gasp), he had friends who had lived lives of promiscuous sex (we don't want our kids hanging out with that kind of person), he got the religious pissed off because he didn't follow the rules (students should follow the rules and not wear that in a worship service), and he generally turned all of their rules upside down. I wonder if that is because to Him it wasn't about the rules or staying out of trouble, but about them being great men and incredible women who were madly in love with God and living a life focused on loving others? I wonder if we spent less time on the rules and more time challenging them to chase that God, if those other things might lose their pull? Would casting that vision in front of students be worth them keeping their pants on? Let's stop trying to control the behaviours and give them something worth pursuing.

I feel I need to add that I don't follow rules very well so I might be a little biased here, but hard to argue with Jesus' example. Don't look for me to be the filter of what is appropriate rules to follow. Pretty simple rules for me. Am I loving God and loving others? The rest are details that I am not sure really matter that much. If we can get those two rules down, I think we will be fulfilling what God has called us to do. (I know my friends will be shocked to find out that I don't follow the rules very well. I'm so predictable in my desire to be a rule follower.)