The Spiritual Battle vs. the Culture War
As you well know, there is a spiritual war going on for this young generation. We see the evidence of it all around us every day—young people are broken and hurting. The battle that is raging is not just a spiritual battle for the hearts and souls of youth, but also a cultural one. And as Christian adults, we must also become involved in this culture war that is raging.
If we look around, it is not hard to see that culture is being shaped by many people who don’t believe the Bible and are often hostile to the values of our faith. When you see and hear the issues we’re facing, you may ask yourself, “How do I launch into the culture war?” It’s simple: just let your voice as a Christian be heard. When you see something that disagrees with your biblical values, lift your voice to declare the truth in a kind and caring way. As a result of encouraging people all over this country to raise their voices in the culture battle, we’re hearing amazing stories of the boldness of teens.
Recently, Caite and her youth group from The Vine, in Spring Hill, Florida, went to the local mall to visit Victoria’s Secret. They entered the store one at a time and pleaded with the manager to take down the posters because they have been destroying a generation. One at a time, the manager kicked them out and the next teen entered the store. After trying individually, they walked in together and in unison pleaded, “Please take these posters down. They are destroying our generation.” The whole store fell silent, and all the shoppers froze. The manager took the posters down.
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Another youth group in Jacksonville, Florida, protested the sale of pornography during the Christmas shopping season. The students gathered at Regency Square Mall to oppose the sale of X-rated Christmas tree ornaments, called “pornaments,” that were being sold at Spencer's stores across the country. They sang songs, chanted protests, and pleaded with the local store to take them off the shelves. Their youth pastor, Clint Wilder, said the kids protested because they are tired of having things marketed to their generation that promote sex and pornography. A news report on the protest reported that half of the stores pulled the “pornaments” from the shelves because people raised their voices to say it was wrong.
Young people may not be of voting age, but more and more of them are realizing that they can take action now to shape their culture. As an adult, you can be an important example to the young generation by lifting your voice when you see something in your community that disagrees with the biblical foundation upon which our country was built. The examples above show that those who speak up are heard. If we only let those without our values do the talking, then they will shape the culture for the next generation. Make no mistake; there is a spiritual and cultural battle taking place for the hearts and souls of teens. I encourage you to engage in the middle of both.
By now you’ve probably heard about Teen Mania’s BattleCry for a Generation campaign, which is designed to equip and encourage churches to disciple and double their youth group every year for the next five years. Through the campaign we have developed many resources to help Christian leaders win the spiritual battle. If your church has not yet become a BattleCry33 church, then do whatever you can to get your pastor, youth pastor and congregation engaged by going to BattleCry.com. The website is designed to offer tools to open the hearts and minds of the local church to the battle our young people face daily and show how we as adults can band together to turn the tide. Resources include videos produced specifically for pastors, youth pastors and teens. You will also find more testimonies of young people and adults who are taking a stand for biblical values in our culture.
Be an advocate for the young people in your church and community. Encourage them to join the spiritual and culture wars to take back this generation for Christ!
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Ron Luce is the founder of Teen Mania, one of the world's largest Christian youth organizations, which inspires, empowers, and equips teens to reject the negative influences of pop culture and embrace the "coolness" of Christ. This year, Teen Mania is rallying hundreds of thousands of teens in the BattleCry movement to save their generation. For more information, visit www.BattleCry.com.
