QUESTION:
Much has been said about the evils of today’s youth. What do you think are some of the good points of my generation (I am a teenager)? I especially want to know what you think of our youth movements and organizations.
ANSWER:
Your question is a hit difficult to answer. since you do not sufficiently identify yourself. You write about “our youth movements and organizations.” If you have in mind your denominational youth activities, I cannot reply because you fail to mention the name of your Church. So let me reply to your question on a broad basis.
It certainly is desirable to have youth organizations. Every church should have well-planned activities for the young people, in the summer as well as in the winter season. Rallies, retreats, conventions, picnics, summer camps, athletic contests, etc., deserve our attention and support. But all these things should be kept within reasonable limits. Never must they be allowed to interfere with a regular schedule of meetings in the church where Bible study is given the emphasis.
In recent years I have observed two tendencies that alarm me. The first is that more and more we are drawing our young people away from the family circle. They are kept so busy outside the home that they do not have time to enjoy fellowship in the home. Secondly, I have observed that many of our young people are pre-occupied with amusements and recreations to the neglect of their spiritual development. In Grand Rapids, for example, it is no problem to get a thousand or more young people together in a gymnasium for a basketball game. But when a youth rally is scheduled where the main attraction is an address on a religious theme, we consider ourselves fortunate if we have 500 young people present. That kind of imbalance has me worried.
Parents are partly responsible for this situation. They are not themselves too interested in spiritual matters. They are not putting first things first either. The number of families is increasing where the father has his night each week for bowling; the mother has her night out; and on Saturdays dad goes fishing with some fellows from the shop. My question is: Just when do families take time to enjoy things together?