February 24, 2011

• Ten: A Decade of God (Part II of II: A "Sputnik Crisis")

  Ten:A Decade of God (Part II of II)
  or, A "Sputnik Crisis." (Click here for Part I)

  Today.

  Life has not been a blur, but if it were, it would be a rich one. Stacked within the past 10 years include countless hours of campus ministries, personal growth, graduate school toils, and much tearful work. Spiritual progress has not been an unbroken upward slope, but it’s been upward nonetheless. It has always been my belief that God moved the world to save me, and I have given my world to Him for use in the same function for others.

  In Boston, I loved being in an environment of intelligent and driven students. I loved the thrill of having Bible Studies in a classroom where secular things were discussed almost exclusively. The idea of having “infiltrated” institutions like Boston University, Harvard, MIT, and Wellesley, tickled me and excited me. But with time comes growth.

  Tomorrow.

  In five years, I will officially no longer be a “youth” in the eyes of certain conferences (see: surcharges). This same conference will be in its 14^th year. Those who have experienced the first meetings at the age of 15 will have nearly doubled in age and will be entering the workforce. I will have (potentially) graduated a new batch of 4-year seniors. In other news, a few more rounds of campus missionaries will be trained and released. Those active on campuses are demoted to “supporter” status or will cycle back into the program.

  Now.

  I still have a heart for campus ministries. But relevancy, an issue that used to be a non-issue is starting to seep in through random corners of conversation. Incoming Freshmen are now more than 10 years younger than I am. Being near the front of the wave of my friends, I feel like I’m bushwhacking into unchartered territory. Campus ministries have been done, but what happens now?

  Hovering in a demographic somewhere between “young professional” and “that woman over there,” I am trying to figure out my new niche in life. Am I meant to be a “supporter of campus ministries” forever? Are there not enough mentors and advisors? Furthermore, should they not have the privilege of laboring without having an increasing amount of people looking over their shoulders?

  In my heart, I will always be young, but I am fully (albeit not painfully) aware of the increasing generation gap. Although I’ve been mistaken as one, I can never convincingly play the peer to an of-age college student.

  And yet, my belief that Jesus is coming soon is stronger than ever. If desire alone could usher in the coming of Jesus, He would have burst through the clouds of glory. Hundreds of years ago. But desire is not enough.

  It’s my belief that if we want to finish the work soon, the movement has to push from more fronts than just where the youth are moving. It has to happen in all levels of the hierarchy: from the entry-level, through middle-management, and all the way up to the ones who can call the shots. Revival must happen everywhere.

  I’m reminded of the situation in the time of Haggai. Freedom has come, and a few stragglers are back in Jerusalem. A great majority has chosen to stay in the land of their captivity after planting their vineyards and raising their children. Many of the leaders who have returned have been born in captivity. The work of rebuilding the temple is difficult, and it stagnates.

  “Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, the time is not come, the time that the LORD’s house should be built. Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house lie waste? Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.” (Haggai 1:2ff)

  My age group (and my mother, incidentally) demands that I should be married (or at least desiring to be.) It states that my dreams ought to align with the norms of living with a husband and my one and a half kids, with half a dog (strange) running around in my backyard which, in many stories, has a white picket fence surrounding it. 

  And even now, I encounter students and peers alike who say such things like, “I need to be married before Jesus comes,” for atrocious reasons like (true story) wanting to experience sex before (they fear) their organs will be swallowed up and they become like those poor angels who will never have an orgasm.

  Yes, I just said that.

  “Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD. Ye looked for much, and lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that is laid waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit.

  “And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon the labor of the hands.” (Haggai 1:8ff)

  Did you catch that? A drought upon the land. And upon men. And upon the labor of the hands. The reason why we are not as productive as we should be, the reason why there is no revival, no pouring down of the Spirit like rainwater bursting out of a dam is because people are putting their needs above the needs of the house of God, and the gate of Heaven. 

  And the ridiculous thing is that the things we fail to put on the altar because we are afraid they will be burnt to a crisp in the sacrificial fire are the things that are included in the “all these things” that God desires to give us if we seek Him first.

  

  About 54 years ago, well into the Cold War, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the very first Earth-orbiting satellite. The “Sputnik Crisis” which ensued was a result of the smack-in-the-face experience that the US, which believed itself to be the “World’s Best in Everything,” experienced. Add two failed launch attempts as salt on the wound from not being “first.” Dwight D. Eisenhower (I wasn’t there, I promise) and government poured literally billions of dollars into the education system to raise up mathematicians and scientists who would be better equipped to make the US “Best in Everything” again. 

  When my students ask me why they have to suffer through Algebra II, this is what I tell them.

  Sputnik was a shock. But it was an eye-opener, and it resulted in the space race, a mini-revolution in the United States which did result in more scientists and engineers who created innovations and inventions that reverberate to this day. The explosion of creativity that ensued can be described as astounding.

  The point is that we as young professionals need a Sputnik crisis. We need a smack-in-the-face, seven-thousand-out-there, what-doeth-thou-here experience.

  Unless we discover that there is a world to win out there, and that God’s Sputnik expectations are within reach, we will never strive for it. If we constantly look to the younger generation to carry the torch, who are they going to hand it to? And where will the former torch bearers go? Will they also stand in line to receive their 1.5 kids? Or cycle back to being a “campus ministry supporter”? Will they join the fate of the vast majority of young professionals that are “missing” from the church?[1] Will our lives after GYC[2], or CAMPUS[3], or any spiritual work comprise merely of talk about life and paying back school loans, and moving to a good school district for the kids?

  Not to diminish families, homes, and being good citizens. But I believe that there is a new breed of young professionals that are rising up. These people are trained and knowledgeable in the workings of campus ministries. They already know how to reach out, and how to support local schools. They are not going to give up their torch, but will carry it to new fields. But their duty is more than to support. They will also lead. 

  These words are not for everyone.

  I said that at the end of these two parts there would be a call. The call is simple, and in two parts: 1. Rise up, my fellows. Dream with me. The territory is yet unchartered. I don’t know where to go from here, but I do know that something must be done. 2. Connect yourself. Talk to me. Talk to someone. Tell us your story. Let's do something. I am already in talks with others about expanding the work that is already in progress. Life is exciting. These are times when, as a friend said, "Life is better than dreams." 

  My desire is to have young people in place—consistent, stable, and available—for the ones that are coming after us. People who are excellent in their field, and who are meeting their new mission field with different tools but the same fervor as in the past with their campus work. Professors who can be the rock for an ever-changing wave of students. Administrators who can influence policy and create programs from the top down. Lawyers who have already been navigating the system and can map out some territory for others.

  I believe that if time continues, young professionals, rightly trained, will become experienced professionals, and if they are excellent, they will become high-ranking professionals. And the work will continue with people from the top, from the middle and from the grass roots.

  And then there will be no more pain. No more suffering. No more tears. The temple of the New Jerusalem will be here, and we will be taken up to meet Him in the air. 

  And so shall we ever be with the LORD.

  Ten years ago, God moved my world. Ten years later, I'm looking to see what He'll do next. 

   

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  [1] The “graying” of many Christian denominations (including Adventism) indicates that the median age of the average congregation is around 51, while the median age of an average city is 35. This isn’t due to the increased number of octogenarians thanks to our awesome health message (see: National Geographic’s issue on longevity.) It’s because everywhere, people ages 30-45 are disappearing from congregations.  

  [2] General Youth Conference: www.gyc-web.org

  [3] CAMPUS is an acronym for Center for Adventist Ministry to Public University Students: www.campushope.com

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