Barrack Obama's roots and discipleship
Tonight President Obama gives his State of the Nation Address. I wrote this last week while I was in Hawaii where he grew up.
It was in his tender years here that young Barrack was influenced and moulded. And whatever world view he holds today was shaped during those formative years in high school and college. Here's more to read about Obama's high-school gang in Hawaii.
Faith in God and in His word is also shaped when we are young. This is why reaching high-school and college students is so important. They become the future parents, teachers, doctors, business people and yes, presidents.
I have been meeting with the leaders of the Every Nation church in Hawaii specially making time for the young men who lead our campus ministry here.
One of the men is Mark Younge, pictured above. He reaches out and disciples high school students. Campus ministers have the strategic advantage and distinct opportunity of shaping individual lives that affect destines of families and nations. Here are the key ingredients Mark shared with me in reaching the next generation:
1. Time and patience. Mark recounted two stories, one of a young man whose father murdered his mother and another student whose mother was in prison. Seemingly hopeless situations. He explains the importance of spending time and being patient with a generation that has grown up in dysfunctional families.
The Bible does say that love is patient. And patience is intricately connected to time. "Spending time and being patient allows them to realize that they are special and that someone has taken a genuine interest in them. This gives them hope and allows their hearts to be open."
2. Truth and love. Time and patience allows us to connect but without the truth people will not be set free. The truth is we are sinners and nothing we do including our very best efforts can change that. We are rotten to the core. Truth is the first step to freedom.
Truth however, without love will only condemn young people and make them desperate unless they realize that God loves them despite their fallen state and rebellious nature. The Gospel is still the the truth and love combination that sets us free.
3. Ongoing discipleship. Understanding the Gospel is not a one time event but a life long journey. God is not just a doctrine, a set of religious tennets, or a belief. All that is important but God is so much more. He is the Creator of the universe, the King of Kings, the One who has no beginning and end, who declares I Am your eternal Father.
He desires that we follow Him in a life long relationship. This is the only way we can progressively grow not just in knowing who He is or what He requires but in an ongoing relationship that grows in trust, love, grace and forgiveness. This He initiated when He gave us His Son Jesus Christ to pay for our sins.
Those we reach on campus need to be discipled long after they have graduated from school. Who knows they could be the next president of the most powerful nation on earth.
My Comments Policy
While my site offers visitors the ability to converse, I have a few ground rules so that our conversations will remain civil and courteous.
1. You must register in order to leave a comment. I don’t entertain pseudo, anonymous or bogus individuals. This site is my home (it has a Home Page, get it). I don’t let strangers who don’t introduce themselves into my home.
2. I love questions. I love them because a lot of times they are similar to someone else’s questions and can even trigger other questions from others. Questions also keep us all sharp. This is also why I respond to them as best as I can and at the soonest possible time. I believe that group answering benefits more people than private email exchanges.
3. We don’t have to agree. Debates are welcome. However, whether it is with me or any other visitors of my site, my rule is this: disagree if you must but keep things civil. That’s just how I run my home, and you are a visitor here. No shouting; I have seen it done in writing. No cursing and no insulting.
4. I reserve the right to delete your comments. Like I said, this is my home. I do not have an obligation to publish your comments. As a human being, you may enjoy the freedom to express your opinions on your own site but not on mine. To be specific, I will delete your comments if you post content that is in my sole opinion: (a) snarky; (b) off-topic; (c) libelous, defamatory, abusive, harassing, threatening, profane, pornographic, offensive, false, misleading, or which otherwise violates or encourages others to violate my sense of decorum, civility or any law, including intellectual property laws; or (d) “spam,” i.e. an attempt to advertise, solicit, or otherwise promote goods and services. You may, however, post a link to your site or your most recent blog entry.
5. You retain ownership of your comments. I do not own them and I expressly disclaim any and all liability that may result from them. By commenting on my site, you agree that you retain all ownership rights in what you post here and that you will relieve me from any and all liability that may result from those posts.
6. You grant me the license to post your comments. This license is worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free. By posting comments on my site, you automatically grant me the right to store, use, transmit, display, publish, reproduce, and distribute your comments in any format, including but not limited to a blog, in a book, video, or presentation.
In short, my goal is to host interesting conversations with caring, honest, and respectful people. I believe this clear and simple comments policy will facilitate this.
