The desire to stay relevant can be such a trap.

I have served in youth ministry for 20 years.  I am now the age of the parents, and both of my kids are in my own youth group now.  From the beginning, I’ve always told adult volunteers that it is more important for us to be adults, to be caring examples of Christian love, than it is for us to be cool with the kids.  Because once you’re over 20, you’re already out of touch and old.

I know this. I train my volunteers to know this.  And yet I still fall into that trap…a sort of self-sabotaging mindset that I only matter if I can speak the language and prove I’m not like those other boring adults.  But I’m not Young Life, and I never will be.  My ministry isn’t designed around attracting the coolest and most popular kids so that more kids will want to know the gospel.  So why do I get in my head and play the comparison game?

The truth is, youth need adults in their lives who model faithful discipleship so they can imagine themselves in that place one day.  They know they will not be 13 forever.  They know respectable adults don’t say “skibidi ohio” unironically.  They don’t need adults to be children in grown-up suits.  They see enough of that in politics and celebrities and it’s quite depressing to them.  They need grown ups to show what it looks like to grow up in Christ, and the more isolated their identities, the more important it is to be able to picture a real future for themselves.

AND…TRANSLATION MATTERS!

While we don’t need to use  Tik Tok brain rot to communicate effectively with today’s youth, we do need to teach and preach in a way that connects with where they are developmentally.  This requires taking time with God’s Word, taking time with the saints and internalizing the messages so that we can speak more personally, from the heart, in ways that capture the hearts of others.

When he was only 22, John Wesley was deeply moved by the classic devotional work of Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471 A.D.), The Imitation of Christ (also called The Christian Pattern).  I find it hilariously, classic John Wesley that he both loved the book, and was literally angered by the way it had been translated into English, so he took it upon himself to re-translate it better.  Wesley’s translation was his first major published work, became well known throughout England, and was the constant companion of most Methodist preachers he sent out.  Kempis beautifully captured the sort of devotional life Wesley most deeply desired: a heart religion that did not sacrifice the head, a faith that led to action.

In case you are unable to understand the Gen Alpha translation of à Kempis in today’s comic, here it is in modern English:

Jesus has always many who love His heavenly kingdom, but few who bear his cross. he has many who desire consolation, but few who care for trial. He finds many to share His table, but few to take part in His fasting. All desire to be happy with Him; few wish to suffer anything for Him.