NekNominate - Breaking the cultures of a fallen world.

Something that I keep seeing is the current trend for NekNominate. Essentially what this involves is people downing an alcoholic beverage and then nominating other people to do it as well. There are different variations of how it's done, but what is becoming more popular is increasing the amount of alcohol from a pint of beer to excessive amounts and in some cases pints of spirits.

What scares me most about this trend is how much it is growing, becoming popular and acceptable, but also that so many young people are getting involved with it.

There are already reports that people have died from the 'game' yet it does not seem to stop the concept from growing and spreading.

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/second-death-linked-to-online-drinking-game-after-body-of-teenager-found-29971962.html

What strikes me most about this is how indicative it is of the culture that we live in, where something like this can be celebrated as comical whilst the reality is that it is damaging. We live in a fallen world and this is another thing that I personally feel emphasises what is wrong with the world.

The question is: how do we fight this dangerous culture? How do we look to make a difference? It's not easy, but the first thing to do, as Christians, is set ourselves aside from it. That doesn't mean ignore it, but it does mean that we don't condone it and it definitely means we don't get involved ourselves.

I think things like this come from the wider view that alcohol abuse is ok, when the Bible tells us quite the opposite.

Galatians 5:21 says:

'Envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.' (ESV)

And 1 Corinthians 6:19-20,

'Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.'

Firstly, the Bible talks, in a few different verses, about the dangers of alcohol and drunkenness and how it is not of God. This verse in Galatians clearly shows that it is a sin.

The Corinthians verse talks of our body being a temple. I know that people damage their bodies in a number of ways and alcohol is not the only bad thing, but I think it has become one of the more acceptable ways, which is particularly dangerous.

As a youth minister, I see my role as setting an example but also being willing to challenge the young people I work with and teach what God wants me to teach on this subject. 

I personally don't have a problem with alcohol consumption in moderation and like to have a drink every now and then. What I am of careful of is knowing my limit and not exceeding it, alongside not making a habit of regularly drinking.

I'm not perfect and I have a history. I used to be into the drinking culture in a big way. For me though, that is what drives me to want to beat this particular problem as I know the mistakes I made from being drunk, and I want the young people I work with to be so confident in their identity in Christ that they don't need to get involved with this sort of thing.

Let's create a culture where we can lean on God's Word and use that to battle the dangers of this world. We're not called to stand by and let things happen, we're called to fight it and invite the Kingdom of God into the dark and dangerous areas of our lives.

If you want to chat through anything I have said in this blog or if anything resonates with you, please get in touch as I would love to help you think through this issue further & really appreciate your feedback.

Loving the broken

Sorry for the delay in a blog, I've had typer's block and have started 2 different blogs over the last few months and not been able to finish them. Instead of battling with those I have decided to write one about something that has been on my heart recently and especially over the last week or so.

I was browsing the news the other day and noticed that Justin Bieber had been arrested for drink driving. My first thought was, 'what an idiot', and sure enough I went on Facebook to see that a lot of people agreed with that.

Straight after that judgement it caused me to think about the world we live in and how there is so much that is trying to trip us up and so many things out there to damage us all and especially the young people in the world. The boundaries between what is sinful and what is not seem to be slipping and blurring and for all of us that is a huge danger.

Justin Bieber has gone from being a 'normal' person to being thrust in to the lime light, having a load of money, masses of adoring fans and unfortunately it seems that he is responding in a way that at the moment does not look great. However, it's almost like the media and the world think that he does not have the right to make mistakes, that because he has all those things that I mentioned above he should be perfect.

People immediately jump to blaming him and, whilst he has to take responsibility for his own actions, I can't help feeling that the world is not doing much to set him an example. Whilst he is an example (not always a good one) to lots of young people, he has grown up in a world where there is a lot of hurt and brokenness and it's hard for young people to understand what is right and how to escape what is wrong.

We can spend all our time blaming celebrities and politicians for all that is wrong with our country and all that is messed up in the world or we can try and make a difference.

In Matthew, Jesus talks about us being light in the world and how that means not only do we have to be different from others but we have to set an example..

Matthew 5:14-16 says:

14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (NIV)

We are not here to just live and be happy that we are doing good. We are placed on this earth to shine and light up the world with the goodness of Jesus.

That means that we should be setting the example to young people - showing the fruits of the Spirit in our lives is hugely important: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

It's not an easy task but it is one that we are called to. If we live these out in our day to day life then we are going to make a difference. People are going to see that there is something that sets us apart from those that live in the world. Jesus will permeate every area of our lives if we let him and that is hugely important.

Let's stop blaming other people and change the world through our own actions. It's not always about doing massive things, we can make an impact through caring for the people around us and not being afraid to let Jesus fully impact our lives and theirs.

This is something that I am really battling with at the moment. I want to be a youth worker that makes a difference to the people that I work with. If I go through each of the 9 fruits of the spirit I struggle with them all in one way or another but I want to grow and seek ways of bettering myself with them all.

I can't expect the young people I work with to grow in their faith and relationship with God if I am not modelling it myself. This is where I feel for Justin Bieber, there is so much expectation on him and pressure about how to behave, but realistically how many people model this in a positive way to him? How many people support him instead of just having a go at him?

As Christians we are called to love people no matter what (1 Peter 4:8) and this means loving those who mess up, because no one is perfect.