. Stanley Hall viewed adolescence to be the most important of his dubious stages -- so important, he believed, that teens ought to be separated from those older and younger than they. Moreover, like most evolutionists, Hall also taught that each generation is or should be superior to the previous one, and therefore needs to break free from those which precede it. In practical terms, this thinking has come to mean that rebellion is youth's destiny.
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Today it is evident that the youth subculture has become the dominant culture in our society. In terms of culture in all its forms -- art, dress, music, etiquette and entertainment -- we are confronted by the values of youth wherever we turn . . . Today, parents train up their little ones to make the most of their youth. High school is perceived to be the pinnacle of life. Young people dream of being high school seniors, and when they reach age 18 they are on top of the world. What's worse, the world bows down to them.
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Perhaps the most dramatic development in the segregation of youth struck the church like wildfire in the 1930s: parachurch youth organizations. In Manhattan, the fiery Lloyd Bryant appears to have been the first to organize regular youth rallies. His efforts . . . grew into a national network of youth rallies that drew crowds topping 20,000. The organization became known as Youth For Christ, and was a huge success by the mid 1940s . . . Witnessing the success of these parachurch ministries, many local churches began youth programs of their own. By the 1950s they were commonplace.
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Some years ago I read about a youth pastor who ran into some trouble at a large airport because he had taken his youth group there to play a rousing game of "Capture the Flag." Understandably, many were disturbed by the kids stalking and darting through the terminals trying to seize one another and capture the enemy flag.
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Our society's trend toward age segregation has freely carried itself into the church. We have developed AWANA programs for young children who later move on to junior and senior high youth groups. Senior highers graduate to the college/singles group; when they marry, they join the young couples group. Bible studies are structured for parents of toddlers, parents of teens, and "empty-nesters." Elderly women congregate to quilting groups and elderly men are left out, wondering what the next generation is coming to.
Evangelical churches have honored divisions that have existed in our culture for less than a century -- divisions which have no basis in either Scripture or common sense. These divisions breed immaturity, for they prevent younger people from associating with and learning from their elders. Rather than admonishing our young people with Paul's mandate, "flee youthful lusts" (2 Tim. 2:22), we provide a forum for youthful lusts to be pursued.
Regress in maturity happens when the church ignores the mandates in Scripture which implore the young and old to interact with one another. With age comes wisdom -- wisdom that must be passed on to young people. Older people must be eager to share it, and younger people must be eager to receive it. The so-called "generation gap" has been used as an excuse for age segregation, but Scripture speaks of no such thing. Our Lord prohibits our perpetuating immaturity in His church by leaving the younger generation to itself.
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Sadly, many parents today shun their parental responsibilities just as Eli did . . . Evangelicals bemoan this breakup of the "traditional family" and call for a return to "pro-family values." It is ironic that many vocal proponents of "pro-family values" advance programs that are either political or ecclesiastical. This doesn't face the heart of the problem. The breakup of the family isn't due to a deterioration in our legislators' values, but rather to one in fathers' values . . .
Effective youth ministry is the father's task; he has the responsibility to establish a godly atmosphere in the home. Fathers must be leaders in worship, prayer, reading and studying the Bible, and in fellowship with other saints. Moses demanded that fathers in Israel rear their children in such an environment that the majesty of God was plainly manifest to them everywhere they turned (Deut. 6:6-9).
This standard remains, and fathers today must meet it. If children do not come face to face with Almighty God in every aspect of their lives, their fathers, through abdication, are bringing them up in practical atheism.
