Monthly youth leaders column

'Thoughts of happiness that lies within everyone tranquilises your being of being who you be of this forbidden picture of what you are supposed to show.'

No, you haven't misread that sentence. Go on, read it again. It comes from the Britney Spears tour programme, apparently outlining the concept for her show.

If anyone has actually been to the show, I'd love to know what this meant on stage. As soon as I typed it into the computer my machine was screaming out to modify the subject-verb agreement, add punctuation, spell check 'Britney' and generally make sense of the whole thing. I can't. But it would appear that the diva thinks she can make everyone happy .... by singing.

So let's think about happiness. What the Britney Spears quote does reveal is that being happy is high on young people's agenda. But can they really achieve it? Think about some of the things that they face: single parent families, divorces that are happening as you read this, injury and long-term illness, parents that are out of work, bullying, depression, eating disorders and self-harm. I can think of at least one teenager for each thing on that list.

Pray

Think now around each member of your own group. Are they happy? What was their mood when you last saw them? What is their attitude towards life, family, school and church? Pause and pray for each member now. Remember each of them in their individual situations.

At the beginning of a new school year commit yourself to pray more for your group. Use a prayer list to make sure that you don't miss anybody out. Keep the names of the young people in the minds of the adults who pray by publishing lists and prayer cards. Get the leaders together to pray. Don't leave prayer until the end of the planning meeting, get it up front.

Problem

There's an issue concerning young people and happiness. Your teenagers might have accepted the gospel and on Sunday nights they show all signs of being go-for-it Christians, but they are still trapped by the world's values. Happiness and security, acceptable behaviour, language and attitudes are still judged by worldly standards. And it's not surprising because your youth group are bombarded with those values every moment of every day.

There are all sorts of questions this raises. Does anything make them stand out from their peer group? If not, how will they approach evangelism? In the future will they consider Christian year-out opportunities? Could they ever consider some kind of ministry instead of joining the rat race?

The over-riding problem is one of 'gospel-lite'. The search for happiness means that the gospel is watered down. Teenagers select what they like and disregard the rest. It is me-centred. Christianity is just another way of achieving my own fulfilment. If it makes me feel good, then I'll do it. (It's not just the teens that do this, adult Christians do too!)

Psalm 1

Grab a Bible and read Psalm 1. I'm sure that you've heard many sermons on this psalm. You've probably taught about it yourself, and I'm sure you'll agree that it makes a lot more sense than Britney. How do we tackle the problem of gospel-lite and worldly happiness? According to this psalm, we need to teach the young people about Bible study. To avoid slithering down the slippery slope towards the seat of the mockers we teach delight in the law of the Lord.

Do you model delight in God's Word? Are you encouraging your group to meditate on it night and day? You could have a slot each week when somebody shares something from the Bible readings they've been doing. You could put a few readings and questions onto a sheet so that your group can follow up the Bible study you've been doing or prepare for the following week.

Point out to your young people the difference between the wicked and the righteous in Psalm 1. Challenge them about the Christian life they want to lead. Do they want to be worthless chaff to blow away in the wind? Or do they want to be a prosperous tree with deep roots that drink from the stream, producing fruit in season?

Prospects

The two approaches to life are brought to a head in verse 6 of Psalm 1. The prospects for the wicked are bleak - they will perish. Ultimately, worldly happiness does not fulfil and does not last. Neither does it deal with the things that many young people face that were listed earlier. This needs to be clear in our teaching, so that young people will not be given the chance to compromise and go for a best of both worlds option.

'The Lord watches over the way of the righteous'. We are not promised in the Bible that life as a Christian will be easy. But Christians are described as blessed; ultimately this happens through the Lord Jesus and will be fulfilled in heaven.

As we kick off another school year, let's help our teenagers to find happiness God's way, not Britney's.

Thinking about happiness

Pray

Problem

Psalm 1

Prospects

Roger Fawcett