Monthly arts and media column

Do hard things: a teenage rebellion against low expectations

Eleanor Margesson looks at the Rebelution blog (http://www.therebelution.com) started by Alex and Brett Harris that is encouraging Christian teenagers all over the world.

Teenagers are not getting a brilliant press at the moment. Recent stabbings in inner London continue to dominate headlines, GCSE and A level papers continue to ‘get easier’ and levels of STDs among young people continue to rise.

Teenagers seem to have the world at their feet, with more opportunities than ever before, yet they seem to be unwilling or unable to take up the challenges that lie before them. Media and entertainment companies make millions out of them while society watches in frustration. When will they learn to take responsibility seriously? Where will our future leaders come from?

Counter-culture blog

It is into this prevailing attitude of low expectations that American twins Alex and Brett Harris introduced their blog in 2005 aged 16. Their claim is that ‘the only way to truly combat cultural expectations is to create a [counter] culture that results in an entire community of mature and responsible young people’. The website speaks directly to their peers: ‘This blog challenges you to throw off the shackles of what society expects of you. The teen years are not a vacation from responsibility. They are the training ground of future leaders who dare to be responsible now.’

They began their blog as a way to network with other Christian teenagers. They wanted to share their faith, giving and receiving encouragement to live wholeheartedly for Christ. They never expected the level of interest that was to be generated by their website. More teenagers than they ever expected responded to their thoughts about how they could make the most of their lives right now, rather than waiting until they were adults.

Goof off time?

One of the first articles they posted on their blog, headed ‘The Myth of Adolescence’, called into question the modern notion of the teenage years as ‘a time to goof off’. The article made the point that, between the ages of 13-18, teenagers seem to be held back from behaving like responsible adults. It recognised the historical foundations of ‘adolescence’, identifying the ‘artificial zone between childhood and adulthood when young people ceased to be children, but were no longer permitted by law to assume the normal responsibilities of adulthood, such as entering into a trade or finding gainful employment. Consequently, marriage and family had to be delayed as well, and so we invented ‘the teenager’, an unfortunate creature who had all the yearnings and capabilities of an adult, but none of the freedoms or responsibilities.’

Don’t waste your life

Alex and Brett, younger brothers of Christian author Josh Harris, promote the confident expectation that teenagers can respond to the gospel and then grow with spiritual maturity, taking on positions of responsibility and leadership. Their challenge to ‘do hard things’ comes out of the belief that as Christians, teenagers have a motivation and a future reward that makes difficult courses of action and behaviour incredibly worthwhile. They don’t need to waste their lives on ‘partying out’ and postponing maturity until their 20s because they can make a difference through living for Christ now.

Excited parents

The joy and ‘obsession’ for Christ that characterises their website and now their book is clearly contagious. One response on the blog reads, ‘One thing that annoys me more than anything is when people say, “each generation is worse than the last”. Thank you so much for giving teenagers a place to get away from that generalisation.’ Another says: ‘Wow, is this a welcome change! I’m just so grateful that there is someplace, like this, where teens can come and actually be on fire without being ridiculed.’ One says simply; ‘Now this is what I’m missing from my church’.

Parents are excited and challenged too. C.J. Mahaney has written, ‘I am so glad Alex and Brett are using their blog to proclaim a biblical worldview for teenagers... The Rebelution is one of the few blogs I can encourage my young teenage son to visit’.

TheRebelution.com started small but now receives millions of hits from all over the world. One of its early projects was to run a survey among Christian teenagers about modesty, which helped to draw up a list of statements revealing what teenaged boys really thought about the clothes worn by their Christian sisters. ‘Mental Obesity’ is another article on the site, looking at how we escape from meaningful thought through the distraction of technology. ‘American Idol syndrome’ is another, talking about the ‘entitlement complex’, a brilliant critique of the way in which our culture convinces young people that they have the right to have their dreams without doing any of the work.

Get the book

This website has grown into conference tours and, of course, the book. There are many distinctively American tones in the subculture that the twins have grown up in but the challenges are applicable to all generations, not just teens. It would be wonderful if their message became well known and applied by young British Christians too. Try to get this book on your church bookstall and plug it, together with the website in your youth groups and at youth camps this summer. This ‘rebelution’ is something that we need our young people to be part of.

© Evangelicals Now - August 2008
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