Daring to be Restless

“Teenagers are my favorites.”   It’s one of my more recent catch-phrases, and it often takes people by surprise.   But it’s true.   I love working with teenagers.   I love being around them in the office, at church, and in the community.   Mind you, I’m not that far removed from being a teenager, and am only in my 20s, but there is something about them that captures my heart, that raises up something fierce in me to protect them, that brings a smile of joyful expectation to my face.   Don’t get me wrong – I know that teenagers can be moody, overly sensitive, and a bit defiant as they struggle to figure out who they are.   But I love their honesty.   I love how aware they are of other people and their motives, how they see sift through the pretense to discover what a person really feels towards them and thinks.   I love to see their personalities and passions begin to unfold, directing them toward the future God has designed for them. ...

“Deep in man’s heart are some fundamental questions that simply cannot be answered at the kitchen table.   Who am I?   What am I made of?   What am I destined for?   It is fear that keeps a man at home where things are neat and orderly and under his control.   But the answers to his deepest questions are not to be found on television or in the refrigerator.” – John Eldredge   “Deep in his heart, every man longs for a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue.” – John Eldredge [1] There is a stillness in the churches and homes of America, a great slumber and snore, a gray emptiness, if you will.   There is a dull whisper, like the echo of an old empty farmhouse, devoid of the bustling routine, laughter and love it was accustomed to.   Like that house whispers, “Where is my family?” the stillness in the church whispers: Where are the men of God?   Too often, their posts are vacant, inactive, or trivialized. ...