CBC YOUTH: PARENTS EDITION
May 2017 Edition
OUR MISSION; OUR HOPE
NOTE FROM THE PASTOR
We've seen some tremendous growth in our students as they connected with each other and other youth ministries. Community Groups were a chance for our ministry to make sure that each of the youth were covered and ministered to. All in all, I believe that it succeeded as best as it could with what we had. We saw several baptisms this year from all our grades and we had a record number of students attend our major events.
There are a few things i'd like for you parents to take a look through in this newsletter. The first note is on pornography. It is something that the church has historically been horrible at addressing and when we have addressed it, it trends towards moralism and does no good for our youth. This link will bring you to another newsletter that will show you scientific research about how pornography affects the brain. It will also provide resources for you and your youth to talk through it and even some avenues to address and fight this "new drug."
The second note in this newsletter is a sermon reference from The Village Church in Dallas. This is one of my favorite sermons i've listened to this past month. And the reason why it's so powerful is because it speaks truth with love. The pastor will expose some tendencies that are extremely relevant here at CBC that apply to both parents and youth alike. Pay special attention to the application portion that i've quoted in the newsletter.
Lastly, there was an article in London's The Telegraph that talks about ISIS's method to indoctrinate children. While the article is highlighting the insidious methods of evil recruitment, a huge reason why I wanted to give you this article parents is to really think about something - "who disciples your kids?" Your student is being discipled by someone and/or something. But what are they learning? What is the worldview behind what they are learning? And if we are purely retroactive in our parenting and discipleship, it may prove to be much harder. Just something to think about.
The Squishy Middle
(starting at minute 37)
"The only way I know how to describe the category is religiously lost. What happens so often here in this squishy middle is we know just enough Bible verses, just enough about Jesus to not need any part of him. It's called inoculation.
You just learn some pithy phrases about Christ. He kind of becomes a bumper sticker, but if we really had to be honest about your life, there's zero evidence in your life that you know him, you walk with him, or you've said "yes" to his lordship. What you know is that Jesus is King and that Jesus was born of a virgin on Christmas and that he rose from the dead on Easter, but the way that works itself out in your life is invisible. So, no real desire to follow him, no willingness to surrender your life to him, but you know enough to consider yourself a Christian.
I'm trying to love you here. I promise in no way am I trying to be offensive. In every way I'm trying to serve you. What do I have to gain in saying this? Nothing to gain, everything to lose, if our measurements are what drive me. If you have no desire to follow the Lord, nothing in you that longs to be obedient and to lay your yes down and follow him, I would not rest in calling yourself a Christian, because you by defining yourself that way have defined yourself outside of any way the Scriptures ever define it."
Source: http://www.tvcresources.net/resource-library/sermons/falling-into-forgetfulness
ISIS, CUBS OF THE CALIPHATE, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF CAPTURING THE HEARTS OF OUR CHILDREN WITH THE TRUTH
“Inside the underground ‘Cubs of the Caliphate’ training camp where brainwashed Iraqi children are taught to fight and die for Isil.”
Now we’re not just talking about children, we’re actually talking here about boys. Josie Ensor writing from Mosul in Iraq tells us,
“A pair of boy’s white gym shorts and a lone plimsoll lie muddied and abandoned on the ground. A broken skipping rope hangs on the wall next to a painted black flag of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The underground Isil training camp for children is every bit as macabre you would expect. The Telegraph was given a tour of a “Cubs of the Caliphate” camp recaptured earlier this month by the Iraqi army, who say it was used to teach young recruits to become fighters for the jihadist group.”
“Isil targets children specifically, with the aim of creating a generation of loyal followers who are indoctrinated from an early age. The terror group is increasingly having to rely on young recruits as they face mounting losses in the battle for Mosul. More than a third of suicide attacks on Iraqi forces in the past month are believed to have been carried out by fighters under the age of 17.”
But finally this article also helps us to understand why we should look at the world with broken hearts, understanding the experiences that even now are the lives of so many children and young people around the world. What was happening in that tunnel in the Cubs of the Caliphate is just one indication of the brutal, horrifying lives of deprivation and suffering undertaken by many children who find themselves in the grip of so many evils, including in this case the evil of radical Islam. Surely this article on the camp that was to produce the Cubs of the Caliphate should remind all of us that our children are going be cubs of someone and something. They’re going to grow up to serve someone. They are going to grow up to serve some cause. They’re going to serve some worldview. The question is, who will they serve and what worldview will they hold?
Source:
Youth Calendar
May 5 - Lock-in after ACCESS (Contact Elaine Dao for more info)
May 12 - 7:30-9:30 Last ACCESS
June 3 - 10:00-11:30am "Understanding & Leading Middle Schoolers" @ SWCBCJune 3 - 5:00-8:30pm Senior Banquet @ CBC
June 10 - 10:00-3:00pm - World Changers Training
June 25-July 1- World Changers (Registration: https://goo.gl/forms/GY9CMT7L8jwCTaAM2)
July 10-14 VBS (No MS - all youth to volunteer)
July 23-26 DCAMP (http://dcampandimpact.weebly.com/discovery-camp.html)
July 26-30 IMPACT (http://dcampandimpact.weebly.com/camp-impact.html)
CBC YOUTH MINISTRY
Email: cbcyouth@cbchouston.org
Website: http://cbchouston.org/youth.html
Location: 900 Brogden Road, Houston, TX, United States
Phone: 713-461-0963
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/cbcyouthhouston/
Twitter: @cbcyouthhouston