Heroes in waiting.

A couple of weeks ago I watched to a TED talk about how we could possibly reshape the trajectory of a group adolescents lives. One of the things that we MUST do is convey to youth that they are heroes in waiting.  Instead of labeling them as immature, lazy, lacking responsibility, etc,. We label them with the truth of how God sees them. It easy to bow down to the negative labels or just begin to maintain your youth without pouring into them that they are heroes in waiting. They are valuable. And more and more I realize that this is not just something we say but it is something that we must communicate by being.

This past week Ryan Montgomery led the devotional. He put in a lot of work and did such a great job. A 6^th grader led our youth devotional time! And even more our discussion was so fruitful. Coming up on our retreat some of the other youth will get a chance to lead devotionals.

We love to create stereotypes and hide behind them. I am an adult and you are a teenager. But more and more I realize that stereotypes are merely walls that we create that hinder us for seeing each other as God sees us. Youth just as much as any adult are my brothers and sisters in Christ. It is my Christian mission to see them as God sees them because I realize that God speaks through them just as much as God speaks through me if not more.