Lost the Art?

As I sit here, I am not even sure where to start, but I know that I need to. For two days, I have been watching the Netflix documentary on Mica Miller. I keep having to turn it off and back on, because I want to finish it, but I am GRIEVED by a number of things. Nobody failed Mica more than the church as a whole. I know there are going to be people mad about this post, but I cannot care anymore. People within the church staying silent, is exactly how the church and the members have remained ineffective for so many years. Trying to save face, hasn't saved souls!

Ultimately, I feel like I must break what I am feeling into multiple blog posts. I by no means am making these in order of importance, so bear with me as I get through each of my thoughts over these next couple of weeks. And please understand, I am not pointing fingers at anyone directly in Mica's circle, and I am only working on the information you can find on TV, which we know only shows bits and pieces. Although these posts are fueled by the hurt I feel after watching her story, I think it is important to know, that I am talking about the church in general, not her story specifically.

The first thing I want to address today is the importance of spiritual fathers and mothers. The importance of what the chapter of Titus 2 teaches us, cannot be understated, especially in a time where too many young people are growing up in broken homes. And I do not want to hear, "well Titus was only specific to that time period." That's a good way to say I only want the parts of scripture that do not ask me to act.

Now listen, because I am going to say this with my entire chest, for every elder in the church that decides that God is done with them and they no longer have a purpose, there is a young person needing to hear the truth in love and not receiving it.

There were many times in my life, where I was flat out living in sin, and I knew it. I continued to show up in church, and smile, and praise God, but when I left that building, I was back to my shenanigans. The number of times that my spiritual mother Wendy had to pull me to the side and give me tough love, are too many to count. I would see her coming off of the stage and KNEW she was coming to me. I knew that God was going to use her to get my attention because tough love is what works for a hard head like me. I NEEDED her in my life

(and still do), even when what she said made me upset. Not because I was not loved or directed at home, I WAS, but because God designed these types of relationships to help guide you through life. God knew we were all going to need someone who loves us exactly the way we are but is also not willing to watch us walk headfirst into hell. That's what Titus 2 is trying to tell us. No matter what age you are, you have something to do in the kingdom of God, and the souls of the younger generations are more on the line now than they ever have been before. It is time to wake up, take someone under your wing, and use the wisdom and knowledge that life has given you, and impart it into someone else.

I cannot help but wonder, what would Mica's life have been like, if a woman from her church whom she loved and respected, pulled her to the side and told her that the road she was walking down, was going to end in pain and suffering. What if that woman had told her politely that if a man cheats with you, he is most likely going to cheat on you? And what if when they noticed him taking interest in her as a teenager, they went to her mom and pointed out that some of his behavior was making them uncomfortable? You can say something with truth and love; both CAN and SHOULD be true.

The church has lost the art of knowing our brothers and sisters in Christ and carrying each other's burdens. I am guilty of it too. Making excuses as to why I do not get involved more, but it's time to lay down the excuses. It is time for the church to stop being a social club, and start being a place where hurting people come to know both the truth of who God is, and the truth of how much he loved them. If God will purposely orchestrate the meeting of someone in your life that tells you the truth in love, in order to prevent you from spending eternity without him, I would say you are a pretty big deal to him.

Church, it is time to stop playing games. The next generations are begging for us to do something, say something, be something in their lives. If you still have breath in your lungs, God is not done with you. We do not get a pass on serving others because we are "of age". It is time for spiritual parents to rise and step help raise a fatherless generation. If we do not rise, the world will, and the world does not care if these young people walk eyes open into hell. We have to care enough to stop being complacent. We have to look at these people and consider what the cost is. If the cost of a person's soul is not worth your discomfort, you may need to consider if being part of the body of Christ or a church family, is even for you. And if you are a young person who does not have a spiritual father or mother, and desires one, I would start with getting involved and watching the fruit coming out of people's lives around you. And if you are still unsure, ask your pastor and/or his wife for recommendations on the best people in the church to help guide you. There is never shame in asking a fellow person in Christ for help or guidance, but you also have to be willing to hear the truth, even when it hurts.

Can the church become a Titus 2 church, and win back the souls we have let fall through the cracks? I think it's time to find out.

Lord, I thank you today for all of the spiritual parents doing your will and guiding these next generations towards you and your will for their lives. I pray that more spiritual parents will rise, and more young people will seek guidance from the church and not the world. I pray that you give us eyes to see these young people the way that you see them, and to love them enough to tell them the truth, even when it hurts. And I especially thank you Lord for the spiritual mothers that I had over the years who never looked down on me when I was living in sin and wrapped their arms around me and said not on my watch, the devil cannot have this one. I love you and cannot thank you enough. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.