We Owe Young People Something Better Than This

Posted by Jim on Thursday, August 28th, 2008

by Jim Henderson

This article was originally sent out as an email to our mailing list. Some of the comments below were received as email responses to our mailing.

Young Pastor Fakes Cancer Hides Porn Addiction

The disgraced, former pastor of one of Australia’s biggest youth churches, Planetshakers, inspired hundreds of thousands of young Christians around the world as he performed with an oxygen tube in his nose.

The father of pastor Michael Guglielmucci has revealed his son has been addicted to pornography since the age of 12. Danny Guglielmucci – whose high-profile, preacher son, Michael last week admitted his two-year battle with cancer was fake – said the “severe addiction to pornography” was part of a bizarre double life his son had been leading.


Young Nationally Known Healer Admits Emotional Affair

An Abbotsford-based faith healer who has polarized North American evangelicals has agreed to step down as the head of Fresh Fire Ministries after it was discovered he had an “unhealthy relationship on an emotional level” with a female staff member .

Evangelist Todd Bentley, who led a Pentecostal revival in Lakeland from a modest beginning to near-historic proportions, has filed for separation from his wife, a former spokesperson said Monday, and will not return to the ongoing revival.

We need to be born again (again)

Someone once asked, if you have a problem with the Federal Government who do you blame? The President? Your Senator? The CIA, FBI, FEMA? You? Me?

The answer, it turns out is everyone! We’re all to blame.

As Pogo, the comic book character says: “We have met the enemy – and he is us”

These two young men (and many, many more like them) we’re invited into this Big Stage version of Christianity by “us”. You and I bear the major responsibility for allowing the Jesus Movement to be co opted by a consumerist religion-business that attracts, uses and ultimately spits out young people like Michael and Todd.

We need to be born again

Buy Your Ticket Here

Great Group Rates

Three Cities

We owe them something better

Off The Map is making a place for the future. Young leaders like Kimberly George, Kathy Escobar, Tim Soerens, Sam Trujillo and Jen Wright will talk about what they are learning as on-the-ground practitioners of the way of Jesus.

David Kinnaman is a 33 year old researcher and President of The Barna Group who did the hard work of finding out what The Outsiders really think of Christianity. What he heard may not excite you but it will give you a much clearer view of the current reality the church is trying to navigate.

Along the way, David also met young Christians who, it turns out, often agree with their non Christian counterparts about how the church has drifted away from Jesus’ original intention.

These Christian Outside/Insiders will provide you with insights you won’t hear anywhere else.

If you’re a Pastor, Youth Leader, College Worker or a concerned/confused Parent you must come to the Born Again Church Tour.

We owe young people something better than this.

Buy Your Ticket Here

Great Group Rates

Three Cities

15 Responses to “We Owe Young People Something Better Than This”

  1. Comments received by email Says:
    August 28th, 2008 at 9:14 am

    Email response #1

    Dear Jim Henderson,

    It seems like a part of the problem you deprecate you also use to sell tickets to a “program” you are sponsoring.
    Doesn’t this seem wrong to you? It does to me. What makes you have any answers to the problems of these men you just exposed to me in this email?

    Are you really part of the solution - or just another facet of the problem of commercialized christianity?

    Sincerely questioning,

    Email response #2

    Wow . . . this looks great . . . bring it east!

    Email response #3

    Jim,

    I agree that the scandals in question are sad. But I don’t take responsibility for them. I am one of the many unknowns, trying to do my job for my King.

    I disagree that they are the reason I should do anything, including sign up for the BAC Tour. You provide valuable material and that’s cause enough for me to come. This sensational appeal to scandal (or scandal avoidance or scandal alternative) is off-key, IMHO.

    as a friend of OTM,

    Email response #4

    GREAT POINT! I wish I could attend this conference.

    Jim, I believe that the way we’re doing church is encouraging this kind of falseness and celebrity seeking, and ENORMOUS pressure, that one Super Leader Pastor is not meant to bear. It seems to me that biblically, the body is meant to function together as a family, a group, more flat – with very little celebrity, but lots of love, graciousness for each other’s annoyingness and differences, humility and loving and serving outsiders.

    Not that this would solve people from being sinners, but I think it would make this whole thing a lot better and more effective. Not sure if that’s what y’all are talking about. Wish I could attend!!!!!!! Denver too far from ATL, and I don’t make enough money to do that kind of stuff on weekdays outside of ATL.

  2. Jim Henderson Says:
    August 28th, 2008 at 10:28 am

    To All Commenters

    Thanks for caring enough to respond. I especially appreciate those who disagee with my ideas since it takes courage to attempt to capture in a few words exactly what it is you find off putting, off base or off whatever.

    Per why we charge money to attend a conference -

    I wont spend much time on this - we all have to figure out how to monetize our mission - for example - families make choices about how much money they “need” to operate and then they go out and find ways to get the money to meet that “need” - Organizations like OTM do exactly the same thing. We prefer to sell tickets on the open market to minimize our need to ask people to give us money. I may disagree with your ideas of how you monetize your family and I expect others to disagree with how we monetize OTM- That’s what makes America great and explains why Paul wrote Romans 14.

    Per why I think “we” are responsible for the current situation called Christianity.

    As a student of history I am forced to face the reality that if we choose to claim the benefits of a system (Like being Christians in America) we need to own the liabilities. You can’t claim one and reject the other. Americans are hyper individualistic. I would say we “worship” individualism and have even deified it. That delusion disables us from seeing ourselves as part of the whole. For example Our Union - The USA is ONLY 235 years old- We are infants in terms of history. The Mayans, Greeks, Romans, Chinese and Dravidians existed from thousands of years and we hardly take them seriously. We built this country on the backs of kidnapped Africans - A mere 200 years ago they were a natural resource (like Oil is today) that Americans sucked life out of and exploited in order to build this nation we call Gods Country. How we think we are not still responsible to right that wrong I find unbelievable. Blinded by our hyper individualism we distance ourselves from the parts of our history we find uncomfortable and claim partnership with the parts we find useful ( Thats why we are responsible (IMHO)

  3. More comments received by email Says:
    August 28th, 2008 at 4:21 pm

    Email response #5

    I live in Dayton, Ohio…any chance of visiting our region? Travel and registration and hotel costs would really be out of our range…I work for a small nonprofit and have a wife and 2 children…anyway, let me know if you head this way…

    Email response #6

    this is a tough one dude, as much as I gag on these regular stories of guys like this…how can and will we be sure that whatever (new) message we are peddling wont get messed up and mess up the people who follow our new message when we publicly fall?

    Get what I am saying…I’m not defending these dudes, they are a dime a dozen, but how do we know that “we” won’t preach…whatever…(who cares?) and lead the ‘followers’ astray if (and when) we become perverts?

    So…we owe young people something better than this…and if/when we fall and fail…then what?

  4. Two more comments received by email Says:
    August 28th, 2008 at 4:34 pm

    Email response #7

    This ad nails it.

    Email response #8

    Jim-Your email borders on insensitivity to two of our brothers who are struggling mightily. I fail to see why you needed to use their failure to promote your event. Help me out.

  5. centorian Says:
    August 30th, 2008 at 7:30 pm

    I may check this conference out. While I may agree to some degree on our hyper individualistic mindset, I wonder about a hyper-sensitivity that sees the evils of our previous years who’s influence is like a ball and chain that must be severed?

    Todd and Michael were a part of the same market driven machine that has been prevelent in much of Christianity for many years now. They are not victims of their enviroment. No doubt they were enraptured in the euphoria of recognition. It safe to say Jim, that hands were layed on too quickly, not only the hands of higher ecclesiastical authority, but of the masses as well.

    As far as who built this country, it was much more than kidnapped Africans (some by rival tribes, btw). Seems to me I remember reading about a war fought over such things.

    thanks, Jim!

  6. Jim Henderson Says:
    August 30th, 2008 at 11:25 pm

    I wonder about a hyper-sensitivity that sees the evils of our previous years who’s influence is like a ball and chain that must be severed?

    Those with power never think about it - those without power think about it all the time. Thomas Freidman

    I think humility demands that we err on the side of those who have been wronged by those with power. It might help to ask the current representatives of those groups how they feel about whether or not we have been sensitive enough.

    We also need to consider that our reluctance to take responsibility by calling it “hyper” is most likely informed by the fact that we don’t like giving up power or admitting that Christians have plain been wrong about this issue for centuries.

    Which reminds me - it is one thing for Africans to kidnap each other but when Christians who claim to follow Jesus mimic that behavior - in my book (and the bible I think) that is like comparing apples and oranges

  7. Jim Henderson Says:
    August 30th, 2008 at 11:31 pm

    Jim-Your email borders on insensitivity to two of our brothers who are struggling mightily. I fail to see why you needed to use their failure to promote your event. Help me out.

    If you use the stage to promote your cause you are liable to be exposed on the same stage. The moral of the story ??

  8. centorian Says:
    August 30th, 2008 at 11:39 pm

    Interesting ideals, Jim.
    Let me ask you this. What you are expounding sounds very similar to the racial reconciliation that Promise keepers spearheaded about 10-12 years ago.

    I felt that ideal flew in the face of Ezekiel.

    I also had trouble with this ideal as my ancestors were getting worked by the English or trying to stay out of the ovens of the Germans or whoever else was antisemitic. I’m only third generation American. Without going into much detail, I feel I have been marginalized through out my life. Yet I don’t feel that anyone owes me an apology.

    I do have to agree, the actions of previous generations have an effect of the pyschi of today. By and large, the church’s history is less than Christlike……. not much has changed……… yet becoming a Christian does not make cupable to the evils perpetrated by those who named the name of Christ. They honor Him with their lips, but their heart are far from Him.

    And yet, I see your point. The guilt by association card is played on ever corner.

    Thanks Jim.

  9. centorian Says:
    August 30th, 2008 at 11:47 pm

    oops… make that every corner

  10. Emailed comment #9 Says:
    September 1st, 2008 at 11:55 am

    I agree. Thank you for making others aware of this. We are living in a time when the Bride is being prepared. We are part of this.

    We need to bless our kids from conception to adulthood…name them thier Destiny in the Kingdom. God shows us in His Word how to do this. They are precious jewels to the Ancient Paths.

    I appreciate your insight and transparency. You look to the New Wine and less to the Wine Skin….Glory and Honor and Praise to our God.

  11. Helen Says:
    September 1st, 2008 at 4:46 pm

    Centorian are you saying you’re against race reconciliation?

  12. centorian Says:
    September 1st, 2008 at 5:01 pm

    helen,
    I don’t see how you could get that question from my statements. I would be both a reconciliator and among the reconcilled.

    I do not believe people should be held accountable for that which took place in this country in the 1700’s and 1800’s. God spoke through Ezekiel and said that the sons shall not be held accountable for the sins of the fathers.

    My friends of other races and I don’t discuss such things. We’re too busy just being friends.

  13. Helen Says:
    September 2nd, 2008 at 10:30 am

    Sorry centorian, I was trying to understand your comment and evidently I got the wrong side of the stick.

    Thanks for writing more about what you meant. I understand now.

  14. centorian Says:
    September 2nd, 2008 at 1:21 pm

    well, Helen, maybe I need to learn to express myself better. 8)

    blessings to you

  15. Helen Says:
    September 2nd, 2008 at 2:45 pm

    Thanks centorian - you too.