Andrew Hess is the content manager for Church and Community Outreach at Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He teaches Bible and psychology classes at Colorado Christian University.
Today we talk with Andrew about Day of Dialogue, equipping young people, and being bold and loving.
1) What is the purpose of Day of Dialogue?
Day of Dialogue—a free-speech event and website for students sponsored by Focus on the Family—equips the next generation to be bold, and at the same time loving, in articulating their Biblical worldview to the culture around them. It empowers them with the confidence that the gospel of Christ can speak into even the most sensitive issues.
In 1 Timothy 4:12, Paul instructed Timothy, "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." That's exactly what the Day of Dialogue equips teens to do—empowering young people to make the most of opportunities to articulate a Christ-centered viewpoint on controversial issues being debated in the culture around them and at their schools.
Day of Dialogue will take place on April 10, 2014. Thousands of teens in almost every state in the nation will initiate conversations with peers and share a Christian perspective on some of the most hot-button cultural debates of the day—same-sex marriage, sexuality, and identity.
Many high school and college students want to impact their campuses for Christ, but don't feel prepared to engage well. Focus on the Family helps close that gap and empower students to speak what's already in their hearts by sponsoring Day of Dialogue and providing a free, downloadable Student Guide at our website.
The Student Guide and website provide links to tips and talking points that prepare students for common challenges Christians encounter when giving a Christian perspective on these issues—whether it's a verbal challenge accusing them of being a "hater" or more of a legal challenge, with a Christian club, for instance, being falsely told they can't share their perspective or put up a poster in the same way that other clubs have been allowed to do.
2) How do you counsel young people to engage the controversial issues like marriage and sexuality in what is, at times, hostile environments?
It's so important for pastors and youth leaders to equip students to speak with grace and truth.
It's so important for pastors and youth leaders to equip students to speak with grace and truth. We believe the way they speak is as important as what they say. The goal is not to have all the right answers, but to communicate with truth and grace. As Pastor Jim Vaus put it, "When love is felt, the message is heard." We want to teach our students to speak with love.
Candi Cushman, our education analyst and facilitator of the Day of Dialogue.com initiative, says it well, "In today's cultural environment, the sad fact is that too many Christian students simply feel unequipped to respond to the heavy promotion of sexual experimentation or confusing messages about sexual identity that they hear at school, or when talking to peers. Too often, they are even intimidated into silence. That's why it's crucial that families and youth leaders act now to equip youth to speak the truth with boldness—while at the same time demonstrating care for the person who might disagree with them."
It's also important to prepare our students for a possible negative response. Students should be prepared that sometimes others will react strongly to our values and convictions and that's part of what it means to follow Christ. We root our message in God's Word, not in how people respond.
3) What kind of equipping should pastors and church leaders give to their young people in order to help them better engage their classmates?
There are three primary ways pastors and church leaders should equip their young people. First, they should help their young people gain confidence in articulating and having a biblical understanding of the issues. One resource that is extremely helpful in this regard is the "Conversation-Starter" infographic with links to student-friendly discussion questions and articles on hot-button topics. These conversation starters not only provide a great interactive tool for church leaders to initiate discussions with their youth, but they also will help students prepare to take a godly stand and articulate a Christian perspective on these issues.
Secondly, we should give our students opportunities to practice responding redemptively to difficult situations and reflecting Christ. We've created presentations and activities that allow students to develop and discuss responses to real-life situations faced by other students. These presentations come with printable notes to make it easy for leaders to host a dynamic discussion.
Young people need to remember that the goal is to reflect Christ—it's about having conversations, not confrontations.
Lastly, our students should be taught to prepare their hearts by checking their own motives and praying over opportunities they will have. Praying together for those they will be sharing with is a great way to have a heart filled with God's love for those we mean to reach. "We love because God first love us" (1 John 4:19). We should teach our students their real ministry begins with praying for those they mean to reach. Young people need to remember that the goal is to reflect Christ—it's about having conversations, not confrontations.
4) Christians are tempted to use nasty rhetoric when defending their faith. But you counsel a different approach. Why?
Historically, Christians have often found themselves in difficult circumstances, in which the surrounding culture reacts with coldness—or even violence—to the good news of the gospel. Therefore, it should not surprise us when people sometimes fail to appreciate our message.
But we should never be tempted to let the world set the tone of our message. We always engage with gentleness and humility as the apostle Peter taught. Peter reasoned that Christians should respond in the same way as Jesus did, who "when he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly" (1 Peter 2:23).
As we reflect on Christ before his accusers, we observe both his humility and kindness. He spoke for God and was prepared to suffer reproach. The heart of the Day of Dialogue initiative is to equip students to express the model presented by Jesus Christ in the Bible. He didn't back away from speaking truth, but neither held back in pouring out his compassionate love for hurting and vulnerable people and defending those people from harm.
One thing that will help students avoid getting trapped into angry arguments is to keep an eternal perspective.
It's all about having a bigger perspective. One thing that will help students avoid getting trapped into angry arguments is to keep an eternal perspective. If someone is angry at you, remember that God loves them, weeps for them, and wants to reach them. Even to the point of death on the cross, Jesus Christ was praying for the very people who hurt him. That's because he had an eternal perspective.
But of course we need to keep in mind that these are teens, and they don't need to foolishly enter into situations that would put them in unwise or threatening situations. That's why we emphasize involving their parents in their plans and being respectful of and following school policies when participating in the event.
Another reason we should have a different approach is that a true understanding of grace gives us true humility. One of Day of Dialogue's key principles states that all of us of have fallen short of God's standard and we are all equally in need of God's salvation and grace. So there's no room for insulting or lording it over others in a prideful manner when having conversations.
5) If you could give one piece of advice to a pastor or church leader with young people in their congregation, what would that be?
One of the greatest examples of the wise equipping of young people is Christ's own ministry to his disciples. These young men would be used mightily by God to spread the gospel and build Christ's church on the earth. Have you ever thought about the unique way Christ prepared them for this task? One of my favorite times of equipping was that Thursday night between the Last Supper and the Garden of Gethsemane.
In John 14-17, the apostle records these final instructions from our Lord. What was on Christ's heart? He was eager to encourage his disciples. He reminded them he would be with them (15:18). He reminded them to abide in his peace (14:27), his love (15:9), and his joy (15:11). Later, John 17 records Christ's prayer for them in which he asked God to "keep them from the evil one" (v. 15), to "sanctify them in the truth" (v. 17), and to unite them, so the world would know God's love (v. 23).
Here we observe three great truths we should teach and pray over our young people:
1. Keep yourselves from evil.
2. Grow in the truth of God's Word.
3. Be a living announcement of God's love.
A pastor who works towards these goals will align his ministry with that of Christ. As we work to equip our young people, may we equip them with resources to display God's love even as they boldly stand up for God's truth. Having the spiritual support of church leaders is crucial to student participants—as you know, it requires great courage in this culture of spiritual relativism to acknowledge the existence of redemptive truth.
Daniel Darling is vice-president of communications for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. He is the author of several books, including his latest, Activist Faith.
