RE:flect
Theologian Don Carson recently made the statement, "Do you ever say to a young Christian, 'Do you want to know what Christianity is like? Watch me!' If you never do, you are unbiblical."
We have thought long and hard about how to effectively disciple and teach the Gospel to the younger generation at One Harbor in a Biblical way. RE:flect is our attempt to do this well.
re·flect [ri-flekt]
~ verb
1. To be turned or cast back
2. To be reflected or mirrored
3. To form an image of something by reflection
4. To think seriously
5. To turn one’s thoughts back on
One of the most essential patterns of growth in the Bible was discipleship. However, too often, this fails in one of two ways. One way that discipleship often goes wrong is when the leader doesn’t make disciples of Jesus, but rather clones of themselves. The other way is when the leader makes the goal of discipleship something like morality or religion, not Jesus and the Gospel. Neither of these are the patterns we see in Scripture. Look at just a few examples…
- 1 Corinthians 11:1- “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ”
- Ephesians 5:1- “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children”
- Hebrews 6:11-12- “And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
When we look at the Bible for how to reach the younger generations, we see something much different than what we see today with a lot of the generation specific ministry that too often becomes management, babysitting or entertainment. What we see is a pattern where the older generation brings through the younger generation into the Gospel. Here again are a few examples…
- Psalm 145:1- “One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.”
- Psalm 71:18- “So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.”
- Titus 2:2-6- “Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled.”
There are many more examples, but what we see clearly coming through is a sense that God’s work in one generation is to be passed on to the next. As much as it is the responsibility of parents to teach their kids, it is the responsibility of older, mature Christians to train up (RE:flect) Jesus to the younger generation, as Paul so powerfully says…
- 1 Corinthians 4:15-17- “For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me. That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.”
All of this is the heart of RE:flect. Our heart is not to make clones or to push people into morality. Our goal is, by the Gospel and through the Gospel to show the next generation who God is and how we are to respond to the knowledge of who He is and what He has done. The heart that fathers & mothers have for their own children is the heart that we see with how God loves us and how we are to love others.
Want To Get Involved?
One Harbor is looking for RE:flect group leaders who are willing to meet once a week with a handful of young people and be part of their lives. These groups will be all guy or all girl and no larger than 10 people per group. The groups will meet whenever is convenient for those in the group. They will meet somewhere public like a coffee shop or restaurant.
If you are interested in finding out more information about leading a RE:flect group or being part of one, please email Emily Recker or call 252-422-2899.
We know that God is never preoccupied by our generation alone- He is “the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,” and will always be a multi-generational God. Join us in passing on the Gospel to the next generation at One Harbor so that God's work among us will outlive us.
