This is going to take some time . . .

I have writen before about my involvement in the jr high program where my family attends. We love our home church and are very involved. Wednesday nights are the best night of the week for me to be consistent. Matt is our jr high guy and we both have been struggling over the coarse of this semester about how much impact we are having in the students lives in what is supposed to be our deeper Bible meeting of the week.

Just before Cincy YS we had one night where it just felt like we were watching students go through the motions and what was worse is we were guilty of just leading the motions for them. Last week Matt had the students just write down some things that were real to them. We really want to meet them where they are at with the Bible. Here is the list of things that I just read.

Here are the questions they've turned in so far: (excluding the extra ones about animals and heaven)
1. Where did sin come from?
2. What boundaries should we set when in a dating relationship?
3. How far is too far? (I assume this is in a dating relationship)
4. Do animals go to heaven?
5. How do I convince my friend to come to church?
6. Is it okay to look at your wife with lust after you're married?
7. If God has all power, why doesn't he just kill Satan and bring world peace?
8. Many people say that the Bible doesn't say much about suicide. Do you know for sure that you'd go to hell if you did? Explain what the Bible says.
9. What was it like when Jesus went to Heaven?
10. People say that drinking is a sin but Jesus himself drank wine so what's the deal?
11. When was this church build?
12. How can I get more involved with God?
13. Where did sin come from if God created all things?
14. What is heaven like?
15. Does God put people in ranks in heaven like if someone loves God with all their heart vs. with only a little of their heart?
16. Was Jesus really born on Christmas? If not, why is it called Christ-mas? And where did Jesus go when he died because he had all of our sins?
17. Is it true that ghosts/spirits are things that do not go to hell?
18. How old do you think people should be able to innocently have a boyfriend/girlfriend? and why?
19. Why is Mike Vick so fast?
20. Does God love gay people too?
21. Who is the best rocker in the world?
22. What are the signs that how Jesus is coming back?
23. If God loves everyone, why do people go to hell?
24. Where was God before he died? (not to sure about this one)
25. How can I resist temptation?
26. Why don't we talk about the OT a lot in the church?
27. When you die do you go to heaven or do you stay dead until Jesus comes back?
28. If God didn't want us to have dirty thoughts, why did he let it happen?

Jr high students are very spiritual. They think about spiritual things, they live and operate in very spiritual ways. This list is almost overwhelming. It is amazing what listening can do to infuze a ministry with new life and excitement. We were banging our heads against a wall a few weeks ago looking for real connection with students. This list has just hit me up side the head! We now have more gripping topics that we have to look into God's word to solve than we can accomplish in a whole semester!
Go figure.