Developing a Passion for Truth
Chapter 5
Love Ignites
Developing a Passion for Truth
“Ethan, stop arguing with Jim!” shouted John as he sat next to me (J. Warner), preparing the opening statement for perhaps our most publicized homicide trial. Ethan, John’s co-prosecutor in the case, was sitting across the table from us. He had abandoned any effort to help John about thirty minutes prior to the outburst. Instead, he was deeply engaged in a conversation with me about the existence of God. Ethan was (and still is) a committed skeptic, passionate about his views and eager to talk with anyone who disagrees with his commitment to atheism.
“Jim loves it when you ask all these questions,” continued John. “He’ll talk to you about this all day long, and if you keep this up, we’re never going to get anything done. You need to be more like me. Jim knows I don’t care about any of this God stuff. That’s why we don’t waste any time talking about it.”
Something Timely
John was right. In the nearly twenty years I have worked with him, he’s the least interested person I know. It’s been difficult to talk with him about God or Christianity. He’s not pretending, either; he truly doesn’t care, and his apathy has paralyzed our conversations. But John is one of my dearest friends. I love him like a brother, and I can’t imagine living in eternity without him.
Maybe you’ve had a similar experience with someone you love. If you’re investing in the lives of young people, you’ve almost certainly experienced the paralysis of apathy. As a youth pastor, I almost always had someone in our group who appeared disinterested. It’s difficult to teach the truth to young people you love when they aren’t really listening. But that didn’t stop me. Because I loved my students, I wanted them to become passionate believers.
Apathy is classically defined as an “absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement” or a “lack of interest in or concern for things that others find moving or exciting.” Some of the church’s best thinkers now agree that apathy may be an even greater challenge to Christianity than atheism. In fact, a term has now emerged to describe the growing phenomenon: “apatheism.” Journalist Paul Rowan Brian and writer Ben Sixsmith have argued that “the greatest threat to Christianity is found not in the arguments of the atheist but in the assumptions of the apathetic.”
As the growth of the “nones” demonstrates, the challenge isn’t in convincing people that God exists or that Christianity is true—it’s finding a way to get people to care enough to talk about it. For many, God’s existence doesn’t seem to matter.
John had no interest in Christianity, even though he was somewhat familiar with its claims. His apathy was rooted in two things: first, he didn’t believe there was any evidence for Christianity; and second, he couldn’t see why Christianity would matter, even if it were true.
Ethan, on the other hand, understood the claims of atheism thoroughly, and he believed his atheistic worldview was supported by the evidence. He was also convinced his view of the world mattered because he thought so much evil had been committed under the banner of religion.
John was apathetic because he didn’t think there was any evidence or reason to care. Ethan was passionate because he did think there was evidence and a reason to care.
Two “Whys” for Every “What”
So how can we help young, spiritually dispassionate Christians avoid the apathy of John and the atheistic passion of Ethan? It’s not easy, but we think a simple overarching strategy can help ignite a fire like Ethan’s and direct it to the truth of Christianity. We call this approach: “Two Whys for Every What.”
As pastors, parents, and educators, we’ve all explained what is true to our young people. What do we believe about God? What are the claims of Christianity? What does the Bible teach about important moral issues? Most of us have engaged these topics at church, home, or school. But simple propositions about the nature of God or the claims of Christianity may or may not ignite a fire in our young people.
That’s why we suggest taking two additional steps. For every what you offer the young people in your life, be sure to add two whys.
First, why is the claim you’re making true? When teaching about the nature of God, for example, it’s tempting to default to “because the Bible says so” when a young person asks us to defend a claim. But take the time to explain the philosophical or evidential support beyond the teaching of the Bible. Why is the Bible’s definition of God as an eternal, all-powerful, uncreated Creator evidentially reasonable? Why does the Bible’s definition of God make sense?
Young people want to know why we believe what we believe. If we want them to get excited, we need to help them see that the Christian worldview is reasonable and evidentially true.
Next, help young people understand why any of this should matter to them. Once we’ve described what is true and why it’s supported by the evidence, take the time to explain why they should care in the first place. How does this truth impact their lives? How does it change the way they view themselves or the world around them? How does this truth guide or protect them?
This simple approach—two whys for every what—can change the way we preach, teach, or counsel the young people in our lives. In this chapter, we’ll show you how to employ the approach, but first let’s examine some simple passion-building principles that can set the stage for your interactions:
Seek God
It’s important to remember that passion is a matter of the heart as much as it is a matter of the head. It’s an “inside-out” phenomenon, not an “outside-in” manipulation. For that reason, everything must begin with prayer. We’ve already talked about the role of prayer in connecting with young believers, and it’s equally critical when trying to develop their passion. God cares about young believers, and He’s eager to empower your efforts. Everything starts in prayer.
Most of us, as Christians, understand the power of prayer and regularly seek God when we are concerned about the people we love. In fact, a recent study found that 61 percent of us pray about the people in our family and community. But I (J. Warner) have something to confess: as a new youth pastor, I seldom prayed about the apathy I sometimes saw in my students. I had been an atheist much longer than I had been a Christian, and I was used to doing things in my own power. So when I first encountered apathetic young people in my youth group, I simply tried harder. I would have been far better off praying harder.
Recognize Diversity
As we’ve described in chapter 2, every young person is different, both in the gifts God has given them and in the way they experience and express passion. This is important to remember when you encounter a young person who doesn’t seem to be enthusiastic or interested. Some of us are less capable of experiencing passion than others. Just as importantly, some people are simply less expressive, even when they are passionate about something.
We typically assign generalities to people when we haven’t taken the time to develop a relationship with them. Before assuming young people are dispassionate, make sure you know them well enough to recognize how they express passion.
Model Passion
Organizations take on the character of their outspoken leaders. Apple, for example, became one of the most innovative companies in the world, largely because its founding CEO, Steve Jobs, was an innovative and passionate visionary. In a similar way, churches take on the character of their lead pastors, classrooms take on the character of their teachers, and families take on the character of their patriarchs and matriarchs.
Our kids know when we’re excited about seeing a movie, attending a sporting event, or going to our favorite restaurant. These opportunities are eagerly anticipated and relatively rare. For many of us, however, our experience as Christians is little more than regular church attendance. Perhaps that’s why our spiritual lives seem routine and less exciting to our kids. If we can passionately move toward a Christian life of intellectual, emotional, and experiential abundance, our kids just may adopt our excitement. My (J. Warner’s) sons still remember the energy they observed around our dinner table when our friends would come over and talk enthusiastically about theology or apologetics. These memories are far clearer than any experience they had at church.
Let your passion for God overflow in front of your kids. “The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher” (Luke 6:40 NIV). Become the kind of teacher, leader, or parent your young believers can model.
Remove Obstacles
It’s often said that apologetics can “clear the intellectual obstacles” that prevent people from hearing the gospel. This was certainly the case for me (J. Warner). Once I learned what Christianity claimed, I needed to know why people thought it was true. My questions, doubts, and concerns fell away, one at a time, as I studied the evidence for Christianity.
In a similar way, there are obstacles that frequently stand between us and the passionate Christians we could become. If left unaddressed, these obstacles can be paralyzing. Here are two we must remove if we want to ignite a passion for God:
Personal Sin
Hidden sin is often the root cause of apathy. It’s hard to be passionate about God if you feel like hiding from Him based on the sin in your life. All of us struggle with our sin nature, and young people are no different. As unconfessed sin increases in our lives, so does apathy: “Because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12).
When you encounter apathy, consider the possibility that sin may lie at its core. Examine your own life and encourage the young people you lead to examine theirs as well.
For example, a Barna Group survey commissioned by my (Sean’s) father found that 72 percent of young, nonpracticing Christian men between the ages of thirteen and twenty-four view pornography regularly (41 percent for practicing Christian men of the same age group). One study found that 77 percent of young Christian men between the ages of eighteen and thirty view porn at least monthly, and 36 percent look at porn at least daily. Pornography is perhaps the most pervasive hidden sin within the church, and it may not be a coincidence that apathy toward the things of God is increasing at the same time access to pornography is rising.
If you want to grow your own passion toward God and the passion of the young people you love, be honest about any hidden sin in your life. Don’t allow it to rob you—or your young people—of your and their passion.
Misplaced Priorities
As a youth pastor in Southern California, I (J. Warner) often felt like I was competing with an ever-growing collection of alternative activities. Many of my students missed opportunities to grow and learn as part of our group because their families prioritized club sports or other activities. It’s not hard to understand how this might happen, given their value and worth in their own right, combined with the pressure to compete. But if we want to develop a passion for God, we have to rein in the passions that distract us from God. It all comes down to our priorities.
I (J. Warner) eventually began to encourage the parents of my students to make their kids’ spiritual formation a priority, and to do so by rethinking their calendars. We spend time and money on the things we love most. If we want to increase our passion for God (or help others increase their passion), we need to prioritize God. Consider the way you’re spending time. Have your misplaced priorities become an obstacle?
Cultivate Relationships
Your calendar reveals more than just your love of God. It also exposes your priorities related to the people in your life, including the young people you’re trying to energize. Deep relationships require time, and lonely Gen Z students are far more likely to embrace our passion if we are willing to devote the time to interact with them in meaningful ways.
We’ve heard some experts address the problem of apathy by suggesting that youth pastors and teachers should focus more on the young people who are engaged rather than “waste” time on those who are not. Nothing could be further from the truth. If we want young people to care passionately about God, we need to first show that we care passionately about them. If you’re witnessing apathy in your young people, it may be time to demonstrate your care for them by giving them more of you.
We’ve discovered something in our roles as pastors, teachers, and parents: it’s easier to stoke enthusiasm in a smaller group than it is in a larger one. We’ve spoken to groups where thousands of young Christians were assembled, and we’ve also led small teams of twenty students on mission trips. It’s far easier for the apathetic to hide in a large audience than in a small group. We’ve given successful talks in large settings without ever developing a single relationship, but it’s nearly impossible to effectively lead a small group without developing a strong bond.
Relationships are built on time and attention, extended opportunities and small ratios. If you want to transfer a passion for God to the young people in your life, building relationships will serve as the conduit for this energy.
Something Timeless
Define Truth
There is a direct correlation between our understanding of what is true and our level of passion and interest. Imagine, for example, the following scenario: A youth pastor enters the room on a Sunday morning and invites his students to join him for a one-day mission trip to share the truth with people living downtown. The pastor is trying to motivate his congregation by telling them this “lost” people group has never heard what the young Christians are about to share. But before he piles everyone into the church’s van, he tells the group the truth he wants them to communicate with the people they meet in the city: their preference for cookies.
How many of these young believers do you think would be willing to go on this kind of “mission trip”? How many would take time out of their lives to make a case for their favorite cookie? Not many, we suspect. Few people are interested in going out of their way to convince someone of a subjective opinion.
But what if that same youth pastor wanted to share a different kind of truth with the people living in the city? What if he asked his group to share the cure for tuberculosis (TB) with people who had contracted the disease and didn’t even know it was killing them? Unlike a subjective opinion related to cookies, this truth would be an objective claim about the cure for TB. Do you think the youth group would experience an increased sense of urgency and desire to save those who are dying unaware? We think they would.
That’s why it’s important to teach young people the difference between subjective opinions and objective truths, especially for individualistic Gen Z believers. If Christianity is considered to be just a subjective opinion (an individualistic preference about God) and not the unique and only cure for spiritual death (regardless of an individual’s personal opinion), don’t be surprised when young people treat Christianity more like a cookie than a cure. We can teach them what is true, but if we don’t first help them understand that Christianity is an objective claim about reality (based on good evidence), they won’t understand the urgency—or embrace the passion—that’s appropriate for objective truth claims.
One way to increase passion, urgency, and excitement is simply to teach the difference between subjective and objective truth claims and make sure your young people understand that Christianity falls in the second category rather than the first.
Raise Expectations
Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty … I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.” Challenges add value to everything we do, and we get excited about (and prioritize) the things we perceive as valuable. If you want young people to engage God with passion, don’t be afraid to challenge them with difficult concepts, thought-provoking ideas, and tough tasks. That means raising the bar and elevating the expectations you have for the young people you lead.
I (J. Warner) can still remember the first time I took a group of students to the University of Berkeley for a six-day mission trip. After witnessing on the campus, engaging with atheists in the Bay Area, and interacting with atheist student groups, I asked each of our students to prepare a message for our group, addressing the objections they encountered over the past several days. I told them that we would video record the presentations and then critique and play them later for our group back home.
I could tell that many of our students were intimidated by the assignment, and it occupied much of their free time over the course of the trip. Each student studied and rehearsed their presentations. The results were impressive, but more important than the content of each message was the confidence that emerged with each messenger. The students felt valued and trusted because we treated them like adults and elevated our expectations for them. And when they met our expectations, we saw their interest and passion grow.
In many Christian youth groups, the emphasis is more on friendship and fun, with a sermonette wedged in between the game, the fellowship, and the pizza. Sadly, young people can play games, hang out, and eat better pizza somewhere else. If that’s all we are offering—if our expectations are that low—why would we be surprised when our students eventually seek other alternatives? Instead, let’s elevate our expectations and allow God’s Spirit to ignite a passion.
Stay Relevant
Students are typically less interested in school subjects that are difficult to understand or disconnected from their practical experience. Our two “whys” can help us overcome obstacles like perceived disconnects, though. Remember, Gen Z believers are digital natives and researchers. They have access to the claims of nonbelievers, including their objections to Christianity. If we want our young people to be passionate about the things of God, we need to make sure we show them why our claims are true, and why they matter in the first place.
Teaching about creation? Make sure you include two “whys” for this important “what.” Why do we believe in creation? Make the case for intelligent design from biology, physics, and cosmology. Additionally, why should anyone care about this question? The claim that human beings are created in the image of God with inestimable worth has several consequences. For example, it would form the foundation for our approach to pornography (we don’t look at porn because it uses a person who is meant to be loved). It would also form the foundation for our view of the unborn (we are pro-life because abortion ends the life of a valuable human being). Finally, it would also guide our thinking related to everyday issues like bullying (we oppose bullying because it involves mistreating an image bearer of God). When we provide the whys behind the what, we open the door for relevance and passion.
Something Timeworthy
Do Something
Provide young Christians with an opportunity to put truth into action. Impatient Gen Z believers will only sit still in an academic setting for so long. Honor their restlessness by creating activities and opportunities that bring claims about God and Christianity to life. We’ve both seen students become passionate, committed believers after presenting them with options to serve others and share truth.
The apostle Paul knew what he was talking about when he told the believers in Rome to “be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord” (Romans 12:10–11 NASB). When we serve the Lord, by helping others and sharing the truth, we increase our diligence and fervency. We’ll discuss more about this important aspect of passion building in chapter 8.
Take a Long-Term Perspective
Often people who care about students are hard on themselves for “failing” to motivate every student. But here’s the reality: there may be nothing you can do to motivate certain students whose hearts are not open to spiritual things. Keep in mind, some people even walked away from Jesus in the flesh. Remember the story in which I (Sean) had a student who graduated from my high school Bible class and went on to attend a local junior college. His goal in my class, which he expressed to me, was to get the minimal passing grade (if I remember correctly, he got a C-). And yet, the year after graduation, he came back to sit in my class and encourage other students to pay attention. Why? He was challenged in his faith by professors and started taking his beliefs more seriously. When I asked him if I could’ve done anything differently to motivate him in high school, he said that he wasn’t ready spiritually but that he did listen to my lessons probably more than I thought. Even if a student is apathetic, you might be surprised how much he or she is actually learning. Take a long-term perspective and realize that your efforts may not show up for years.
Remember the “Whys” When Addressing the “What”
Sometimes the goal of creating passion in students who seem disinterested can feel like a daunting task. If you change only one thing about the way you’ve been teaching the Christian worldview to your kids, students, or youth group, let it be this: remember to provide two “whys” for every “what.” You will energize young people by helping them see why the claims of Christianity are true and why these truths matter.