Elevate Wrap-up

Well, I had intended to post a few other updates during the week, but didn't really have a chance. Whenever I was back in my room I was exhausted. But don't feel bad for me. This isn't a bad exhaustion; it's the really good kind.

If I am going to be honest, I feel completely spent by God. But it feels really good!

If you have ever been there, you know what I mean.

This week I was able to hear the stories of teens who were able to share their struggles - some of them for the first time.

I was also able to witness the spiritual rebirth of some teenagers.

Elevate 2008 was a week I will remember for a long time.

I was reminded once again that today's teens don't want a simple, shallow answer. They don't want to be simply told what to do. My experience has been that they want the journey to be meaningful and real.

This week I was able to have some deep - and often challenging - conversations. Did I offer my thoughts and advice? Sometimes. But usually it was after a lot of listening. That can be hard for me.

One of the biggest lessons God has taught me over the last decade of working with teenagers, is that they often learn more when you say nothing than when you try to tell them everything. Often they just need an ear to hear them out and help them work through things.

The theme for this year was "Unashamed." If we really want this generation of students to be unashamed, we need to be willing to hear them out. Listen to their fears. Feel their pain. Be a safe place. And offer advice, but only after we have really listened to them and tried to understand their situation as much as possible.

As I have said before (and I am sure will say again), teenagers today live in a world that is vastly different than the one I grew up in twenty years ago.

We cannot just tell them, "I was a teen once, and..."

Yes, all adults have been a teenager. Yes, we understand some of the basic emotions they share with our experience. But, we are not in their schools. We didn't live in a culture exactly like the one they know today.

I know there are still things about their world I will never completely understand. But every day I strive to listen a little better, learn a little more, and love with reckless abandon.

I was reminded again this week that those three things are crucial in our calling to help teenagers grow in their relationship with God and bring the Kingdom of God to life in this world.

shine!
Jason