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            This past weekend I enjoyed ministry with a former student named Scott Harris, pastor of the

            He also gets that the church in

            I spoke at Southside’s DNow. What an amazing weekend. The largest number ever, 265 students, attended the weekend. This in a church averaging well under a thousand in Sunday school. A large church by

            God moved this weekend. Dozens met Jesus as Savior. So many were broken.  It was a sweet time, and I can hardly wait to be back for their camp this summer.  (To see more about the weekend go to the website of the band that travels with me at findingmadisonband.com). But this weekend made me think about a few things I have observed about students.  I may be a middle aged seminary professor, but this spring I am doing eight DNows and numerous other youth events. I am also speaking at about a dozen colleges and universities. I am giving my life to those under 30.  Reflecting on this, here are a few observations:

1. These millennial students are as researchers say—they are idealistic, and they want a challenge.  I wrote about this in my book Raising the Bar in 2004, and I am more convinced of this than ever. Students do not want some watered down, pansy preaching that says “just love Jesus a little more.” They want you to get in their grill, to be honest, to tell them nothing compares to living a life sacrificed for Jesus.

2. They are a fatherless generation as a whole. I am far from the top youth speakers of our day.   I am a teacher more than a preacher. But I am also a father of two teenagers. I speak to students as a dad.  I meet so many from such trashed homes. They long for adults in their life who have integrity and who will tell them the truth—and who will believe in them.

3. They are very personal. They have Facebook and Myspace, and cell phones and email. They are connected. But they still lack many meaningful relationships, or the skill to develop them. It means so much to students when you take the time to learn their names.  I relate well to students because I actually love them and love to get to know them.  I enjoy Facebook a lot more than this blog because of them. It is no surprise that the youth pastor as Southside is a year older than me and the youth pastor of a church I will soon visit is my age, both churches having some of the most vibrant youth ministries I know. Many students long for a father figure.

4. They love music.  Every generation of students love music. But this generation has such exposure through itunes, myspace music, and other portals.  Taking a band with me is a non-negotiable when I do youth events. It makes a huge difference.  By the way, I like it too J. Too many speakers underestimate the role of music and worship; too many musicians underestimate the power of the spoken word.  I minister with a group that gets both.

5. They hunger for that which is real.  It is true that this generation studies the life of authority figures more than the teaching of those figures.  They can smell a rat and a phony, and they see a lot of what the church does for youth as cheesy, because it is.  They do not like to be treated like 3^rd graders. Oh, some certainly are spoiled and have bought the materialism their good Christian parents have sold them. But still, so many yearn for more.

            Starbucks Coffee has become a haven, a gathering place, for so many students.  Starbucks took a bland beverage - coffee, and made the experience of drinking coffee one for whom people go out of their way, stand in long lines, and pay inflated prices to enjoy.  Think about it: Starbucks took something bland and made it special, we have taken the amazing gospel and turned it into something bland.  That is why in part that Barna says the majority of teens IN church currently say they will drop out when they leave home. Too many students get more excited about meeting friends at Starbucks than gathering for worship on Sundays.  We must find ways to connect with youth, not just in their youth times, but in corporate worship, in the mainstream of the church, to show them the real, vibrant, passionate Christianity we profess.

            I believe in young people. They can be exasperating. They certainly can be exhausting. I am at this moment really, really tired.  Whew.  But when you weep with them, to celebrate with them, and see them struggle toward faith maturity, it is well worth the time and effort.. 

            There are currently more teenagers in the

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