Every year, Oxford Dictionaries selects “a word of the year.” In 2017, they chose youthquake. Youthquake is defined as "a significant cultural, political, or social change arising from the actions or influence of young people."
Youthquake, as a word, exploded in 2017 because of what was going on in the world: trends in fashion, an increase in social activism of young people, and the role teens played in elections worldwide.
The notion that a teenager can catapult incredible change is not new. We can all point to different young people, whether current teen celebrities or historical figures, who helped produce a youthquake.
In Jeremiah 1, when God appoints Jeremiah to be a prophet to the people of Judah, Jeremiah initially offers up an excuse: too young. Since I work with teens, I often hear that, though usually framed differently. It’s normally not so much of an “I’m too young for that,” but more of an, “I’ve got time for that later.” (Ahhhh….adolescence and that wonderful feeling that life will go on forever.)
The tragedy though, in their response, is their failure to realize that their AGE is exactly what paves the way for a youthquake. A teenager that is passionate about anything bigger than themselves, whether it’s Jesus, or some social change, or political movement, stands out. It’s not the norm. And it’s POWERFUL.
As God speaks to Jeremiah, he reminds him of His truth: He will give him the words, He will give him the strength, and He will be with him every step of the way. I taught from this text recently to our high school students, as we weighed the question: What will it take for us to produce a youthquake? We pointed out that the promise given to Jeremiah is the same promise given to us, in Christ, from Matthew 28. Jesus says, “Go into the world, make disciples, speak on my behalf, and remember, I am with you ALWAYS.”
I’m believing for incredible things in Eagle Students this year. I’m believing for a youthquake.
A youthquake is like an earthquake. (I know, I’m a quick one). An earthquake rattles everything; it changes the landscape. Earthquakes start far below the surface. They begin long before they’re ever felt. They run deep.
A youthquake begins the same: deep in the soul…before it’s ever felt, and before anyone else knows it's happening.
Dream with me here for a second: What could our youthquake look like? What Spirit-led change could happen in our church through our students?
My challenge to the parents and adults in our church is two-fold: 1) Join us in praying towards a youthquake. I have some ideas of what it might look like, but I’ve walked with the Lord long enough to know that what I can think up pales in comparison to what God can do. So let’s bang down God’s door together. Nothing of significance happens outside of prayer.
And 2) Recognize that good intentions can often stand in the way of a youthquake. What do we often push our kids to do? Make good friends, go to church, do their best in school, be involved in extracurriculars…the list goes on and on. Those are good things, but often, good is the enemy of best. You could do all of those things and miss Jesus. And you could definitely do all those things, and never produce a youthquake.
Youthquakes happen when students buck the norm. They reject the Americanized version of Christianity that looks very little like what Jesus describes, and pursue things that matter for eternity. Any young person that carries influence in our world DOESN’T just do all the normal things. They stop living for themselves, and start living for something bigger.
Some youthquakes are impressive, and have nothing to do with Jesus. That’s cool. Nothing’s wrong with that. But I’m not praying towards that type of youthquake for our students. We’re praying towards a youthquake that grips the community, to the glory of Our Heavenly Father.
A youthquake could change our church, our schools, and our neighborhoods. We’re believing it can happen.