Two years ago I wrote in this newsletter about Matt Pitt, the locally popular founder of "The Basement" youth program in Birmingham, Alabama. At that time he had just been arrested for the second time in 18 months and was awaiting trial for impersonating a police officer. Since then, he has been found not guilty of the charge, but the circumstances surrounding the arrest still raise serious questions about his behavior. Matt was a college dropout who experienced a radical conversion, started a Bible study in his home, and within a year was preaching to hundreds, and then thousands of youth in different venues, eventually starting an extremely upbeat, high-energy, low-lights and loud-music “teaching” venue. His critics have long held that he teaches little or nothing of Biblical Christianity, but he is entertaining, and many youth flock to him. No longer in charge of “The Basement” ministry, he has started a new venue called “The Block,” a speaking and music ministry on the streets of Birmingham.
I'm now quite sure that our culture will never learn that large numbers of people following an idea does not by default make it a good idea. We really seem to believe that if a lot of people are doing it, it must have value. It seems that anyone who says "I'm a Christian" and can draw a crowd deserves our money and our admiration. A thousand youth (and the parents who drop them off) must know a good thing. If that is indeed true, then 1.5 million pedophiles can't be wrong. Take five minutes and watch a few videos on YouTube of some of Hitler’s gatherings in 1930’s Germany and you will see thousands upon thousands of very excited grown men and women willing to chant and sing the praises of man.
Teenagers in our culture are not, by and large, discerning. I was no different when I was a teen. How incredibly important it is for parents to help their teens make wise decisions and to gently steer them away from this madness. How incredibly important it is for parents to guard their children, to the best of their ability, from the wickedness of our world, and from those who would gladly use them for a shot at fame and material comfort.
We cannot insulate our children, or ourselves, from the world (1 Cor. 5:9-10). But we can teach them to live, and live ourselves, as “salt and light.” Not all will follow our lead, to the great pain of countless godly parents, but our culture lies to our children, and to us. Let us prayerfully, and lovingly, head in the opposite direction. Our church family will do all we can to teach foundational truth to your children and youth, but that teaching must start in the home, and be reinforced there as well. As our study in 2 Peter has taught us, the church itself is a constant battleground against false teaching.
I do not wish bad things for Matt Pitt, nor am I trying to pick on the guy. I just wondered where he ended up two years after his arrest, and sadly, was not surprised to find him doing “ministry” again. He is only one of many who have made a very good living off of a very shallow Christianity. My prayer is that he will awaken to the truth of the gospel and teach something other than the banal and hyped up “hey teens, look how cool I am…oh, and Jesus too.” We live in a culture that is bewitched by celebrity and fame. The church, by and large, has jumped on that bandwagon. I do not think I’m overreacting when I say that it can be deadly, particularly to young people who have not yet learned how to see through the hype. It is difficult enough for adults to do so. We have a responsibility as parents and as a church family to help our young people navigate through the messiness of truth and error, even when the error may be well intentioned. Let’s be a church family that prays for our young people, cares for our young people, and trains our young people. We’ll trust God to take care of the rest of those matters that are out of our control.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Jym