This morning at Piedmont Church I literally watched an angry teenager’s heart melt right before my very eyes. Seated in the seat directly in front of me was a teenage young man who was the only person sitting during the three songs which opened our service. He even remained seated during the morning greeting when everyone was shaking hands and saying, “Good morning.”
But when we sang the final song after the service, O Praise The Name, he stood and participated in the singing. What happened?
The Holy Spirit obviously moved in this young man’s life but I want to propose a possible answer in 10 Things Churches Can Do To Make Angry Teenagers Stand Up And Sing In Services:
- Angry Teenagers Stand Up And Sing In Services When Parents Model What Worship Looks Like – His dad stood during all the appropriate times of the service.
- Angry Teenagers Stand Up And Sing In Services When Given Time To Wrestle With Their Faith – I give his dad credit. I would have forced that kid to stand. His dad gave him margin for God to move in His life.
- Angry Teenagers Stand Up And Sing In Services When They Sit Under Great Preaching – Nothing changes a human life like great preaching and Bible teaching. Piedmont’s Family Pastor Nate Galloway delivered a life-changing message from Galatians 6:2, 10 as part of our Piedmont Stories series.
- Angry Teenagers Stand Up And Sing In Services When Taught God’s Plan For The Church – Nate taught the following facts about the church:
- The church is not a device or idea of men, but comes from God.
- The church belongs to Jesus.
- The church is about people, not a place or a building.
- The church is made up of many parts and you are one of them.
- The church may be flawed but Jesus loved the church so much He died for it.
- The church is the closest a person can get in this life to experiencing the physical presence of Jesus. We are His hands and feet.
- Angry Teenagers Stand Up And Sing In Services When Given A Different Perspective – Nate shared stories of losing a child to a miscarriage, having a son who experiences seizures, and having another son diagnosed with cancer in the past year. I propose to you the young man who stood realized he did not have it so bad after all.
- Angry Teenagers Stand Up And Sing In Services When Told They Are Needed – Because of Nate’s transparency and incredible communication gifts, there were multiple poignant moments in the service. One was when Nate told those in attendance, “When I came here three years ago, I don’t know how much you needed me. But I needed you.”
- Angry Teenagers Stand Up And Sing In Services When They Feel Like They Are Part Of The Community – Nate also said, “In the dark moments of life, God has not only given us Himself, He’s given us each other.”
- Angry Teenagers Stand Up And Sing In Services When They Move From Ridiculing Church To Being Amazed By It – In Nate’s introductory comments, he referenced when the Holy Spirit arrived in Acts 2. He quoted verses 11-13 where some were amazed by the changes they saw in people’s lives. Others ridiculed them. Much like in Acts 2, all in attendance today were filled with a sense of awe.
- Angry Teenagers Stand Up And Sing In Services When The Pastor Is A Preacher Who Delivers A Message From God Delivered Out Of His Own Life, Not Just A Communicator – I tell pastors all the time they are preachers, not communicators. You have been given a message from God Himself, the Ancient of Days, to deliver to the people at this point and time in human history to address the issues of their lives. You are not just a communicator delivering a Ted Talk with a Bible verse. Today, Nate delivered a message to us from God Himself birthed out of his own life.
- Angry Teenagers Stand Up And Sing In Services When The Holy Spirit Changes Their Life – A church can have compelling music, a fantastic message, video, multi-media, plasma screens, lights, and hazers. But let’s face it, at the end of the day only God can take an angry teenager from sitting and stewing to standing and singing about Jesus in the span of 30 minutes.
I encourage everyone reading this post to visit Piedmont Church and watch Nate’s message. The principles from it will help your teenagers stand and sing in your services.
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