We want desperately to boil things down, to make things that are complex, understandable.  To give ourselves a framework through which we can live our lives and faith out of.  We like things simple and strait forward.

(Speaking of making the complex, simple…check out THE ONE THING YOU NEED TO KNOW by Marcus Buckingham.  This is a great book on leadership.  I will probably do a series of posts on this one some day soon.)

In the world of Christianity that, in part, explains the popularity of The Purpose Driven Life and other such programs.  That also explains the popularity of, in youth ministry circles, THE SEVEN CHECKPOINTS.  The goal of THE SEVEN CHECKPOINTS is to give students and student ministries a frame to build their ministries and lives around.

While in some ways I think this misses the complexities of life and faith, it also does a good job of addressing the most important decisions that a teen must make.  I also think that we probably miss how fundamental these check points are and how much they would speak to an adult audience.  Look at the seven checkpoints and see if you agree that these hits all believers, regardless of age.

Checkpoint 1 – Authentic Faith: Putting your trust in God

Checkpoint 2 – Spiritual Disciplines: Seeing with God’s eyes

Checkpoint 3 – Moral Boundaries: Paving the way for Intimacy

Checkpoint 4 – Healthy Friendships: Choosing Friends for Life

Checkpoint 5 – Wise Choices: Walking Wisely in a Fool’s World

Checkpoint 6 – Ultimate Authority: Finding Freedom under God

Checkpoint 7 – Others First: Considering Other’s before yourself

So let’s take a look at the first checkpoint….Putting Your Trust in God.

At first I assumed this chapter was going to be more about salvation, having students make a decision to accept/receive/insert your favorite terminology here, but it was really more involved that that.  The point Andy Stanley and Stuart Hall make is that people need to have a faith in God that is based on who he is and what he promises to do.

For many teens (and adults), faith is based on circumstances rather then who God is and what is true about him.  When things are going well it is easy to have faith in God, when things are going poorly, kids tend to "lose" their faith and need to start the process of becoming a Christian all over again.  There seems to be this innate characteristic in students (but not adults, right – typing with tongue in cheek) that assumes God’s role is to bless us and when he fails to do so it must be a sign that he is not real or we are not doing something right.

So the question to ask is, do we have faith in the outcomes or faith in Jesus?  Faith in Jesus will endure, faith in circumstances will ebb and flow.  And if we are going to have faith in Jesus and not in circumstances, what is true about Jesus?   

A.  He is Merciful.  He will not allow us to experience more than we can handle.

B.  He is Graceful.  He will give us the strength to persevere.  He may not deliver us from them but he will deliver us through them.

Faith is not getting to a point where we can manipulate God to get him to do what we want, faith is resting in the promises of God!

Using my own illustration here…it is almost as if we need to get teens and adults to see a life of faith as needlepoint.  One side of the needlepoint is a picture that makes sense but on the other, the back side, is frayed knots and loose stings…chaos…with seemingly no rhyme or rhythm to it.  We as pastors need to remind people that we are on the backside of the needle point.  Life is full of knots and loose things that we can’t and don’t understand.  On this side of eternity it will always be confusing.  But when we get to the other side, all of the knots and frays will make perfect sense as we see how God has weaved it all together to make something beautiful.

That my friends, is the first checkpoint.  See you next week.