I visited my son Ben at Teen Mania's
Honor Academy during the Week of the Ring Celebration, and got to
attend an early morning class with him. That morning Ron Luce taught
on marriage, and gave the kids some excellent, biblical guidelines
for picking a mate later in life. Looking back at my years as a young
believer, I wish I had heard Ron's teaching from that morning before
I picked my wife. I might have made a wiser decision, and spent more
time preparing for marriage rather than just jumping in.
But I digress.
Sitting in the large all purpose
meeting room that is used for morning classes, afternoon chapel, and
special occasions, Ron was no more than 5 minutes into his lecture
notes when he shouted “Feet.”
Instantly all the interns shuffled to
their feet, and patiently waited for Ron to give them permission to
sit back down. “Seats,” he said after a dozen or so seconds. He
paused and looked around the class room for some of his favorite
students, looking the sleepy ones in the eyes. “It's OK to be
tired when your an intern. We work hard, and keep you going for long
hours each day.” A muffled assent arose from the student body. The
clock shown 9:18, and while most of the students were awake, a few
were definitely not early morning people. “But it's not OK to fall
asleep in class.”
After a few more paragraphs, “Feet!”
and the students stood up, shaking off the early morning mental
cobwebs again. “Seats.” . . . and the lecture resumed. The
commands continued, with decreasing frequency, for the first half
hour of the two hour class session until the room was alert and
attentive.
While this may sound odd to those of us
who are never in a physically and academically demanding environment,
here is the picture of the alternative from a typical college or
university. Students avoid early morning classes. Most sstudents
won't voluntarily pick classes before 10:00 because it's too hard for
them to get going after gaming, talking, or drinking well into the
wee hours of the previous morning. Students in a typical 8:00 or 9:00
college class wander in up to 15 minutes late, and as a professor
looks around the room, it's not uncommon to see heads down on their
desks as students renew friendships with their dreams. Guys are
dressed in t-shirts and last nights athletic shorts while girls give
themselves permission to pull a sweatshirt on over their favorite
sleep-ware.
What a difference between “Average”
and “Intentional Excellence.” The Honor Academy is an odd
environment for some. If you've experienced a military setting, it
may be more familiar. But does it fit in a Christian ministry, and is
it suited for young adult interns?
Some say no. Some say this is abusive
and authoritarian. Some bloggers have made a campaign of slandering
Teen Mania because they didn't have a “good experience” and the
environment was too “harsh and authoritative.”
Personally, I think this environment is
a good thing for young adults. Too many parents raise their kids as
friends rather than parents, expecting that the relationship will
keep the kids on the right path. Their kids are never pushed to
discover the depth of skill, ability and desire for excellence which
God placed deep in their hearts. As a result, we have a generation
that believes everyone that competes in an athletic event should get
a trophy, and everyone who tries deserves to be rewarded, regardless
of their results.
Paul didn't describe following Jesus in
these foolish terms. He talked about disciplining his body, so that
at the end of the race, he wouldn't be disqualified. Jesus talked
about denying yourself, and picking up a personal cross daily as we
followed Him. He led his disciples in regular fasting as a way of
dis-empowering his flesh to intentionally pursue a closer
relationship with his Father. And he called his followers to do and
be the same kind of person.
Proverbs says “Foolishness is bound
up in the heart of a child, and the rod of correction will drive it
from him.” I don't think Solomon was talking about beating and
abusing children. His words spell out an expectation that adulthood,
and spiritual maturity isn't reached without a level of discipline,
correction, setting higher expectations, and experiencing the
consequences of our choices. Without someone who says to our young
adults “You can do more. You can set and reach higher goals,” the
gravitational pull of adolescence is more than they can escape.
And without people like Ron Luce and
the Honor Academy who say “Follow me, and I will teach, and insist,
that you learn how to reach these goals, the vision often becomes
blurred by selfishness, personal preferences.
Personally, I am glad these skills and
experiences are being taught somewhere.
