Feet and Seats

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 s​students 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.