Cotton Candy Christianity Anyone? See Centrifuge for Details

I am a little slow catching up with what is going on with Centrifuge. When I was an SBC youth minister, our kids never made it to any of the fuges and I never really saw the draw to them. Looking back and reading the curriculum as provided by Stephen Underkolfer, I am so glad I did not attend.

Stephen, a fellow SBTS student, shares the woefully disappointing curriculum for this year's Centrifuge camp which leaves out the cross, repentance, sin, and centrality of the gospel. In place of the "old-fashioned" gospel is the new "thrill ride." This is nothing short of cotton candy Christianity which is made to taste great but leave you empty. It is palatable to the unregenerate but incapable of satisfying. Centrifuge has become a microcosm of the Disneyland of American Christianity which has traded the pearl of great price for our trademark blue-light-special gospel. We have bartered away the truths of the gospel and have baited our students with cheap grace. In pursuit of being "relevant" and "contextual" we have undermined the unadulterated and unmitigated Truth for a glossy substitute which is fashionable and "hip." Several bloggers have chimed in since Stephen's post (including Tom Ascol, Alex Forrest, and Mark Combs). Some of you may remember the account of a youth pastor's experience at M-Fuge last year as reported by Ascol which reeked with New Age mysticism. One must wonder what in the world is going on here! Jesus is not "the most entertaining and thrilling rise we could ever choose!" Jesus does not "want to become a part of us!" What we are beholding is a nicely wrapped benefits package for students who will say, "What's in it for me?" A thrill, being entertained, and a little cotton candy on the side? Hear what the curriculum tells the leaders to say: "We must choose the ride that promises the most enjoyment, the most gratification and the one that allows us the most benefits. That ride is the one that Jesus is asking you to ride. The call of Christ is not wrapped up in a neat, little package. He's telling you up front that it's a little intense. He's telling you that He wants you to make a commitment. But most of all, He's telling you that you need Him to survive...." So I guess the gospel really does begin and end with us. What is at the center is not the glory of God, not the worship of Jesus Christ, not the praise of his glorious grace, but me! Is this not the clear teaching of this curriculum? Gene Bridges rightly asserts that the text the writer of the curriculum uses (John 6) was not intended to tell people that they could have Jesus on their terms whenever they want. The crowd was following because of what was in it for them, and in the end many left to never follow Jesus again. The crowd wanted a Christ without a cross, and this is precisely what the curriculum is offering to these students today. A couple of thoughts come to my mind. When I was a student minister, I preached expository messages which lasted approximately an hour (I say that because it is believed that students cannot bear any message longer than 20 minutes). I gave handouts to every student and made available my sermon manuscript (yes it actually was a sermon and not an object lesson) to anyone who wished to use it throughout the week for further intake and devotional material. To my surprise there would not be a copy left. I realized that when you train appetites to salivate on t-bone steaks they won't want to partake of spiritual junk food. The bar has simply been lowered below biblical standards, and the way we avoid dealing with the sub-standard is making it look so cool, so good that it almost looks like the real thing. Yet truth be known, we have impoverished our students while quoting such verses as "taste and see that the Lord is good." Our students deserve better, and Lifeway should take note. My second thought springs up from what Joe Thorn mentioned earlier this week about the weakness of Lifeway literature. He mentioned that Dr. Thom Rainer said, "Through this new line (B&H academic) we are going to communicate that we are serious about serious matters." This is good news, but here serious matters is assumed of the academic and theological sort, not student ministry or Centrifuge curriculum. But is anything that is in print that teaches the gospel of Jesus Christ serious business? Should we not be serious about our students? Surely they deserve more than a thrill ride, and Lifeway should have known this already. Finally, let me make my appeal to Lifeway leaders. Please, please consider changing your curriculum. My heart bleeds for students and have seen firsthand their disdain for superficial Christianity. In our culture they are already overly entertained and under challenged. Rather, give them the gospel thoroughly and passionately. It was the Apostle Paul who said,

"Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you - unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures . . ." (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

Dear brothers, I would also like to remind you of the gospel you have received and the gospel we have preached. This is where we stand. This is the gospel to which we must hold fast. This is the message of first importance which cannot be changed, altered, or watered down. Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was raised on the third day. According to what? According to the Word of God. I would like to say according to Centrifuge curriculum too, but I cannot at this point. What we have received we must deliver. This is the transmission of the gospel from generation to generation. If this is not preached, written, and spoken, we of all people are most to be pitied. Tell them about sin, about the cross, about the excellencies of Jesus Christ and his infinite love. And may it ever be that we can return to knowing nothing except Jesus and him crucified and find our boasting in his cross on which we find ourselves - not on a thrill ride but on an execution pole. O that students would lose their lives that they may find it in Jesus Christ! **************************************** In the meantime, for those of you considering a quality camp to take your students, let me take the time to plug what I consider to be the best camp in the country - Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters. No, they do not have the backing of a denomination or have the big name speakers or outrageous budgets. Honestly, they do not need them. They are real. They don't soft-peddle the gospel. I strongly encourage you to consider them whether it be a DNOW, camp, ski retreat, or just a weekender. Trust me, you will not be disappointed.

If you would like to contact Lifeway, here you can find the executive management team with their email addresses.