Before I begin, I want to get something very clear. I FULLY support and love the vision that Young Life has. I am in no way shape or form looking to tear down anything about Young Life itself or any of their staff. I will always encourage the friendship, mentorship, and love that Young life offers to teens who are far from Jesus. I will continue to admire their persistent pursuit of adolescent's hearts for Christ. There is nothing more beautiful than loving others the way we are called to love God. Whether the world thinks these kids deserve love and attention does not matter to those who choose to become Young Life leaders. I have talked with many leaders who humble themselves daily to walk with kids who are walking down the wrong path. They do not shove religion down their throats or shame them for the path they are choosing. Rather, they shower them with God's love, laugh with them, cry with them, and encourage them that Jesus' love is real and relevant and free. Most Young Life leaders are wise enough to know that the kids they lead won't walk in God's truth if they aren't willing to make that decision on their own. So why force feed it into their lives? Which is why, Young Life leaders focus on building relationships with the kids, showing them that Jesus isn't here to enforce laws, but love. They know that if the kids they lead end up falling in love with Christ, their obedience to Him will follow. It's never vice versa. If it was, we'd call that "walking through the motions". That is not what these leaders want for the kids they mentor. They want Their kids to have a real, raw, relationship with Jesus.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, it's time for me to confront what's bothering me about some of these Young Life leaders that I've personally known, and those that I've heard about through other kids.

It all began when I was talking to a young man about Young Life. I had simply asked him about the camp and how he liked it. Considering some of the slightly worrying things I had already heard from a couple of leaders the week before, I was extremely anxious to hear about the experiences from a student's point of view.Then I asked him about what he had done there. His first story didn't necessarily surprise me that much. "Well, there was this one girl there that all of my friends called Pocahontas. She had a boyfriend but my friends dared me to go up and kiss her anyways. So I did. It was so funny." He said. I of course quickly asked him what else he did, nonchalantly showing him I wasn't impressed. This is the one that got me. What he said next made me squirm a little. "Oh, haha. We played this really fun game. It was where all of the guys in our group got in a circle and they went down on one knee. Then all the girls sat on our knees and went around the circle. We put Twizzlers in our mouths and the girls have to try to get them out... My counselor was so smart. He told me to put the whole thing in my mouth, that way the girls would really have to try for it."

When I say I was sick to my stomach, it's an understatement. It wasn't surprising to me that this kid would brag about the game. What appalled me was the fact that this Young Life leader was not only watching these kids play this game, but was encouraging the boys to take it even farther. I am not saying that kissing is a sin. But I will say that I truly believe that as Christians we should be wise about who we give ourselves to in any way, especially physically. All those sweet girls were sitting on a whole bunch of stranger's knees kissing them at a camp full of counselors who are supposed to be encouraging Jesus, not boys. Let me say this a bit more bluntly. All those boys were being encouraged to kiss other men's future wives as if it were nothing but a game. Do we honestly think the world doesn't give girl's enough reasons to focus on boys? So why at a place where they are supposed to escape the world and have fun with leaders who love Jesus, are these kids going to be led to do something that shifts their focus to the opposite sex?

Let me say, I am aware this game probably doesn't happen at all the camps. My entire first paragraph was written just to reiterate the fact that I KNOW there are great leaders out there that would never initiate a game like this with a whole bunch of kids who are already ridiculously confused about their identity. But do you want to know what this kid's response was to my shocked face? He said, "What!? Christians can have fun. It's just kissing and I won't ever see those girls again."

THIS is what Young Life leaders need to be careful of. Misconstruing God's grace. Miscommunicating what it means to have freedom in Christ. Are we free to have fun? Absolutely. But some of these leaders are confusing these kids about what that freedom in Christ actually means for them. It does NOT mean that it is okay to live in sin because it has been paid for. It does NOT mean that you can get drunk with your friends on the weekends and kiss random girls on vacations and use "God's grace" to cover your tracks. Will He always forgive you? Of course. But to knowingly walk in sin while planning to use your freedom in Christ as a 'get out of jail free card' is essentially throwing God's grace in His face. As Christian leaders we need to be able to take correction. If you lead these kids in Christ and you listen to their stories of drunken nights and half-dressed girls, and you choose to laugh with them, you aren't a leader you're an enabler. You aren't showing them a picture of Jesus you're twisting their conceptions of Christians. In their eyes, you are validating their actions.

"Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God." 1 Peter 2:16

Young Life leaders need to be very careful that they aren't using the freedom God gives us to "okay" sin.