Notes from this week's podcast: What is this Teen Takeover Mess?

Recently, I was catching up on the news online and I was truly disturbed by the number of stories that I was reading talking about Teen Takeovers. I was astounded that this was a mass thing happening throughout our nation. 

Let me warn all of us: We need to open our eyes and see what is really happening. 

What is happening in broad daylight is that teenagers are taking over city streets. They're not protesting, but they are being destructive. They're rampaging, smashing windows, hitting bystanders, shutting down intersections, mobs in the streets, looting stores -- all destructive behavior. And they appear to be loving it, having a good time. This is not just happening in one place -- north, south, east and west throughout the United States. (Orlando, Detroit, Washington D.C., Los Angeles) The people telling these [news] stories are saying the children are marginalized, being traumatized at home, just expressing themselves to find their identities. 

You know, as a Christian parent, this is a lie. This is not truth. We're just giving them permission to be destructive, chaotic. 

What does the Bible actually say about this behavior that is running rampant throughout our nation? It comes back to the home. There are red flags that we all can see that point to the problem that manifest itself in these Teen Takeovers. 

It's not just chaos. It's wickedness. 

What are we seeing? This is organized, intentional, out-of-control. It is pack behavior. The teenagers communicate often through social media -- planned to be destructive. We know there is a heart issue to this. It's deeper than just tearing up property. 

The few authorities that appear on the scene [see that] it's bigger than what they can do. 

The Bible has a word for this kind of behavior: wickedness. Folly is produced out of a depraved mind, activity that comes from sin. 

What we're seeing in the streets and with an entire generation is because they have never been disciplined. 

1. We removed the fear of God from our public life. There's no fear of God in the authorities and on down. 2. We removed the father from the home. 3. Then we removed the consequences from the school. 4. Then we removed the consequences from the criminal justice system. We've gotten weaker and weaker and weaker. In that vacuum, we see teenage male boys end up with no purpose for their strength. God made the male full of strength, but it's being used in a destructive manner rather than productive manner. 

The Bible tells us int he Book of Judges: Every man did what was right in his own eyes because there was no king in Israel. The found no authority, no one to look up to, no standard, no boundaries. Eventually, God had to bring judgment to bring them back in order. This is not a political problem. It's not a lack of police problem. It's a spiritual problem. 

So what must we do as Christian parents? It's not going to make us comfortable. It's going to make us  accountable. It's going to be convicting. Pray through these principles, and ask God to give you grace on how to implement them. It's got to be a priority, if it's not going to be in our home, our city, our downtown squares. 

Principle 1 - We have to be the authority in the home. The one who firmly states the rules, the boundaries, the guidelines, enforces and gives consequences when those boundaries are abused.

Obedience requires someone to step into a position to give commands, expectations. It requires a parent who's not afraid to implement the Word of God, that knows what the Word says.

Don't reason with folly. Drive it out. There's a penalty for folly. But you have to be consistent when you apply these consequences.

If we refuse to discipline our children, (it's sad) there are institutions that stand ready to discipline. We want to prevent that.

Principle 2 - Control what enters your home. The enemy knows how to pull in, through social media -- Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube. They know how to lure.

They're being disciplined by a culture that they have access to 24 hours a day. Smartphones are not neutral. They have an agenda. It is really a source of antiChrist, antiChristian propaganda. Every minute that the child spends scrolling is a minute that they're being trained and snatched by the enemies of God. It has to be cut out -- get it away from their eyes.

Principle 3 - Children must be in church under the preaching of the Word. And it must be consistent. The parent sets that rule, not asking the children. This is a discipline. We worship together as a family. The Holy Spirit will get them what they need to get. The Holy Spirit will get you what you need to get -- to hear the Word that's being preached, listen to it with the intent that we're going to follow it as a family. The parents are the ones who set that standard. They see your example in worship, in prayer. They see you bowing your head and closing your eyes in reverence to a God who is due to be feared. They need to know that your faith is not some side issue, but firm, what guides you, your foundation, it's real. It's the heart of all that you do, the heart of your family.

Principle 4 - Your children need a vision of the good life that comes from spiritual training/discipline more than from compelling them to be in the world. One foot in the Word and one foot in the world creates division, chaos, confusion.

The mob offers an excitement for them. The Enemy will always take you further than you want to go. The Teen Takeover offers a sense of belonging, an identity, a sense of power and authority (to be their own boss).

They see in us that our faith is not a determining factor of our everyday life. And "family life" is everyone going to their own room. That's not enticing to these teenagers.

Even the government is putting up with it because they can't control it.

We have to be intentional in our families, if we're going to build a family culture where we genuinely have a life of joy, love one another, interested in the lives of everyone in our home. We start to eat together, have entertainment together, read together, craft together -- whatever your family does.

Fathers, teach your sons. Mothers, teach your daughters. You have to be intentional about making your home a place where the children want to be. It'll take a sacrifice, giving up some of your interests.

Principle 5 - The community has a part to play in this. But it's like the backup.

Three institutions: the family, the church, the government. When the family falls apart, the government programs try to fill the gap but falls short. The church tries to mend the broken home. The judicial system can't punish this evil -- they are at their wits end. Because of their lack, the evil multiplies.      

This Teenage mob looks powerful on the screen. 

If we're faithful in our home, to discipline our children, love our children, raise our children up in the Lord, to teach them to fear the Lord, to give them a vision for a good life, we are preserving something that can survive all of this mob takeover madness that we see in the streets. 

The righteous family endures. Why? Because we've got things in order. The Kingdom of Christ is always going to remain. We know that. We, as faithful family people [live] according to the Word. And, we're not afraid to do it. 

• Take the phones away 
• Reclaim the dining room table
• Establish authority according to the Word of God & not be ashamed
• Sacrifice our time to make sure we do it 
• Husbands love their wives, wives respect their husbands
• Be in church consistently 
• Teach the Word to our children 
• Teach our sons and daughters their true identities

And then when they see a mob on the news, they'll not want to run there. Our faith won't be shaken. They'll know the way to go. 

Scripture for further study: Proverbs 22:15, Ephesians 6:1, Joshua 24:15, Psalm 101:3, Romans 13:3-4