I’m pretty excited about what is going to happen this weekend. Our youth are taking part in a 30 Hour Famine. During this time of fasting, they will focus their attention on the African continent where kids their age are also experiencing famine. The difference is, our African brothers and sisters don’t know when the famine will end. It is my prayer and my honest expectation that in this time of self-denial, our youth will come face to face with our loving Father and feel the agony He feels at the sight of His children dying from hunger and war and sin.

During this time, our youth will be watching and discussing some pretty heavy videos. This is not taken lightly by our leaders. This will be a difficult study because there is no way to take an honest look at the condition of mankind without shedding tears. Let me tell you, there will be tears shed by my kids and yours. There will be a sick feeling in the pit of many stomachs. I pray that this happens because if it doesn’t happen, we have not taken a realistic look. We should be sickened by what is happening to man at the hands of man.

We often lament the fact that our kids are being desensitized to violence and blood and death and crime and the list goes on. If I can be brutally honest with you and with myself, we are fully implicated in this. When we allow our kids to watch the dozens of police, crime scene, medical examiner, blood and guts television shows followed by playing shoot, kill and blow up the other guy video games we are taking part in desensitizing our own kids. The only way to turn back this effect is to sensitize our kids. To sensitize means to make sensitive. The way to do this is to first take an honest look. Second, engage what you see with all of your senses. If what you see results in pain, you process that pain. I believe senses, feelings and emotions will be exposed this weekend. I pray that after exposure, they will be processed. Our leaders are preparing now to talk about the feelings and emotions. Deal with the shock and the horror. Deal with the sadness and outrage. After processing comes the time to act.  Upon realizing that these horrors are going on right now, how will we act? We can’t stop with saying, “That is really sad.” We can’t stop with hoping things change. It is my prayer that after becoming sensitive to the problems like never before, these young disciples will be motivated to act like never before.

As a parent, I know we will all handle this differently. Every parent wants to protect his children from pain, but at what cost? If pain breaks the cycle of complacency in my kids, bring it on. If it is painful for our kids to realize that the rest of the world isn’t blessed to live in the Disney World bubble of comfort and privilege that we know, so be it. If they don’t know, they will never feel. If they never feel, they will never care. If they don’t care, they won’t act.

As a parent, you will decide what to do with this. I respect your decision because you know your kids better than I do. One reason for writing this was to make sure no parent is surprised by the hard work being done this weekend. Make your decision based on prayer, your kid, your relationship with your kid, and the reality of the fallen world we live in.

Please lift this group of amazing, world-changing young disciples in prayer CONTINUALLY this weekend.