Parental Resource: Packing for the Gathering

Packing for the Gathering 3-Part Pre-Gathering Bible Study Parental Resource

…and we’re talking about more than what’s in the suitcase

Packing for the Gathering Bible Study –

Companion Parents Resource

Introduction In a few short weeks, there will be a flurry of activity in your house, followed by an odd stillness as your teen(s) heads to San Antonio with the rest of their church youth group for the National Youth Gathering.

This resource has been written as a companion piece to the 3-part Bible study Packing for the Gathering.

Through it we hope that you will gain insights to help you aid your teen(s) “pack” for the Gathering.

Part 1: Packing for the Gathering: “Baggage” As your teen(s) gets ready to depart for the 2013 National Youth Gathering, more will be taken than just matching youth group or district t-shirts, shorts, hats, and other assorted items. Even at their relatively young ages, the teens at the Gathering will have already accumulated the kind of “baggage” that we all pick up as our daily lives bombard us with challenges, hurts, stress, and so much more.

Take a moment to think about or discuss what kind of “baggage” is weighing down the teen(s) in your life.

A Young Man with Baggage Read Luke 15:11-32 What baggage was the young man in this parable carrying?

Though we do not know everything about this young man, it seems evident that he felt the need to cut loose and enjoy the wilder side of life that he could not while at home (verses 12-13). He may have carried with him “baggage” such as greed, selfishness, and issues in his relationship with his family. By the end of the story, he may well have added to his “baggage” loneliness and regret (verses 17-18, 21).

Our Baggage As parents how can we be aware of the “baggage” that our teen(s) carry as well as aid them in not only handling that “baggage” but eventually finding a way to release some of it?

Though it is a real challenge in the teenage years, the key is your relationship with your teen(s). They may often demonstrate limited interest in discussing the challenges and hurts in their lives, but at a deeper level most still desire to be heard and understood by their parents. Your role is to create a place of safety in your homes where you are able to discuss the pains that everyone goes through. When we share appropriately, we, as parents, can model healthy ways of acknowledging our “baggage” and dealing with it.

What kind of “baggage” do we as parent bring into our relationship(s) with our teen(s)?

We bring our own experiences from our families of origin. We bring our past experience of being a teen years ago. We also bring our relationship with our spouse with us as our “baggage.” As noted above,

when we make use of our “baggage” appropriately we can model healthy coping behavior within the lives of the teens in our lives.

Sin is the ultimate source of all baggage. While our personal baggage might not always be a direct result of our own sin, when it is, there is only one way to deal with it. Read 1 John 1:8-9.

Christ took our baggage upon himself on the cross. His death and resurrection frees us from our sin and the baggage that goes with it. As parents, we are able to proclaim that forgiveness and aid the teens in our lives to remove the burden of their baggage through the ministry of Christ.

Part Two: Packing for the Gathering: “Expectations” A trip to a National Youth Gathering can be a life-changing experience. The challenge is that each of the teens attending brings his/her own set of expectations for what it will be like. They might have a mental image of what San Antonio is like. They might have an expectation of what a week with their youth group will be like. Some expectations are realistic. Others are not.

The Expectations of Jesus’ Disciples Reading Matt. 4:18-22 gives us a picture of the way in which the disciples responded to the call of Jesus.

They left behind their old lives and followed him. However, we see in Matt. 16:21-23 that they did not always have accurate expectations about the Master that they were following.

What did the disciples struggle to understand about what Jesus expected to happen to Him? More than once Jesus predicted His suffering and death. This was not the picture of the Messiah that the disciple, nor anyone else for that matter, had in mind. Peter goes so far as to object and attempt to correct Jesus on the notion that His suffering was necessary.

Read Matt. 16:24-25 What does Jesus tell His disciples to expect in their lives as they follow Him? Jesus tells them that following Him means that they will need to take up their cross as they follow Him. Taking up our cross does not always mean physical pain as it did in Jesus’ case, but it does mean sacrifice and some form of suffering on Christ’s behalf.

Taking Up Your Cross Today Though we are not confronted with the cross as a form of capital punishment as in biblical times, we are still called by Christ to take up our crosses today. What does that look like in our lives and in the lives of our teens?

Each of us will have our own detailed answers that match the reality of the lives we live and the context in which we live them. Reflect on the struggles that you have experienced in life that come as a result of following Christ.

How can you as a parent walk with your teen(s) as they seek to take up their own cross and follow Christ?

You do this first and foremost by truly walking with them. As we take up our own crosses, the teens in our lives see us do so. They learn by our modeling what it means to be a faithful, even when being faithful means adjusting our expectations and dealing with ridicule for being a follower of Christ.

Having been made a part of the Body of Christ through our baptism we are given strength in Christ to endure as we take up our cross. Together with your teen(s) you can pray for that strength each day for each of you.

Part 3: Packing for the Gathering: “Friends” Going to a National Youth Gathering is all about the relationships. Ultimately, it is about our relationship with Christ, but for the youth attending, it is also very much about the friends they are going with and the friendships formed while they are there.

What Makes a True Friend?

Read John 15:15-16 What is unique about the friendship that Jesus had with His disciples and has with us today?

Friendship with Jesus is unique in that God initiates friendship with us while we are unable to do so ourselves. As noted in the passage, we could have remained mere servants, but it is God’s desire that we become true friends with Him. Jumping back a couple of verses to John 15:12-13, we see the ultimate sign of friendship in the willingness of a friend to lay down their life for a friend - something Christ did for us when we could not even respond in friendship to Him. Body of Christ Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 According to Paul in these verses, we are connected to one another just as a body is a connected unit.

Thus, though the 20,000 plus who will attend the Gathering in San Antonio come from a variety of cities, states, families, and circumstances, we are all together the Body of Christ through our baptism.

While your teen(s) and the rest of the youth group are at the Gathering, what can you and the other parents do to continue to offer support to each of them?

Naturally this support should begin with prayer, which is essential. From there, parents and others adults can connect via social media or through texts to share the prayers and well wishes directly to the youth while they travel and experience the Gathering. Tracking their posts and commenting on things of note, not only keeps you connected at home but provides an essential connection back home for the youth.

On Monday, July 1, from 4-8pm, the Gathering specifically invites you to send an encouraging tweet to your congregational group. All of these posts will be gathered and shown in the Alamodome as participants enter to be gathered together for the first time. Please encourage other parents to also participate using the hashtag #LiveLoved13.

Conclusion A lot of time and energy goes into preparing for a National Youth Gathering. The youth who attend bring a lot with them and even more back home again. As parents, you can provide the support needed for your teen(s) to deal with baggage, adjust expectations, and connect with friends in the Body of Christ. Connecting with the youth leaders of your church and other parents can help augment your support efforts.

Prayer Lord Jesus Christ, I thank You for the freedom that You have won for me and for the members of my family through Your life, death, and resurrection. Keep me ever mindful of that freedom from sin and help me to remind my family of that freedom. As I prepare for (child’s name) to head to San Antonio for the National Youth Gathering, help me to remain in prayer for all those who will be taking part in the Gathering, that they might be impacted by Your love and Your grace as they worship You and enjoy the fellowship of the Body of Christ. Be with all the youth and adults as they begin packing for the Gathering. Amen.