Note: This Youth Address was delivered last March 20, 2014 on the 5th Annual Conference Session of the Rizal Philippine Annual Conference of the East.
To our beloved bishop, Rev. Rodolfo Juan, to our hard-working District Superintendents, Rev. Danilo Pedracio of Rizal District and Rev. Alvin Alcantara of Metro District, to our zealous pastors and deaconesses, fellow lay delegates and to all the visitors of this annual conference session, a wonderful and blessed day to all of you!
I am a few months away to moving forward from being part of the United Methodist Youth Fellowship (UMYF) and now to be part of the United Methodist Young Adult Fellowship (UMYAF). A huge part of my growing years was spent as a UMYF – years where I have finished my schooling, passed the board exams, got a job, even sent to the States for training; years where I have started from being a local UMYF president of Body of Christ United Methodist Church, a cluster coordinator, Rizal District President and now as the RPACE UMYF President.
During those years, I have come to know different kinds of young people. Boys and girls; those who are studying or working or doing both or not doing any of those two; those who come from the affluent families, the middle-class and even those who struggle daily to make ends meet; the leaders, potential leaders and those who prefer to work on the sidelines; the sporty and adventurous; the bookworm and the writer; the dancer and the singer; the musician and the artist; different walks of life, different schools, different personalities.
The youth of today are a whole lot different from the youth of five, ten, twenty years ago. If it is a good different or a bad different is for us to find out. I would like to give you this wonderful opportunity of getting to know the youth of today – what we need and want, what our strengths and weaknesses are , the opportunities available to us and the challenges we face, and most importantly, how vital your role is, as our elders, as the Church, in every young people’s life.
You may ask why I am in such a position to do this introduction between you and the youth of today. I have a simple reason – I am a part of the young people. And I am the youth of today.
Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines youth as the time of life when one is young; the period between childhood and maturity. Wikipedia adds that youth is the time in a person’s life on which one makes a lot of choices that affects one’s future. Said definitions provide us a general insight on the word youth but offers very vague ideas on how to really know and understand what it’s like to be a youth.
Everyone in this room has been a youth once, right? You could say that there is a big difference amongst the different generations - the Baby Boomers (1946-1964), the Generation X (1965-1979), Generation Y (1980-2000) and the Generation Z (2001-present) and that is true. But as much as there are differences, you might be surprise to know that there are also similarities.
Who are the present day youth? What do they like to do? Where do they spend their free time? How are they working toward the achievement of their dreams? Why are they important?
If there is one thing that has driven so much change in today’s world, it is the continuous advancement in technology. Where before it is already enough to just have a basic cell phone to use for calling and texting, now your cell phone should also be your radio, television, and computer, bank even a shopping tool.
With just a click of button, we now have easier access to unlimited information. We are able to connect with relatives, friends and even strangers that are half across the globe. We have become more in-tuned to what is happening in different parts of the country and the world.
As a result, the youth have become more opinionated, more vocal of our feelings, more expressive of our thoughts. And these have been catered by a lot of social media sites where we can post what we are feeling, what we are thinking, where we are and what we are doing. Our chances of being heard increased dramatically. Where before, the youth are not allowed to express opinions on “adult issues”, now we are the ones initiating the conversation, organizing the actions.
One of the best examples is the Million People March held last August 26 which is the first-ever mass rally in the Philippines that was organized mainly though social media. Over a thousand people, most of the participants belonging to the youth, have flocked to Luneta Park as well as other parts of the country, to call out for the abolition of the Priority Development Assistant Fund (PDAF). The result of the initiative later on is the PDAF being declared as unconstitutional.
But as with any development, technology also brought about some disadvantages. We have become comfortable with the information available from the Web that reading books has now become a chore. We have improved communication from those that are far from us but our face-to-face interactions have weakened. And with the freedom of speech we are enjoying, we sometimes forget to be responsible on the things we say and the pictures we post, reflecting how careless we can be not only in the virtual world but also in the things we say and do in the real world.
Obscured understanding of authority
Related to having so much access to information, the youth of today have the conception that we are now way smarter, that how we do things today are better than how those before us do it. As a result, seeking the wisdom of the elders, getting advice or permission from them in going about things has become less popular.
We are excited to execute plans, events and activities that we view consultation with our elders, our pastors our parents and with our Lord as delays. We want many things done as soon as possible that sitting down to talk things over with those that are really more experienced and knowledgeable are ignored. We view authority today as either enemies in doing what we want to do or as simply persons that can no longer relate to us and understand us.
We listen only to those that tell us what is easy on the ears, those that tell us what we want to hear. That’s why we turn to self-help books instead of the Bible. We seek advice from peers rather than our parents. We set goals for ourselves and then we fail to align as to what God’s plans are for our lives.
But then, some of those that are in authority in the world nowadays are not all role models. We’re looking up to our government leaders, church leaders, corporate leaders, our older relatives and we see them being dishonest, we see them fighting among themselves and we lose confidence that they are really placed there by God to guide us.
There are a lot of pressures the young people face, the biggest of which is the notion that we have to “grow up faster”. Many youth today are pushed to become the prettiest, smartest, most responsible, highest-paid individuals they can be with as little time as possible. It seems that if we take our time in shedding out traces of being a child, we are dubbed by society as lazy and hopeless.
This pressure can be both a blessing and a curse. By being pushed to become the BEST immediately, we learn to adapt more in changing times, to get ideas quickly, to execute plans in the fastest time possible. We can now work with minimal supervision. We get creative on how we do things. We expect things to go our way.
But since we’re living in an imperfect world, things will not always go as planned. Frustrations and disappointments abound because we are taught only to be successful. No one wanted us to fail so we have not been taught how to deal with failures. As young as we are, we have become frustrated and burned out with life. We struggle in keeping our life balanced. And we have become afraid to start over. We fear that after a failure, we can never start again.
We want to finish our studies to get a good job. We want to get a good job because we want to help our families. We want to help them so that we can feel that we are contributing something to make the world we live in a better place. We are hopeful. We are dreamers. And we dream and pray for living in a better society.
It is no longer uncommon yet it is heart-tugging to hear of tales where students walk five kilometers to attend to class. Where they swim from their island to the other island where the school is located. We have heard of a lot young people bringing pride and honor in the country by winning medals in international quiz bees, athletic meets, even in the recent Winter Olympics where Michael Martinez have participated. Many young people went to DSWD Headquarters and various centers to help re-pack relief goods for the earthquake and Yolanda victims, offer medical assistance to the sick, donated in cash and in kind.
We do these things to feel good, to make our parents proud, and to use our God-given talents but most of all, deep in our hearts; there is that longing to do something worthwhile that can help our lives improve and those around us to live a better life.
But we are still young. Regardless how advanced technology is, how we sometimes let our elders feel that we don’t value them, how fast-paced life is today – we still long for the same things - attention, love and acceptance.
Sometimes, if we do not get enough love and attention in our home and in our church, we turn to the world. And because the world has a different standard, a different rule, we compromise all the things we have learned and believed in, in exchange for the sense of belongingness the world offers. And by the time someone paid attention, we’re long gone. Our values have been corrupted. Our minds brainwashed with the wrong ideas. Our idea of freedom is being able to live young, wild and free. You have lost us to the world.
But it is not too late. We can still reconcile our relationship with the Lord, our relationship with you – our leaders, our elders, our pastors and deaconesses, our parents. You can help us. The church can help us.
You may not know this but in one way or another, some of you have touched our lives by just talking to us, by just listening to us. And the reason we are still here is because of those persons who took the time to get to know us, understand us no matter how complicated we may be.
- Set-up small talks with the youth with the purpose of just knowing how we are. Text us, call us, post on our Facebook walls, take pictures with us.
- Organize activities that catch attention of the young people. Show them that the church is not a place of “Don’t do this or that” but a place of “Do this and you will be”. You have caught their attention now you can catch their souls.
- Open counseling sessions; let the youth feel that you can be trusted and that you care.
Now more than ever, we need your spiritual guidance. More than commanding us to pray, to read our Bibles, to lead cell groups, to go to church, to join a ministry or to give our tithes – pray with us, help us understand the Bible, disciple us as part of your cell group, go to church with us, support us with the ministry we are in, be a model in giving your tithes.
- Teach the youth by doing it.
- Maximize the use of the UMC DOC. Visit the youth cell groups.
- Be our Bible Study leaders to our summer camps, leadership trainings and Christmas Institutes.
A tap in the back, a simple thank you, recognizing the efforts of the young people goes a long way. It compensates for all the efforts exerted. It enables us to try again in spite of failures we could encounter. Respect our suggestions.
- Thank the youth leaders in the local churches and in the community and ask how you can provide assistance to future activities.
- Give credit to ideas generated by the young people.
- Trust that we will do our best when you give us tasks to do.
“The youth are not useless; they are used less.” - Swami Chinmayananda, a monk, says. Open avenues of learning for the youth. Involve us with decision-making. Allow us to learn from our experiences.
- Endorse names of youth leaders of the local church to attend in the annual youth congress better known as iLead that the annual RPACE UMYF and UMYAF are organizing this May.
- Be our advisers as we start organizing our 2014 Christmas Institute as we are targeting to have separate District CIs but held in one venue for this year.
- Support the UMYF and UMYAF voting and non-voting participants of the Global Young People Convocation and Legislative Assembly 2014 (GYPCLA) happening on July 16-20 at CCT Retreat Center in Tagaytay. This is a gathering of global UMYF and UMYAF leaders.
Believe in us. Trust that we can still change for the better. When some people starts to lose confidence in the youth of today, defend us and tell them that the youth are still the hope of the future, that the Christian youth is the hope of the future.
This is the youth of today. And this is how we see the church’s very vital role in our lives.
Speaking here in front of you, talking about us, the youth, in behalf of the UMYF and maybe the other young people as well has been tough and challenging. I wanted you to know how proud I am of my generation but I also want to speak the truth about us. I wanted to enumerate all the things we have done and how we did it, but I also want to admit the things we are having problems with.
Gusto kong ipagmalaki ang henerasyon ko ngayon pero gusto ko ring magsabi ng totoo. Gusto kong sabihin na marami kaming magagandang nagawa at napatunayan na pero gusto ko ding aminin na marami kaming sablay.
I was often ask by our youth advisers what my vision if for the young people of RPACE. I always tell them that I want us to be more committed, to be more willing to serve, to have more young people stepping up to take leadership roles in the local, district and annual levels.
But before I leave the UMYF and become a UMYAF, here’s the wonderful vision that the Lord revealed to me which I am passing on to the next pool young leaders of RPACE which I intend to continue to pray for, support and do act on. I am telling you this so that you can do the same. My vision is this:
“.. That the strong number of the young people of the United Methodist Church and that because of the life-changing impact the Lord Jesus has caused in our lives, we have spread out. We are visible in different parts of the society – as government officials, church leaders, professionals and all others – and that we have the amazing opportunity to create positive impact wherever we are, whatever we do. And thus, help bring positive wonderful changes in this world.”
“Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to Him in the church, and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever, Amen.” – Ephesians 3:20-21
