The Heart of the Matter

Steve Duin is a regular columnist with the Oregonian on many subjects. But he is also a Christian, and from time to time I find his an interesting and progressive perspective.

Today he had a column in the Oregonian titled "The Heart of the Matter at Malibu". You'll have to go there to read the whole thing, but let me quote a bit here. Pay attention to the last two paragraphs. I haven't heard something so well said about the gospel in quite awhile.

"In the last and best of the three weeks I was away, I was held hostage by a Christian community in the wilds of British Columbia. And this is the strangest thing: Over the course of an electrifying week, I didn't hear a single word about abortion, stem-cell research or the militant gay agenda. I wasn't asked to consider the end times or focus on the family. There were no altar calls for God's favorite political party.

In "Searching for God Knows What," Donald Miller tells the story of presenting the Gospel to 45 students at a Christian Bible college with the caveat that he would leave out a critical element. He spoke at length about sin and repentance, morality and Scripture, heaven and hell. Then he stepped back and asked the class what was missing, only to discover that no one noted the absence of Jesus.

He is not similarly removed at Young Life's Malibu Club. Jesus is the heart of the matter at Malibu, which explains, I think, why I have long been inspired and humbled by Young Life's ministry for high school kids. I first went to Malibu in 1972, returned to the property as part of the summer staff in the late '70s, and ventured back to the Princess Louisa Inlet in July with a dozen other adult guests.

Each time I return to Malibu, I am captivated by how forcefully and gracefully the Gospel is presented, and how utterly free that presentation is of the bitter political riffs that so frequently undercut its relational power in the more "civilized" world."

Further on, he continues...

"I remain inspired and humbled by Malibu because such religion has never found a foothold there. Each summer, teenagers are caught up and swept away by the relentless, searing love of God, and grateful alumni like me return to be refreshed by the reunions, and to reflect on the lessons of our ongoing journey:

We are saved by the cross, but not immediately healed. We surrender, but we aren't defeated. We are released from the fear of failure but we are never guaranteed success.

Instead, we stumble on, making mistakes, leaning on friends and restless prayers, forever seeking the long road home."