The Senior Pastor of Streams of Joy International, Jerry Eze, has encouraged youths to walk in God’s way, stressing that loving God does not make them boring.
Pastpr Eze gave the charge during his sermon at the church’s Teens’ Service on Sunday in Abuja.
Eze further described as a misconception, the notion that people, who love the church and God were usually boring.
He also said fine people and those who dress well can also love God and have deep relationship with Him.
His words: “What we want to do is not to blend into their (teens) culture but put Jesus in their culture as far as it does not affect consecration.
“However, we will let them know that the sanity of their culture is the spiritual exercise we bring on board.
“We love your Gen Z language, we love your baggies, we love your dance, we love everything you are doing.
“However, you got to love going on a fast for seven days, because that is the way we roll in this house (Church),“ he said.
The cleric admonished parents to instill spiritual discipline in teens while also understanding their purpose, mandate and destiny.
He added that their training should align with their maturity, focusing, not only on age and physique, but also on a revelation of how their minds work.
According to him, “Their hearts are crying for intimacy with God, but they often find themselves in contrary ways because of unanswered questions from parents, which pushes them to seek answers elsewhere.
“Don’t parent your children’s bodies, parent their spirits. Some of your children are 13 years old but they have the spirit of 18; some are 14, but their spirits are 25.
“It’s not about their age but what God has put inside of them. Push them in that direction and that is when you will see the fullness of who God has made them to be,“ he advised.
He noted that there are some 12-year-olds with incredible spiritual gifting in the creative industry, with uncommon ideas for the marketplace, who could take over the tech space.
He, however, said they often stop pursuing such paths because of conflicts in reasoning with their parents.
According to him, parents should create an enabling environment, where their children can ask sensitive questions to avoid seeking answers elsewhere, which could be damaging.
He further noted that sexual immorality and other vices can result from peer pressure.
The cleric urged parents, not to compel children to project an image that pleases them while they could be struggling with issues such as societal pressures, academics and the direction of their lives.
NAN
