Whether it’s on a television show, at a rock concert or in a local game room, young people are used to high-energy entertainment that’s often rife with violence and other antisocial ingredients. Spiritual causes can seem to be at a disadvantage in trying to compete for attention against this plethora of “edgy” events.
While I can understand the temptation to utilize some of these same alluring methods to draw people to our houses of worship, this approach sends a terribly wrong message to those who we’re trying to influence. It’s one thing to make our youth events fun and engaging (and to embrace new technologies to spread the word), but introducing elements that portray violence or other negative qualities — even if only briefly and for a well-meaning purpose — in essence says that such things are not altogether wrong. Communicating this mixed message to young people is a bad idea that can lead to confusion later in life.
