Reviewer: William Hill
Article: Come Up or Shut Up
Author: Phil Jackson

Recently I was reading an article in the “Gospel Flava Magazine,” entitled “Come up or Shut up” and I found that this article has a lot of truth in it pertaining the Christian walk. Today as you are reading my interpretation of it, take note of what you see happening at your local church and in your life that is affecting your relationship with God. “Older Christians are often found tripping on trivia, and majoring in minors so much that we youth are fed up according to Rev Phil.” This comment that I’ve just made is opinionated, but yet has so much truth to it if you really think about it. A lot of times when we as youth go to church we struggle to understand the message that is coming across to the congregation because the preacher is speaking over our heads, or irrelevant to the problems that we are currently faced with. Therefore our ears and minds become deaf to the word of God because we can’t find a word to directly deal with reality today.

In FCCC we are blessed not to have this problem, but by being a community church it is necessary that we make sure that this problem is not happening in other churches, most likely it is so here is the message. “What are youth doing in church on a regular basis? Mostly chillin’ in the back; exchanging phone numbers; drawing on the church bulletin; going back and forth to the bathroom; playing games, and talking about that old lady in front who is always “catching the Holy Ghost.” Let’s be real. Is your church boring to youth? If you answer “yes” or I don’t know” to this question, maybe your church does not give a rip about today’s youth, or communicating to them clearly the Word of Truth. Now if you know that these problems are going on in your church, its time for you to come up and help your church know and understand the problems we as youth are facing or shut up about the things that are going on in your church youth ministry that you don’t like. It is important that the youth in our churches are being properly taught on a “reality level,” before they are swiped up by society.

Society is on the move coming up with things to take the youth “eyes off the true prize,” while church folk are complaining and talking about the youth in the church today and the church is still sitting there doing nothing but complain about sisters so and so daughters being pregnant or fellas on the corner doing their thing. It is our responsibility as young believers to make sure our peers and us are being fed. If this isn’t happening it is time for you to Come Up or Shut Up about the problems in the church. It’s not most of the youth that is not getting the message wrong, it’s the adults that struggle in the way to tell us. Let your people know it is time to be real, “I rather hear it in church than from someone on the street.” Take heed to this word from God, God is here “Can you hear him now?” Be Strong my Brothers and Sisters, “COME UP OR SHUT UP.”