Yes, Hannah reminds me of Y2K. So does Ben, and so do Kristen, Isaiah, and Emma. Our seniors are all at or near 18 years old. They are a new century born generation. To look at one reminds us of how long it has been since Y2K, when eighteen years ago, people worried and fretted.

The century change event was such a great concern that the two years leading up to it created an expectation that planes wouldn’t fly, financial systems would crumble, and the internet would snap, crackle, and finally pop. Oh, yes, all without electricity or gas or NFL Monday Night Football. America actually crossed into the new century with hardly a ripple, and now, futuristic books and movies like “1984” and  “2001: A Space Odyssey” are to us like predictions about last year’s Super Bowl.

Ironically, in their familiarity and infatuation with new technologies, our seniors identify closely with those born around 1900. Both century groups charged into the future, being ceaselessly bombarded with messages and assumptions that they are living on the cutting edge and that nothing is constant but change. At the dawn of the 20^th century, people were infatuated by never before experienced technology, from the automobile, airplane, and electricity to the telephone, recorded music, and the radio.

My grandparents were born in 1900. They were born into a heady season. Who needed God in such times? Man was at his peak. We knew it all and we were discovering more than all. Then came the loss of the Titanic, the horrors of World War I, and the excesses of the 20’s, which ultimately led to despair. See Genesis, Kings and Chronicles, and the book of Proverbs. And probably, First Corinthians. Oh, and Ecclesiastes, since there is little new to report under the sun.

In the midst of our own current, rich culture, which shows little apparent need for God, I find myself entering 2018 ultimately more optimistic than ever about the opportunities and mission of our program. There is a need for prepared and well grounded young people over the next decades, which is their time in the harvest. 

• Why does LPA focus upon history?
• Why focus so diligently upon Bible and ministry prep faith application, more than mere knowledge?
• Why is important to intentionally seek to build a culture of worship, praise, and obedience to Jesus and to God’s Word, greater than mere academics?

Because from Adam and Eve forward to now, people have not changed. We are the same. Each has the same problem. All need a solution, for which there is only one.

Our solution is Jesus! And although the world will not understand in its rush to other pursuits, it is a lousy form of education that ignores the simple truth of how eternity works and how the Creator God of the universe and designer of human souls wants to include people in His fellowship.