Saturday, October 18, 1997

Apostle to the young: Minister McDowell pleading for end to moral crisis among today's youth

By Laurie Wilson

The Dallas Morning News

Josh McDowell is scared.

His family senses it, and so do the members of his worldwide youth ministry who travel with him across the country, talking to parents about his latest campaign.

In 30 years of working with youth through Campus Crusade for Christ and his own ministry, he wearily acknowledges he's more worried than ever.

During rallies he begs parents, at times almost getting in their faces, to "wake up to the greatest threat to the cause of Christ."

McDowell's most recent discovery in his talks with teens: Even Christian kids don't believe in a Truth greater than themselves. They believe God exists, maybe, but they don't relate to a universal set of values set by God.

"I'm the oldest youth minister you'll find," says McDowell, 58, staring into the wooded expanse of his rural back yard. "This has been the hardest five years of my life because I'm realizing some very harsh trends with our kids. So much of today's philosophy, theology and world outlook is not so much from rational thought as emotional hurt. Our kids are a reflection of that."

In McDowell's opinion, the modern notion of tolerance is undermining young Christians' faith. He believes so strongly in this message he has organized a new campaign, "Right from Wrong," to try to educate both parents and youth.

"When everything is leveled out, when we accept everything in culture, we lose the ability to discern right from wrong," he says. "We don't have morality anymore, just different opinions: 'You can choose what's right or wrong, but don't impose your values on me.' "

Believing in a hierarchy of values, he says, is now considered the highest form of bigotry.

He is not deterred by those who disagree with his thinking but charges on with seminars often attended by parents who first heard him speak when they were youths.

"He was doing this when I was a kid," says Russ Reed, a parent of six children. "He spoke to me in high school. But the culture has changed since then. Thankfully, the way he presents his message hasn't. He's been able to stay on the cutting edge all this time, and that's a real gift."

McDowell says he is going to the parents first with his campaign because, by and large, teens have asked him to.

"I've spoken with your kids. I've seen their faces and heard their voices on college and high school campuses throughout the country," he told about 400 parents last weekend. "They're telling me they're angry, they're confused and they're crying out for our support."

Simply relying on messages in the Bible isn't enough, he warns. If parents don't practice what they preach, Christian teens will become lost to a society that questions everything.

"If you raise your kids today the way your parents raised you, if ministers preach to kids the way they were preached to, we'll lose them," he says, his blue eyes narrowed to slits as he clutches his fist and shakes his head. "Because you know what? Culture has changed."

McDowell's peers say his success at reaching seven million youth in 84 countries comes from his ability to roll with the times and let teens tell him the issues.

He has an uncanny ability, advisers say, to predict trends and respond before the rest of the public even realizes it.

"He seems to have this sixth sense about knowing where culture is going," says Bob Teide, associate director of the Josh McDowell Ministry, who has worked with him since 1979. "Too often, the church follows culture. Josh is out there telling us about it."

Terry Prindiville, chairman of McDowell's ministry council, says his friend is a leading youth evangelist because he understands young people.

"He does everything that he can to reach them," says Prindiville, who has known McDowell for more than 30 years. "Josh feels the need to minister to young people because he makes a point to have a great relationship with kids. Not many people have that."

McDowell says the secret to his success is simple: "You have to to get older, but you don't have to grow up," he says, smiling.

He routinely hangs out at the mall and makes a point to pay attention to what students are listening to and reading. His standard apparel whether at home or on stage is a polo shirt and jogging pants.

McDowell says he also regularly taps into his most solid source of research - his own four children.

Ranging in age from 12 to 23, the McDowell children help keep their father in tune with the thoughts and feelings of young people.

He and his wife, Dottie, have raised their children "to challenge us," McDowell says. "Respect authority but challenge it, question it."

Josh McDowell started asking questions about Christianity as a student at Kellogg College in Michigan. He says he became a Christian by trying to refute it.

After transferring to Wheaton College, he began traveling on weekends to speak at churches and evangelistic events. He then entered Talbot Theological Seminary in La Mirada, Calif., and continued his ministry, calling it "Focus on Youth."

McDowell joined the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ in 1964. His own ministry was named one of the organization's five formal divisions three years ago.

McDowell has written more than 50 books and traveled to about 700 college campuses. His ministry is made up of campaigns that last several years, involving church leaders who then involve their congregations.

His "Why Wait?" campaign, which encouraged teens to practice sexual abstinence, toured the country in 1989 with the Christian rock group Petra. He'll take his "Right from Wrong" message to about 100 cities nationwide.

Backed by 400 local churches, he will speak at 10 parent-adult seminars in the Dallas area and follow with eight teen rallies beginning Oct. 25. The rallies will feature Christian singer Rebecca St. James.

"I want to say I was able to reach people by the time they get to those major decisions that affect the rest of their lives," he says. "Kids today are making life-altering choices at 12 and 13 years old. They're making adult choices with adolescent emotions."

Dennis Rainey, a Campus Crusade for Christ leader who directs the Family Life Division of the organization, called McDowell "a generational leader."

"He has been a one-of-a-kind spokesman for the Crusade," he says. "His message is the bedrock of many Christian beliefs. Our entire organization has been touched by Josh's ministry."

Having such a ministry is stressful, McDowell acknowledges, as he is often home only a few days per month. He spends much more time in meetings than he'd like but knows the importance of keeping his message fresh.

Dan Buschow, a youth ministries organizer in Minneapolis and a former youth director at Oak Cliff Assembly of God Church in Dallas, says McDowell has a way of making his ministry applicable for thousands of people.

"He's been a youth evangelist for a long time, and he's had a powerful impact on a generation, both young and old," he says. "He's teaching us today that we tolerate everything but Christianity, it seems. Whether he's communicating that in an intimate theater or a huge coliseum, he draws people in with a very simple message."

Liz Danley and her 7-year-old son Kristopher, attending a recent event in Arlington, seem a perfect example. They are greeted personally by McDowell, who talks to them quietly, asking questions about their family.

Minutes later, his voice thunders through the Baptist church.

Danley listens carefully, holding her son close to her side.

"I want to learn the Christian way to raise my child in this day and time. I believe he can teach me that," she says, nodding toward McDowell.

(c) 1997, The Dallas Morning News.

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