In church today I was not too involved with the whole proceedings. Sometimes I am but other times I am not. Today was one of those times. The thing that was bothering me tonight was a young 10 year old girl. I knew her. She sat not too far from me. It was obvious that she was not enjoying being there. Her actions spoke loudly that she was just passing time until this service thing was all over. Nothing about it caught her attention. A church kid since very young, she had seen it all before. She was not impressed. What is it that really will catch the attention of these kids? Why are we trying to ritualise them? Force them into the same square boxes that we were forced into? What will it serve to do this? What should we really be doing? I have heard it said before that the kids of today are looking for a faith that is real. Something that they can believe in. Something that will capture their attention. But where is this faith? Why is it all so fake? This is a question that I wrestle with on a regular basis. Where is the reality in what I believe? If all of the rituals, religion, and superficial stuff is stripped away - what am I left with? Is it real? Not only this but after reading about so many amazing men and women in the Bible, I frequently wonder... where has it all gone? The power, the radicalism, the love, the absolutes, the faith, the miracles. Why do we not see it today. One thing I will not take for an answer is some old fuddy-duddy theological seminary dude trying to pass off his ineptness with an excuse that "miracles were for back then only and not for today". This is total rubbish. I have seen miracles happen today... just not very often. Only one or two in my lifetime. It is this "lost" faith, this "missing" life in Jesus, that I am still searching for. I will not settle for some religious life that tells me I am forgiven and saved and going to heaven. Too many people have been lied to for too long! Sitting in a church once a week, and then doing nothing to help those around you is nothing like the sort of Christian I read about in the Bible. If we can find this faith again. If we can return to the absolutes, the faith, the love, the action, and the miracles that the Bible talks about. Then I am convinced that the young people will want to be a part of it. And this young girl that I watched tonight would want to join it too. That is what they are looking for. Christianity is not about going through some series of religious actions. But why do we keep trying to make it that?