Fire will not be ignored: I know from firsthand experience. When my car engine ignited in flames, I did not ignore it. The fire had my full attention.

Perhaps that's why God uses the symbolism of fire throughout Scripture: Moses and the burning bush, God's presence as a pillar of fire, "Our God is a consuming fire," the tongues of fire in the Book of Acts. Each example grabs our attention and gives a glimpse of the powerful, consuming nature of our God.

How can you spark a blaze in the lives of your teens so they will lead lives set on fire for God? True discipleship is about more than providing our teens with the right theological downloads or steering them through the latest Christian self-help topics. Don't get me wrong, those are good things; but to become truly like Jesus, our teens must be ablaze for God.

Becoming Christlike

Often students who have grown up in the church seem to miss the entire point. They may absorb the theology and character content of your lessons but remain unfocused and unengaged in a real, passionate commitment to Christ. They become like sponges that soak in the milk of God's Word but never learn to be wrung out for others. As a result, their milk turns sour. They run the risk of ending up like little Pharisees who know the truth, but lack the heart and passion to live for Christ and share His truth with others.

So we must look for the missing ingredient that will ignite a passion for Christ in our students. I believe the catalytic element missing in most discipleship strategies today is the process of helping teens adopt Christ's cause. What is His cause? It's laid out for us in the story of Zacchaeus, found in Luke 19. When Jesus looked deep into the soul of Zacchaeus, a despised sinner, and found authentic faith, Jesus declared, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost" (Luke 19:10). This short verse tells us in no uncertain terms what Jesus' mission was.

You want to be like Jesus? You want your teenagers to be like Jesus? Then like Jesus, you must be on a constant search-and-rescue mission for the lost and call your teenagers to do the same.

The first thing Jesus told His followers as He was calling them out was, "Come follow Me and I will make you fishers of men" (Matt. 4:19). Clearly, a core goal behind His recruiting disciples was evangelism.

Dangerous Discipleship

Our teenagers are being challenged everywhere—in sports, at school, by their friends to give into peer pressure. About the only place teenagers don't get challenged is at church. Instead, they learn safe little lessons about safe little things.