Do Hard Things in Other Cultures

When I went to The Honor Academy in Jan of 2008 (also where I heard about The Rebelution), I didn’t realize how much I would grow in just a 4 month period. I had to leave early for personal reasons. After the HA, that fall I started attending my local community college and I was saddened by all my fellow complacent Christians. I think a main reason that my friends were so nonchalant was that no one held them accountable.

At the HA, we had this rule that everyone was to keep each other accountable. If you saw an intern breaking a rule or not using good judgment, then we were pretty much obligated to confront them. I remember one day I got confronted 3 times in a row. At first I was mad and thinking,” Why don’t they mind their own business!” In the end, all the rules that I had at the HA have helped me so much in living a godly lifestyle. I realized that if a Christian doesn’t have any accountability then it’s going to be so much harder for them to grow. The Lord chastens those he loves.

I have never thought about that before, the difference between teens in different countries…

We all have things unique, or different from others. For example, we all have different ideas of “hard,” we have different levels of ability, we all have different levels of self-discipline, etc.

Yet, we all have things in common. For example, we have a passion for doing hard things for the glory of God, they might be different levels of passion, but we see the purpose and need to do them. We are teens (most of us :P). Etc.

Just my thoughts. 🙂

I am praying for you, Alex and Brett! I can’t wait to read your new book! God bless!

In Christ,
Morgan 😀

Hi,
I am 19 almost 20 and I think its very interesting how low expectations can be found all over the world…i thought it was only a problem here in America. Tho their low expectations don’t look the same, Satan still tries to place chains on the youth of the world, its just different from culture to culture.

And as far as our expectations in our Churches ….alot of times growing up in the youth group i didn’t think there really were any, but that’s the problem. we are expected to just be good little Christians and show up on Sundays and Wednesdays and simply “BEHAVE” as long as we do that we are “on the right track”. And I’m finding out that that’s the same LOW expectation for college students as well. We aren’t really expected to do anything until we have our degree…its only THEN does the church expect us to serve God. But we are supposed to do that EVERY DAY of our lives. just like you guys talk about in your book. History shows that it was the young people who changed the world!

haha, Kay, that’s funny 🙂 Yeah, how long does it take for applications to the Forum to be approved or denied? I have been waiting for about a month for confirmation or denial.

Anyway, I think that in a country like China, DHT might mean getting high grades in order to have something to do besides homework after school is done. This may be having to get a job that challenges you to learn something new.

Here in Canada, specifically where I live, the low expectations of teens are overwhelming!
Teens around here are not expected to do anything. Most of their time is spent on the computer, or roaming the streets being arrested. Here we have a huge crime/drug rate, and 80% of all that, is caused by teens. The expectations of them are so low, that there is basically nothing expected of them. Honestly, I’m scared just living around such teens as those.

It makes it hard for me because, people expect me to be the same way as all those other teens. When people find out I’m 18, never dated, I have 2 full time jobs and I am in charge helping my mother keep the house running along with helping to home school my little sisters.

I’m constantly approached, even by my family, asking things such as “Why don’t you have a boyfriend, you should do this, or that and say this or that, or try a dating site!” because around here, all the teens are expected to have a boyfriend or girlfriend by the time they are like, 14!

It’s crazy the low expectations they have in my area, but honestly, I am proud to be one of the few to go against the grain!

Blessings
You sister in Christ
Alesia

Okay, I think I know what I am trying to say here. My poor little brain has taken about as much as it can today. I can’t even begin to describe the headache I have had yesterday and today. I may not make much sense, but I’ll try.
I think that the message of the Rebelution would apply to a country like China (going by what this girl said) more in putting purpose into what they do. Instead of getting high grades because it is what is expected, do it because you want to learn and glorify God with what you are learning. Learn something that you can use after school. For us, we have a hard time DOING the hard things, but then, when we do, we generally have a purpose. They do the hard things, they just have no purpose in doing them and it negates what they did. So, in my opinion (and PLEASE tell me if I’m wrong, I’m terribly confused today), do hard things would mean putting purpose into their efforts. I hope I’m making sense. Tell me if I’m not.
I was in public school for a little while before being homeschooled, and I know that one of the low expectations in school is grades. At least in my school. I always worked for A’s and B’s, and usually got them, but the other kids in my class didn’t care. I went into to public school in fourth grade and they tested my reading level and it was an eighth grade reading level. The teachers were astonished that a ten year old could read on that level. My mom (who schooled me before that) didn’t seem to think so. She encouraged reading and I loved to read. In fifth I had moved to a ninth grade level. People don’t expect kids to like reading classics anymore, and most kids don’t.
In some churches homeschooling, modest dressing, courtship and betrothal, and conservative values are all gone, or rarely seen. It’s quite surprising to others when they see it. It’s so sad to me (and annoying, I might add) that a lot of people think I’m crazy because I’m going to be a stay at home mom when I get married. They think it isn’t possible anymore for a woman to stay at home and let her husband do the providing. It’s so wrong, too. Girls don’t have to have jobs to be ‘successful’ in life. Every time I win a battle against my flesh, I can know I am living a ‘successful’ life. Every time I do what God asks me to do, then I know that I’ve just had another success. That’s a low expectation, right there. Thinking that women are not capable to care for their own children.
Anyway, I’m just rambling on and on, I know. Like I said my brain is exhausted. Please, tell me if anyone disagrees with what I’ve said and why. I need to know, right now, if I’m on the right track. I can take criticism. Seriously. Hope ya’ll have a great day! I’ll pray for you!
~Kay Morris♫

I echo what Kay Morris and Sarah Pena said too =)

I am having diffrent expectations of me on one hand I have high expectations but they’re to much for me to handle and on the other hand I have high excpectations by my peers but the wrong ones. How does the Rebelution apply to me?

That was my first comment! I’m a twin too!
1 Peter 2:9
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light.

This is excellent – I was touched by the letter from the Chinese girl. Despite her alleged English troubles, I felt that she articulated her difficulties better than I could.

You mentioned low expectations in the arena of homeschooling – I am home schooled and I’ve certainly dealt with that. Many times when I’ve mentioned the fact I’ve been met with the response, “That must mean that you get to sleep in every morning and wear your pajamas all day!”

I believe that the best way to battle ignorant assumptions like this is to maintain a high level of personal responsibility. This applies to everything from personal schedule to appearance, academics and my walk with God. I hope that this will be the best testimony to people who don’t know a lot about homeschooling.

I was just talking to a dear girl that I mentor about rebelutionaries in other countries. I asked her what she believed other teens from other countries struggle with, and I am really glad that you guys posted these questions! We both understand that low expectations havent been placed merely on American teenagers (although I do believe that our low expectations are extremely severe due to the wealth and the consumerism that is unique to our culture) but instead is a global pandemic. I am interested to read about what teens around the world are dealing with.

In the area of America where I live (outside of Detroit, Michigan) the low expectations are sickening! Especially for Christian teens. “Christian” teens are not expected to excel spiritually and are not expected to stand up for any of their “Christian” beliefs. Teens that call themselves Christians are not expected to look any different than a teen who denies Christ. The lack of expectations for Christian teenagers are repulsive. A few months ago I had the youth pastor of my church read Do Hard Things and he loved it – he actually gave copy to all the graduates this year. Through much prayer and the Holy Spirit I hope that the Metro-Detroit area (as well as the world) will have a teenager rebellion!

I stated earlier that I believe that America’s low expectations are extremely severe due to the wealth and the consumerism that is unique to our culture. I dont mean to lessen the severity of low expectations in anyplace of the world. Instead, I mean to say that that the low expectations in America are greatly different than that a third world country. Teenagers in America are taught from a young age that the world revolves around them and everything should be self serving where young people from a third world country are taught how to survive. Teenagers in a third world country have different low expectations that are unique to their own country. Just wanted to clear that up incase anyone misunderstood.

I would also like to echo what a few people have said before – if you need help with anything for the book, please let me know. I would love to help in any way. I will continue to pray for you two.

Wow, my mom and I were just talking about this topic the other day! We were talking about the low expectations parents in our church put on their kids and teens. Most younger parents in our church have a give-up kind of mentality with their teens. They expect their children to misbehave and disrespect authority because they’re teenagers and it’s what they do. The expectations are low for teens in my church for sure. My Dad [the pastor of our church] has recommended “Do Hard Things” to several families in our church and they are reading it! I’m not sure yet what they think of it, but I hope it changes their perspectives as it has changed my family’s.

I’ve been taking some dual-enrollment classes from our local Community College and have been surprised how easy it is to get an “A” in all of the classes. It seems low expectations are present everywhere… Keep up the Work!

I’m Archie from the Philippines. Academic expectations also applies here. Our value is based on our academic standing. My parents want me to graduate on time because that is what i am suppose to accomplish/attain. If ever i do something extracurricular, that’s okay but focus on your academics.

I’m not against that. Actually, I agree to that principle of finishing college and have a good educational background. But there are young people who can attain more alongside academics or without academics. The expectations on us should not be based solely on our academic achievement but also to our extracurricular contributions.

Add to that, a teen with poor educational background is expected to be just by-standers of the community. They are expected to do the “dirty jobs.” They were not given a chance to prove that “hey aside from academics, we can also excel in some areas!” Once a teenager dropped out of school, people expect nothing high from him/her.

I’m studying right now. My parent have high expectations from me-on my academic aspect. Their expectations on my leadership capabilities are negligible.

I live in South Africa. I find that because South Africa is such a multi-cultural country, low expectations are different in each cultural group. I can only really speak for my own cultural groups.

I had the priviledge of attending a small private Christian primary school which was started by my parents. There, there were high academic and behavioural expectations. In fact, we prided ourselves on being better behaved than the local goverment schools.

However, I find that in general, although South Africa is considered to be a mostly “Christian” country, people (and not only teenagers) are not expected to live up to their Christian profession of faith.

I now go to an Afrikaans government school and (Note: this is a generalisation) mostly, teenagers are expected to be confirmed into the church at a certain age. Church membership has unfortunately become a cultural tradition.

In my opinion, low expectations within the church become translated to low social expectations.

Regarding academic expectations, it very much depends upon one’s upbringing. Some people are obviously expected to do well at school and others couldn’t care less. The majority of the students are (in my humble opinion) underachieving. Our new curriculum is easier than the older one, yet, the majority of students are not achieving to their full potential – and on the whole, that’s considered okay. As long as you get your 70’s or 60’s or whatever your parents expect, then everything is hunky-dory and you can carry on socialising, partying, playing computer games etc.

Our school does expect all school leavers to pass matric (last year of school), so that the school’s tradition of having a 100% pass rate for the past however many years is not broken.

Teenagers are not expected to do hard things. Normal teenagers (in my area) are expected to pass school with university acceptance, and further they should party, get a boyfirend/girlfriend and enjoy this fleeting time of their lives. Usefulness – what’s that?

We have been living in urban China for about 4 years total now and were excited to see this post. As homeschooled teens interested in education, we have thought on this issue before and have often discussed the differences between Chinese and American school systems.

The following comments are based on our interactions witha few locals and discussions with various people involved in education. We also briefly attended Chinese school when we were younger.

Chinese do strongly emphasize academic excellence for their kids. A common motivation for this is for their children to get good grades which lead to a good school and hence a better paying job (sometimes to support the family). Also the academic requirements are quite demanding and also focused on memorisation and not an interest in the real world or creative thinking.
Hard things for Chinese teens would mean prioritising other things besides good grades at school …
– To honour their parents, not just by striving for good grades as most of them do, but in their whole attitude and conduct.
-To take interest in serving others especially classmates- befriending those no one else cares for, helping classmates with schoolwork…
-To inspire themselves and others with a love of learning for interests sake and take joy in their studies.
-To work on social maturity in interactions with others, steering conversations towards deeper topics.
-To use their great academic achievement and other talents for the benefit of others and HIS glory.
-To raise the standards on issues like work ethics, honesty and the value of life.

These are just some of things which could be worked on here especially considering the pressurised school system. It would not be easy to be a rebelutionary in such a situation, but then doing hard things is never easy!

This is a big issue and we have many more thoughts about it! We hope to discuss it more with our Chinese friends who have more expertise in this area. Hopefully these insights are helpful to the discussion here.

I live in the US, but I’m pretty sure, that doing hard things is different for people in public schools and private schools. I go to a private Christian school, and even though it may be different then public school, it is still very hard to REALLY talk about God. You see in a Christian school, Bible is a subject in class, and taking prayer requests and/or just praying for each other is just part of school. It’s not something we choose to do, it’s something that we’ve become so used to, we forget how big God actually is.

i go to a public middle school where high expectations are served daily so id like to think we dont have as many low expectations but we do. in algebra1 we are expected to do the work, get the work, and if we dont our teacher makes us stay with her during free period. According to my friends in math 8 if they dont understand something the teacher gives them extra practice homework or she tells them to read back over it. thats one of the weird academic expectations. just this week we had a bomb threat in the 8th grade boys bathroom so now all the bathrooms are monitered by an adult which means now the hallways aren’t monitered. that meant that 3 fights broke out on my hall on the same day which was the day after the threat. i look at it this way. they want to moniter the bathrooms because thats where the threat was but that meant we were free to do what we like in the hall. it was almost like they expected every kid that had to use the bathroom also was planning to do something bad.last thing…on wednesdays we have sustained silent reading(SSR) time. my friend was reading her bible so she could caught up for sunday school since she wasnt there. the teacher told her to give the book to her and get it back at the end of the day. when my friend asked why it was being taken away my teacher told her that it might offend someone. my teacher was reading a version of the quoran.

I’m from South Carolina and I’m 14. We are reading “Do Hard Things” in Sunday School. The book has really made me think about what I do and what I don’t do. But it’s mostly made me think about how Alex and Brett wrote this book in their teens. Me, I don’t think I could handle doing that. I need to think about God more and that book has made me realize it. I don’t have a big story that’s breath-taking, all I have is the stories I’ve read and been told about. I’m from a small commumity and I hunt and fish all the time and people wonder why a girl does that. I do it because that’s how God made me and that’s how I intend to stay. God bless.

I think the Rebelution applies to all people of all nations of every race and culture. Not of course, to every individual, but it is not subject to one nation. Of course, this is my personal opinion, but I believe, if it is wrong, it is only partially so. I do not attempt to say I know everything, I just base this opinion on contact with other teens of other cultures and nations, and I find the WORLD has low expectations.

I lived in Peru for three months last year, and I served as a leader with the youth at our missionaries’ church. I found that the youth are very similar to the youth I work with here in the States. The struggles remain the same, and the same fight remains to pursue the Lord with all their heart. A lot of the teens in the area were sexually active. Principals and schools were actually open to us coming into the school to share the gospel and about sexual purity, because there is such a problem in the schools. They have not been able to find any hope in rules or in educating them more about it, but they have seen a change when the gospel is heard and people begin to believe. Praise the Lord!
It was encouraging to see some of the young people lead and take charge in the group–several of the young guys were leading music and also helping lead discussion. They also ministered with younger children and were in charge of teaching at times. So in this sense, I saw higher expectations for the young people at times, as far as working and leading–but this came from the church leadership, not from the culture.

I do believe one of the lowest expectations is the depth of a young person’s walk with the Lord. I think adults and many young people believe thats something they can only do when they’re older. I see and hear that often–use the teen and college years as a time for “finding yourself”, “enjoy life,” “have fun,” and then settle down later with a family, good career, and get serious about life. God’s Word is for all ages, all races, all cultures. I’m not talking about just being “good” and refrain from certain things, but to really begin loving as the Word says to love. To live with a passion for His glory and a purpose to share the Gospel with classmates and neighbors (I was homeschooled, so I know that homeschoolers may not have classmates to share with, but they certainly have neighbors…most of the time). These things are not above a young person’s level at all. Let’s not put low expectations on the Holy Spirit, on what He can do in people’s lives and hearts– in a twelve year-old or twenty-one year old.

Hi, I’m Nicole. I’m fourteen and I live in the United States. I’m new to all this I guess, there’s no way I would have ever found this website if not for my friend who gave me the book, a door has been opened and I’m ready to explore it. It seems that everyone has their life, their plans, their everything made up, while I sit and watch everything fly by like traffic. I was settled on being just an average teen who got passed highschool with good grades but after reading a little in the book called “Do Hard Things” I’m not so sure. I want to prove people and their expectations of me wrong, and I think this book will help me do that.

If reading “Do Hard Things” was good and for my edification, imagine reading another book from the twins!!!!!!!!

Im really looking forward to reading it.

Many rebelutionaries who have read the book must have thought: “Well yeah, that is true, but what do we do in our country? How can we serve the Kingdom in the place God has placed us?”

I really hope God uses this new book to His Glory, and that many may be comforted, and given ideas to show the world the joy it is to serve the One and Only God!!!!!!!

To God be the Glory,
Miguel

whoops…sorry, forgot I can’t use tab…here is the rest of the poem…. 🙂

Today I am determined to study to improve myself, for tomorrow I may be wanted, and I must not be found lacking.
Today I am determined to do things I should do. I firmly determine to stop doing the things I should not do.
Today I begin by doing, and not wasting my time. In one week I will be miles beyond the person I am today.
Today I will not imagine what I would do if things were different. They are not different. I will make success with what material I have.
Today I will stop saying, “If I had time,” for I never will “find time” for anything–if I want time I must take it…
Today I will act toward other people as though this might be my last day on earth. I will not wait for tomorrow. Tomorrow never comes.
-An inspiration by an unknown author, printed in “The Christian Home”

I live in San Marcos, Texas, and I’m homeschooled and I’m involved with two different Bible-believing churches (because one is still young and does not have their own Awana ministry yet, etc.) and most of the youth at both churches are homeschooled and come from Bible-believing families as well, and in response to what different types of low expectations we encounter I’d say that I receive little to no ‘low expectations’ from adults (I mean, they’re grateful and all) but when you’re a young person in a godly, Christian environment which houses other young men and women who are mature in their faith, actions, words, etc., the expectation is to uphold that standard and even to raise it.

P.S.-I really liked your first book and your Purpose Driven Death conference in Austin/Round Rock about a year ago.

I’m 42. I’m a husband of one wife and a father of one son. Used to be a top student in primary/elementary school and an above average student during high school. Unfortunately, I lived an undisciplined life. Right now I’m struggling to finish a first degree in Philosophy Politics and Economics. If only I made the most of my teen age years to do the hard things perhaps I could have been a Ph.D student right now!!! \

Thanks for your ministry. I wish young people all over the people will do the hard things.

Thanks Kelsey for that inspiring poem.

Im Maynard, 15 years old and I live in the Phillipines. I’m a ChristianWell, as for me, your Book was so awesome. It contains a lot of information and it also enhance my vocabulary. As for the Book “Do Hard Things” I’m impressed to you guys.,, 🙂 the way you write the book and the cover.,, 🙂
Maybe with the help of this book I will not waste my “teen” years and bring praises to our Lord it help me to wake up and show what who I really am
Thank you guys for helping the young people to wake for that lie.,,
btw, I’m not finish to read it, hehe., im on the Part 2.
but really, thank you very much for it.,,
To GOD be the Glory.,,!!!!!!

For the Question:
Here In the Phillipines, or rather in our place, i would say that it is also similar to America,
some of the youth is way too complicated, you would see young people drinking, smoking, and some other stuff. I would say that they don’t know what they are doing. They wasting their “teen” life in that.

After reading your book, it awakes me to pursue to evangelize to my friends. I also encourage my other Christian classmate to help me to introduce to our classmate who is Jesus.,,

Sarah, I will most certainly do that. I hope I make it! 🙂
~Kay Morris♫

God’s day!
Hi, i am Aj from the Philippines. And as a Christian I truly believe that standing up for the Word and living it is one of most pretty hard and yet very vital thing christian teens do. especially nowadays, we are being bombarded with with the “western culture” that says and shows things that christian teens do, but sadly i know some that compromise their faith just for the sake of following the trend. But as the Holy Spirit leads us to share the Word boldly i trust God that the time will come that i will witness a born-again country in Asia, To God be all the glory Forever!

One thing I noticed in the public school I attended was that complacency was the norm. And Alex and Brett are right, kids stagnate, so my friends are 14 or 15 now, but act like they’re 9 or 10. I don’t know about other countries, but the American society preaches irresponsibility and immorality. In the words of a boy scout I knew,’I hate to do work somebody else could easily do’.

Hmmm those are some good questions. And a lot of good answers.

What I have seen in my church is not that people come right out and say that they do not expect teens to do this or that they do expect them to that ,but instead they just speak poorly about teens in general. That teens are bad drivers, that teens expect everything to be given to them and stuff like that. In this way they set up an expectation for teens and about teens. (Although most likely not on purpose) I try to stand up for those of us that are not like that and ofcourse show them by example that teens can do more then what is expected of them.

I really missed you guys, it was like part of my family had gone missing! 🙁 Glad you’re back! 🙂

I think that morally low expectations for teens are at an all-time low everywhere. Academically though, it is different for every teen, in every country. I live here in America where academic expectations in the public schools are far from what they should be. That is why I am homeschooled. Some parents homeschool their children because they don’t approve of what is being taught in the public schools or the environment their kids would be in. Nevertheless they hold the same low expectations for the children, academically, as teachers in the public schools do. My parents are very strict about our grades and hold us to a high standard of academic achievement. (I will be graduating at 16 :)) Besides that I am very self-motivated, I enjoy school and have a desire to do well.

Therefore my observation is that yes, low expectations vary in different spheres of life and in different countries, but they also vary from school to school, family to family, and teen to teen. No one is bound by low expectations, and everyone can choose to fulfill, not the expectations of the world, their parents, or themselves, but the expectations of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

(I certainly hope that made sense. :wink:)

[b]To all waiting for forum confirmation.[/b] I am a moderator though I am not in charge of reviewing forum applications. I am sure by what you have written here, and the zeal you show for the Rebelution, that you will get in. I also know that all the moderators are extremely busy as we are working on improving the organization of the forums and getting some new features started up. I look forward to seeing you on the forums in no less than a few weeks! 😀

[b]Alex & Brett-[/b] I would add my offer to that of Sarah Peña’s (a very good friend of mine). I am doing all I can to promote the Rebelution (i.e. Prayer, Moderating, etc.) because its transformational power means so much to me. Let me know if there is anything else you need. 🙂 You are constantly in my prayers! Thank you so much for your undying perseverance and dedication.

I realized several years ago that American churches are full of low expectations. They want their teens to abstain from sex, but they don’t suggest not dating or avoiding bad situations, instead they just teach how to resist the temptation instead of avoiding it. Or music and movies, lots of churchs don’t say anything about. And how many pastors have you heard preach against evolution from the pulpit? I know very few who have, most are afraid to offend people. When the church is afraid to offend other Christians we have a problem. The church is meant help the Christian grow in their faith and beliefs, not let them to continue to believe things are wrong because we don’t want to offend them. I don’t believe in being offensive to non-Christians because they don’t know. But when we are letting a Christian go the wrong path, we need to stand up and do something and not be “non-offensive” about it. Sorry if this makes no sense, I’ve been studying all day and I think my brain is fried, but the American church is something that bothers me so bad in the last year and a half I’ve gone very little. I know that’s bad, but I can’t find one that is good for me and what I need. They are all so complacent and intent on sugar coating the gospel or teaching bubble gum sermons that have no meaning. We need to revamp the American idea of church and make everyone accept only high expectations for how we are to live.

I thought that maybe you guys broke down with all that you are doing! I agree with what Elsa said although Hannah Montana is not a clean pop star. My dad has taught at a Christian college all my life and we get frustrated be the lack of expectations for study, dress, behavior, language and observance of the Sabbath. Also poeple always think that because I am homeshcooled that I do nothing but sleep in and wear pjs all day. Not true. People also expect that I do speech and debate. I volenteer at the local rebublican head quarters and I think that that is doing more good than speech and debate at this stage of my life.(No offence intended.) Peope also expect that I do sports. I am praying for you guys! You have inspired my so much.

complacency were I live is common, and creeping up more than ever before. Chicago is filled with real, and poser ” gangsters, thugs, woman selling themselves short, and selling their bodies for money, pleasure, and the worldy view of love they construe in theie own mind.” Many are believing that there is no way out, and this is the way to live. Let me first tell you that this is not just on the streets of down town were I witness this, but it is in the high life of a community college. Laziness, boredom, angst to live a life of fullfilment, but searching at a well that will not quench their thirsty souls.

Zoe: I totaly agree with you. I too live in BC and thats exactly what I am expected to be like, as a teen living here. I am auctualy looked down upon because I dont smoke, drink, stay out all night partying or have 100 friends (any friends for that matter)

Blessings
Alesia

Hi guys! Welcome back!

I’m from the Philippines and I’ll speak for middle to upper class teens here at least. From experience, sometimes expectations here are even lower than what I perceive to be the norm in the US (I hear it’s quite normal for teens to have summer jobs there). Teens are expected to try to finish school period. Parents, relatives, even the church, give way to school requirements (hey, school is tough!) all the time, and because school is difficult, teens are not expected to care about much else except their own comfort outside of school. Most if not all my buddies graduated from college without ever having a job of their own. Teens never have to worry about finances, politics, welfare of the poor, most household responsibilities etc. until they graduate from college & enter “the real world”. Teens are expected to be caught up with their looks, social status, friends, cellphones, entertainment, and premature boy-girl relationships.

There are exceptions, of course, maybe I just grew up with the rich & spoiled set. ;p

Still, as a country we’re really poor at discipline and a sense of responsibility that goes beyond tight, personal spheres, and perhaps one of the reasons is that our adults failed to ‘launch’ properly due to low expectations during teen years. Check out our traffic, corruption, and garbage problems. And what about the number of financially dependent young people in their twenties and thirties who still live with their parents? To clarify, we Filipinos don’t consider that (living with parents) shameful in itself (close family ties, a lot of married couples live with their in-laws and that’s totally fine) – I’m even pretty proud of that – but I don’t think many of us learn to live within our own financial capabilities instead of our parents’. The low expectations persist to ‘adult’ life (I mean 21 yo above).

Thanks for reading =)

Jessica Letchford, I agree with you about teens not being able to have meaningful conversations. So many teens today only know how to use their mouths for gossip and slander.
Anders Laub, you’re right. A lot of teens act younger than they are and assume very limitied responsibility. But also, younger kids, 9-11, are now trying to act much older than they are. When you find young girls at that age wearing full makeup, it’s a little, I guess disturbing. They try to grow up too fast, in the wrong way, though. They grow up in everything but maturity and resposibility. They just do everything a teen would. As they get older, they just never mature, always staying at the same level. When I was in the fifth grade in public school, almost everyone was dating. These kids were 11 and 12! They had to double date with their older brothers or sisters or cousins because they weren’t old enough to drive. I suppose the reason they try to grow up so fast is because teens today have set the example of all fun and games teen years. They don’t know what their teen years should really look like. My dad always used to say, “With freedom comes resposibility.” That is one of many of the rules I live by. I know it’s important to combat the teen problem of today, but I think, inside of that, we teens should be trying to mentor the younger children anyway we can. We should help them learn from our mistakes.
Tabitha Hems, thanks so much for the info. I heard from a friend that it could take a while. I’ll try and be patient.
I think this was a really good, thought -provoking subject. Everyone seemed to really start thinking about it in depth. That’s a good thing, of course. Anyway, I suppose I’ve written quite a bit on this subect, so I’ll close with, God bless you and keep you all. You guys mean so much to Him. Everyone here on the comment section, and the Forum, and Alex and Brett, too. It doesn’t matter what you do, or who you are, He loves you.
~Kay Morris♫

I believe that there are low expectations in almost every country in some way. Low expectations here in the US are kind of overwhelming but just because they are different in other countries does not mean that they’re not there.
I’m home schooled so, thankfully, I’m not exposed to the extremely low expectations in public school but I still have to deal with them. I know a friend that goes to a Christian school and says that the kids that attend are no different than the ones that go to public school. It may be a Christian school but it doesn’t mean the kids are Christians. It kind of hurts me to see that all of these teens think its ok to be irresponsible just because everyone else is.
All of these people are saying they don’t need God, and then wondering why the world is headed where it is. I think if we put God back into our lives, our schools, even our churches! we’d get somewhere. We all need God.
I gotta fly! I missed you guys! Thanks for the post!

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
~Alesha♥

Hi! I’m Andy and I just recently read the Book “Do hard things.” It talked about this website and i thought i would check it out

I read the Q? and i think i got some answers. Some ways that high expectations manifest in my state (Montana) is this kid who won the state spelling bee at age 15.He obviosly pushed himself and tried his hardest. I agree with Dee. I think that there is definetly a need for a rebelution in other countries like China or the Phillipines. Also, just to get it all out, some unique low expectations (or i should say temptations) for homeschoolers are just sitting around all day and not doing any work.

Wow! I am amazed at how much I can learn from all these comments put together- it is so encouraging to see such a response, and to read all this info that everyone shares.

Moderators, I think you need to take over.

Well, I live in Norway, and from what I can tell we have quite different expectations of young people.

Youth here are expected to get reasonable/average grade at school, play some kind of sport and to have some form of friends. Let me expand.
We don’t have a very big pressure at school, but rather in social areas. Activities, such as a soccer in a lot of areas, are a way of getting friends. We’re pressured to have a group of friends around us, as odd as it sounds, by teachers even more than parents. I have more friends in other areas of the country, and I notice a lot of people find it odd.

Another aspect of this is binge drinking and acting out on weekends, from the time you’re 14-15-16. It also seems a lot of people expect teens to be stupid, negative, just downright disrespectful.

Lastly, and this may seems contradictory to what I’ve just stated, our culture expects everyone to be very efficient and do what the should.

This might not be everyone’s experience, but it’s how I feel growing up here, so.

Ya, about meeting with youth groups, I think that would be really sweet if you could talk to my youth group to. I am not a leader but I’m sure my leaders wouldn’t mind. You should get back to me on that with imformation, too, please! thanks! 🙂

Those some-what rude comment are a perfect example of what us teens are trying NOT to be like. We should be proud to be different, even if it means being hated on or mocked.
God Bless you all, including Ken and Dunkleberyy =D

Your Sister In Christ
Alesia

I know for a fact that some of the low expectations in my community lies mostly in our schools. I am a junior in high school and sometimes it really shocks and saddens me how low they really are. For example:at my school there is(in my opinion)a severe drug problem and nobody is expected to care. My english class had a discussion were we were talking about how students should or should not be required to go to a study hall class an oppurtunity to do home work, whether or not you are failing your classes or not and some of my classmates feel strongly about this. When my teacher suggested that the students do something about it they said that they couldn’t because of their age, and that they wouldn’t be taken seriously. So therefore it wasn’t worth trying. When my teacher asked them about their reasoning they said it would be pointless to force fellow students to care, and if they fail then they fail and that required study hall of any sort would be pointless. This greatly saddened me. I longed to speak out but I’m ashamed that I didn’t. The point of this was not do a he said she said thing but to bring to light some issues that is being faced at the moment. I am not in any way excluding myself as a perfect spotless saint; I too have become caught up in my personal affairs that I have also done the whole,”Well I’ve got better things to do,”thing.Better than than sticking up for what’s right ? Better than going up beyond the I don’t care attitude and the mediocrity that comes along with it? I long to do something big for Christ especially pertaining to the drug problem at my school but I’m not exactly sure how to get there..(sorry that’s kinda off topic)

Hi, Im 23 and I live in the UK. Ive just started my last year of university.

To be honest there are some incredibly low expectations of students. You are almost expected to come to uni to party, go out and get drunk, spend all the money you have for university and live in your overdraft. Whilst people in the UK complain about the way students are no one seems willing to expect more from us. We’re supposed to just scrape through our degree and most people are expected to just float into some low job and just do whatever.

If you even begin to look different to the all partying and drinking student type then you stick out like a sore thumb. Its good for making and stand and being different but when you tell people that you’re a christian and you want to do well at your degree people are just so shocked. Its as if people dont expect you to ever do anything academically or otherwise!

I just dont understand. Its not all about getting a degree or great job, but honestly the UK dont expect you to make a difference. Its like they’re moulding you into a sheep whether you like it or not! Its a sad way to live and I just pray that God will raise up people to change this country’s outlook!

Han x

I am Japanese, second year student in National Univ..
Like John Wu said, here in Japan, entrance exam is very big deal for us. Most parents want us to go to better college or university.
It is often said in comparing American and Japanese college, “In states, easy to get in but hard to get out. In Japan, hard to get in but easy to get out”.
I found it not a lie after a while entering college. God totally bless me with great university that has good academic level. But, seems many people do not study as they did in High school. well, I should include myself in “they”.

University brand has very strong influence in getting a job here. So, many parents wants us to study really hard to get in good colleges. Some parents express so much expectation that thier kids become rebellious for intense pressure.
So,　in a sense, there is big expectation from parents for us to study hard. But, the problem I found is that they almost only expect us to study. It seems there is less social activities than in States, which is hindering us to try to participate in society.

Some start social activities when they start going to college, but it seems to me that there is a huge lack of foundation.
When I read “Do Hard Thing”, I was surprised that how teenage can play a rule in election and raising funds. I have never heard t\a story like those in Japan.

Having said these things, I think, here in Japan, there is low expectation for teenage as well. Especially in college because they think once we enter a collegem, we are on a rail to some or more than some degree.

I’m am American and a Homeschool studant. and I find the exspectations I have are to get worst them I am I’m having a few issues with my youth paster right now who keeps telling me and my Mom that I’ll be rude wild and very socilized (Having pre marital sex).
I think he’s just giving me excuses to be that way and he also has a thing agianst me for not going to his youth group full of silly teens anymore witch is another exspectations people have for me is to be the regular Silly Teenager and when I tell them I’m not like that and not going to be like that they tell me “Oh come on your just afraid to have fun”

I’m so fed up with all these nonsensical exspectations of me

Elisabeth

My youth group went to D.C. to see you guys in September, and we are so excited to start doing some hard things in our community and school. I can’t wait for your next book, and I am really excited to hear about some of the low expectations in other countries as well as how they can be overcome.

Hey My school takes mission trips every year to Peru. But this year we don’t know to eaither go to Peru or the Philippins. What do you think Alex

Q: What are some unique low expectations in our church or circle of friends?

A: In my church I keep finding out that a lot of adults refuse to look beyond what they expect. In my various jobs at my church, one of which I am the only teen worker, I am often overlooked. I feel like the adults negotiate around me because they think I won’t do my job unless they’re their to hold my hand the whole time. I just want to do my job as best I can, but it’s really hard when when co-workers think I’m incapable. I highly doubt they realize the situation they put me in by doing this. Its hard to deal respectfully with them when they treat me like I’m four years old. I am hoping that they will start to believe I am capable if I just continue in the work God has for me.

I just wanted to let the two of you know what a blessing your book has been to me. I was driving in the car a few weeks ago with my two teenage sons when we heard your radio interview on Focus on the Family. We were really excited to hear what you had to say. We have long taken issue with the term “teenager” and the general expectations that go along with it. Our sons consider themselves “young men” not teenagers and were thrilled to hear the things that you had to say. We quickly went out and purchased the book wich I have since read and heartily agree with. We will soon be purchasing additional coppies to distribute to the youth group at our church. I will be very interested to see what they do with the challenge to “do hard things!” Keep up the good work!

Sorry, I just realized that I didn’t really elaborate on teen expectations here in Malaysia. Well, I dare say there is MUCH emphasis on exams here. Our education system is very exam oriented, and we aren’t given the kind of opportunities that westerners are given to pursue other skills or hobbies and such. HIgh schoolers on average take about ten exam subjects, plus other subjects that don’t necessarily involve exams. We aren’t taught to be creative and most of what we learn is just so that we can “do well in exams”. we do face peer pressure as well, like sex and drinking and partying, but on a MUCH lower scale compared to the west. Pressure for such things deepens much more progressively at university level, though. Because of our Muslim government and practices, such things like abortion are banned, which is GREAT, but of course there still are clinics that operate in secret. I can say that we are blessed, in a way, to be a bit more behind when it comes to social peer pressure issues. But like i mentioned earlier, we deal with many other issues, like racism sometimes.

expectations on teens are still low, though. we’re not expected to have much character, and we’re also sometimes looked down on when we try to dream big… well i hope that this has helped give some insight on how things are in Malaysia. Please do continue to pray for us.

Kay Morris, just so you know, I did not fall off the end of the world. Check to BRC tonight, and you will find out why you haven’t seen me in a while.

Okay, I wasn’t on last night. I was gone all day and busy all night. I’ll have to try to do that today.
~Kay Morris♫

Manard God has blessed you so much and i am praying for you just to let you know. God Loves You. Tyler

Thanks Christian. Means a lot to me.

Each day that I read the pages of this book, I am just so awe strucked. This book is more than just words like any other books. It is something you can confide into, something you can truly relate it. I am truly blessed to be reading it and I hope that when I finish it, I can pass it on so others can read it as well.

My prayers are with all who follow in doing hard things for the Lord.

http://olenasivchuk.tumblr.com/
check it out 🙂
just thoughts from a young woman of faith

Wow… It is amazing how many teens and young adults from around the world responded to this post.

I would like to say that it is disappointing me when I receive shocked looks from people who find out my age and schooling background. I was homeschooled until the age of sixteen, when I graduated. I then started my first year in a three-year program at a local technical college, in which I am in my second year. I never felt like I did anything special, I just worked hard. I have been accused of being an ‘over-achiever’, but I say that I prefer the term ‘ambitious’.

I just turned eighteen, but when people at work or school ask me my age, they are always surprised, because they think that I must be at least in my early twenties. I have been told that I just act more mature compared to most people my age. I could never figure that out, until I took my younger brother to youth group the other day.

The way I saw ‘Christian’ teens behaving was a real disappointment for me. They were immature, their language wasn’t always polite, and they just seemed to be acting like kids. I mentioned this to an adult friend of mine, and she wasn’t the least bit surprised; in fact, she told me that they are just kids! I was a little sad to see teens, some of whom are older than me, acting like thirteen and fourteen-year olds.

The worst thing is that I really hoped that I would see some different behaviors from teens who say that they are followers of Christ. I really hope that I am not being too judgmental, it just seems that even youth group teens do not behave any differently than any others. I have found that my experience with adults is usually much more edifying, and I prefer their company than that of people my own age.

Soli Deo Gloria,
Chanel V.

I watched the video of Josh being eaten by the beanbag and thought it was a great analogy of what is required in true repentance. If we say we are trusting God and the Holy Spirit in turning our back on evil, but then keep on willfully dabbling in what we know is not right, there is a real question as to whether we have truly repented from our sins. Jesus said, “Not everyone that says unto me,Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” (Matt.7:21)

another leah: I was just skimming through the comments when I stopped and read yours. Providential! I too live in USA in IL, and can imagine how you feel. I think it is probably something a lot of us fight at certain times in our life. I think our relationship with Jesus Christ is a lot like a marriage, in more ways then one, but first let me point out two of them. 1. We won’t always FEEL our love for our spouse. Love is so much more then feelings it’s the everyday things like doing Hard Things for Jesus sake. 2. My mom tells me that she loves my father more and more as the years go by. Our relationship with Jesus is the same the more we get to know Him, the more we will love Him. You probably already know this but these are just somethings that I have found encouraging myself.

One more thing – One of the things that I do is keep a journal by my bed and every night I put one thing in it that I am rejocing about. Maybe, you could do something similar except write down ways you loved God (held my tounge when I didn’t want to:) and ways He’s loved you (gave me special time with my mom).

I am praying for you! Hope this encourages you!

Moriah Ortega

While reading your book, I thought of all the expectations of America has for there children.
During that I see that all average Americans don’t expect for there children to go to college,
and if they do they probably will fail. You’ll see our president ( God bless him and guide him) talks of rising in our education ,but yet we lack behind in so many ways. India a third- world country has some very educated individuals, but does that stop them. My mother is Mizo or Indian and she is the most educated women I’ve ever met in the ways of God and in education. Yet, she lived in poverty. They expect higher expectations of people in poverty, then of people in America with houses,jobs, and money. Where I live our expectations our lower than the ground, at least every person in the public school system is failing or addicted to something. For believers that is a war ground. I was harassed almost every day. As harassed I mean snooty comments about christ, rumors spread and I wasn’t that popular. Now, in a christian school those things still happen not about being a christan but, they talk about a new girl whose very diligent about what I do.
Saying that I mean I’m not exactly nice to certain people because the are exremly rude to me. Although that’s something i am lacking.

Thank you for reading my thoughts
Remi John 3:16

I’m an American, and have been amazed by the low expectations in so many places. My brother, sister, a friend, and myself took an test on economics and we were VERY surprised to qualify in the top 100 in the state, when only one of us had ever studied the subject! Then, when we went to the state competition we were put in the AP division because we were all home-schooled. Imagine our surprise when we beat other teams that had studied the material!

I live in the Philippines. As for low expectations, society here (at least to what I’ve been exposed to) expects you to do school and finish it and get a job. Success is measured by social status and the salary you get.

I recently graduated from college and I decided not to be employed just yet. I chose to use my degree in volunteering for a cause that I believe in. When I tell people who ask of my volunteer work, I must admit that they think it’s a waste for my degree. Well I don’t think it is, because this is what God has called me to do. All the same that’s one of the low expectations I’ve experienced.

I must say that the Philippines is highly influenced by the U.S. If something is popular in the U.S. it often comes here as well. Fashion, music, movies, trends, emo & goth culture… name it, we almost have it all. Our culture has this colonial mentality blended well in it due to 300 years of Spanish reign and 40-year American occupation. Anything that comes from the West is accepted. So in short, low expectations come here too.

Expectations only measure up to materialism and not on the character of people.

As for other expectations, if you don’t belong to the group of expected finish-school-get-job-be-rich then you are expected to fail and just be a failure. Well, that is generally speaking on how I see adults treat teens who often fail (and there are lots of them). The result, teens don’t try to reach for more. They stay and get stuck where they are.

I live in the United States, and i had many low expectations untill i read “Do Hard Things” and i realized that i can push thoughs expectations away and show everyone that i(and other teenagers) can do hard things. I’m only 13, almost 14 and everyone compliments me about what i do for such a young age. Although i do great things for my age, i believe i can do even greater things. I have given up many things to show that God can do great things through youth, and im willing to do more…but the question for me is “what else can i do?” Would you be able to give me some more ideas?

I live in the U.S., and went to the Rebelution conference last summer – a great event.

I would have to submit that Thomas L. Friedman is probably not the best source for information on how to live our lives — especially as Christians. For those of you who don’t know who he is, he is an often skeptical liberal newspaper columnist.

Lizzie Luvs 2 Pray, I know how you feel about being thought of as a stick in the mud for not wanting to join a silly youth group. been there myself.
You’re doing the right thing though, I’ll being praying for you 🙂

I live in Virginia, USA and i found your book: “Do Hard Things” at my church (Wave Church). At first I was just like, ‘Hmm…that looks like an interesting read.’ ( I LOVE to read books! btw so i am always looking for something new) As I kept visiting the bookstore at my church, I kept visiting the shelf that your book was on. I felt like just the title itself was speaking to me. It was like somebody came up and smacked me in the face so i would realize what was going on. I finally bought it and it is changing my life as i am righting this comment. It is an amazing book and you two are really inspirational. I brought your book to school so i could read it and it caught the attention of alot of people. like, people that i would never have imagined to be interested in it were interested in it. Some of them, because, they thought it was freaking awesome that Chuck Norris did the forward..but others were TRULY interested..so i have i little line of people waiting to read it. hahaha

anyways, I will be praying for you and your ministry-thingy 😀 keep being super-cool-preacher-guys !!! haha 😀

ps. you guys should come to virginia beach, virginia for one of your conferences….lolol

Storm says, among other comments, “God wants everything to be unfair in order that we may bring glory to him when, in the time that He has worked, it all works together for you and you are blessed. The apostle Paul wrote ” He who humbles himself will be exalted at the proper time.” God wants you happy and He cares for you.”
I believe this has been the case thus far, with so many differences in denominations and cultures.
But I have a dream that as the time for Christ to return gets nearer, (which we have no understanding of when this will be) Christians will become more united by taking heed to the instructions of Jesus Himself in John 7:17, “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.” So the key to being more united depends on us being fully committed to doing His will (which we cannot do without His Spirit dwelling richly in us) and it is His Spirit which does this work, and we have nothing of which we may boast – this is the ultimate in humility – letting the Spirit guide us in what we do and what doctrines we believe.

Dear Bob Prince, Storm, Alex, Bret, and anyone who would like to read this message,

Storm is right in that the unfairness of the world turns others to God. We also have to remember that if the world was fair, we should have no possible chance to get to heaven. Our multitude of sins, inherited and committed by ourselves, condemn us to certain death and eternal separation from God in a fair and unbiased world; even if God still existed in this hypothetical state, He would only be allowed to give us our just punishment.
I continually thank God for His grace and mercy. Mercy is not receiving what we deserve, in this case our punishment, and grace is receiving what we do not deserve, in this case, atonement for our sin through Christ’s death on the cross.
I also am likeminded with Bob in that I have a desire for unity among the body of Christ’s believers. This could help us have a greater impact on unbelievers; this is because, instead of seeing different denominations arguing over what are the absolute truths of God’s Word and how can and should we worship Him, they would see a God-given joy, peace and fervor to do God’s will shared by all believers.
They would see something that that they would want to have. They would see God’s love on a great scale. Until that day, what we can do as believers is simply what Solomon did, fear God and obey His commands. This fear is not a worldly fear, but a respectful and honoring fear, a fear that acknowledges what He did for us, accepts the gift of salvation, and seeks to honor God because He created us, died for us, and wants to have a personal relationship with us.

May God bless you as you do His will,

His servant and your brother in Christ,

Sven

You should let the Spirit draw you to a way you can counter the deprivation of expectations.

~Amen to this Storm.

Leeanna Miles – you’re coming to the Philippines? 🙂 I live here. I mean, I live in the Philippines. 🙂

What a good question. For me, a homeschool teen, I find that people’s expectations of me vary according to what their teen is like. One of my friends has a problem with disrespect, so her mom is expecting that in me. Another lady I know, her daughter and son are not responsible, and so when she gives me a message to tell my mother she checks up on me to make sure I delivered it. So I kind of get a little bit of everything, but thankfully my parents help keep me on track.

Dear Christin A,

I am but a tool in the workings of Christ. I am not the one who leads myself to write these things, but it is God working in me to “will and to do for His good pleasure.” I am not the one that you should be saying Amen to but God.

Thank you,
your brother in Christ,
Storm

Dear Typers,

Reading your words of inspiration truly touch my heart that words can not compare to. Hearing all that each of you go through, all the challenges that you have to bare each and every day, all the struggles and demands the word gives you and hearing how even though you may fall short, Jesus is always there to pick you up truly lifts me up when I too fall.

I love reading your words of advice and can’t wait to continue reading the next chapters of “Do Hard Things.” For those who is just starting, there are no words that can say just how great this book is.

I commend each and every one of you that sticks with Jesus through and through. I praise those who are not afraid to preach the word of god. I know how hard it is and knowing others are going through it as well truly helps me over come my challenges.

I pray for you all.

Love, your sister in the making,
Tiffany

I live in the U.S. and what irks me is the low expectations within the church. I am 15 and have been visiting churches a while and have yet to find a church where the youth is expected to or knows much more than about the Bible than Jesus died on the cross for our sins. That statement is what you teach a 4-year old. One of my favorite verses, Joshua 1:8, says that you should meditate on the word day and night. I am not saying that all youth in churches are like this, but they are expected to be like this.

It is so normal that sometimes when I visit a church I do not want to bring my Bible so that the youth will not think I am a nerd.

I was raised in a house where my father reads the Bible every night possible and we are encouraged to read on our own every day. This has made more conscious of the low expectations within every christian household.

Please give me your thoughts on this matter.

Your brother in Christ,
Caleb

Dear Camille E,

I did not say that it was used incorrectly just that I can not take credit for what God is doing in me. Also, your translation is correct, but Amen was also used to mean “I believe that you will do as I have asked” which in the ancient world was equivalent to saying “I believe in you.”

Thank you for bringing this topic up.

Thank you,
your brother in Christ,
Storm

Hello!
I am Genelizette from Philippines.
Your message from here really helps us a lot.
Your message strengthens us especially now,our country is facing a lot of catastrophes.
and our city is one of the devastated place here. Brothers and sisters in Christ, we really need you right now. Your prayers is our strength. Though we differ in the language that we use, I firmly believe that we are one with what we believe, and that is we shouldn’t conform with the patterns of this world and let brotherhood and the love that our God wants us to share with prevails. After the storm Ketsana wrecked our city, an epidemic of Leptospirosis is spreading in our city, lots of people died. Some people lost their hope and some are being in the state of shock and trauma. I myself was one of the victims of the storm Ketsana. But inspite of that bad experience that I encounter I never lose my hope and I still keep my faith and hold on to God alone. I believe God wants me to realize something and He is teaching us to trust Him wholeheartedly and let Him be our God.Please include us in your prayers so that many people can recover from this situation that we’re going through.

Thank you and may our Lord Jesus Christ bless you continually.

” Sa Diyos ang Kapurihan”( to God be alone the Glory)

Alex & Brett,I was thrilled to be able to get an Amazon Kindle edition of your book this past week-end. I especially like the feature that allows a search of different topics. When I searched for references on “obey” I was immediately led to some of your closing remarks in the book (Page 229 in hardback edition.) You made the following profound remarks on the ULTIMATE HARD THING: “What you just read is the gospel. This simple, profoundly beautiful truth has transformed millions of lives. Here is where the Rebelution comes in, because the mark of genuine transformaton is to trust God enough to obey Him, to do what you know pleases Him, even when you know it won’t please other people; to do hard things.”
These remarks are certainly in keeping with the words of Christ,when he said in John 14:21, “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me.” St. John says further in I John 2:4, “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandmentsm is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” Peter says in Acts 5:32, “We are witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.”
Many have watered down the gospel to the point that obedience is never stressed as a doctrine. You fellows and the Rebelution are not only helping the rebellion against low expectations in the secular world, but may well have sparked a rebellion against low expatations among those who claim the name of Jesus Christ as Savior. I even have a dream that denominational barriers can begin to crumble, that we may be One in Christ, as He and the Father are one.”

hey Rey Ballaso!

My school is going to be going to the Philippines this year for our mission trip and we are going to be doing a lot of things there, such as evanglistic stuff and meetings for youth and adults. O, and were going to General Santos. That would be the greatest thing ever if you would be able to join us!:)

Hi! I’m Johna, also from the Philippines. First of all, I find it pleasantly surprising to see a lot of replies here by teens from the Philippines. (Holler to ya’ll!) I would like to echo their sentiments–Alex, Brett, we would love it if you guys could conduct your Do Hard Things conference here. It would be such a great opportunity to have you guys inspire the multitudes of young people here striving to make a difference.

To do hard things as a teenager in the Philippines is very relative. There are those who aspire to run for public office, or represent the country in one way or another, for example at an international peace or development conference. There are also those who aspire to graduate from school (the Filipino dream really is to finish one’s education), but sometimes the goal stops at that, to get one’s diploma. Still others, aspire to get a job–sometimes anything that they can–in order to send their siblings to school or to put food on the table, serving as breadwinners for their families. Economic factors kind of come to play in teenagers’ aspirations here(economic factors are greatly influenced by our long colonial history), which is inevitable. I think, though, it would be good for us to be able to rise above ourselves and our situations and see the bigger picture. This is easier said than done, but what I’m saying is that maybe our level of expectations should not depend so much on our economic backgrounds. A kid who needs to find a job to send his/her siblings to school could still aspire to get an education for his/herself, or, at the very least, find a job wherein they could use his/her God-given talents. Someone who has worked all his/her life to graduate could aspire still for a job that gives them peace of mind and through which they could serve and make use of their talents to the fullest. Still, those who have had the privilege to go to school and represent the country in international meets could take the next bigger step in giving other kids the same opportunities they themselves have had. The possibilities are endless; we may have different hard things to do, and the level of expectations may be different for everyone, but hard things are not simply what makes for triumph depending our economic background. Hard things are what we do for God’s glory.

I emphasize economic class and background because, where I’m from, the population form a very wide range of that. And you could hear many, different aspirations of many, different teenagers, on many different levels and magnitudes–depending what class they are from. But I believe that even this is not enough to stop us from becoming the generation the Lord wants us to be and doing great things for Him. If only we could break free from the chains we see as limitations and look past them to the Lord that made us–in His image, at that–we could surely overcome the problem of low expectations in the country, throughout the nation and across the classes.

(Alex and Brett: whenever you guys decide to come to the Philippines, we Rebelutionaries are ready here to help out! =)

Christin A: Where in the Northern Islands? You guys keep safe, if I’m not mistaken, typhoon Ramil is headed for there right? Annnd by the way, were you the one who left a comment in my blog? =)

Leeanna Miles: Would like to say that I live in the Philippines too, although, I’m not too sure if General Santos is close to our place. We’re at Cavite. All the best with your missions trip! Fun fact, General Santos is the hometown of Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao =p Hehe)

Hello guys! i am eleven and not yet a teen:) but i wanted to comment because not a hole lot of people think i will go far. in school i am terrible at math one of my friends says i won’t do anything with life because i can’t do a simple fraction without paper. but then anain my mom says i just need practice and i could be einstein…..well my dad mostly thinks my nineteen year old sister won’t do anything with herself. She has a bad BF (Boy Friend) and moved to calli. she refused colledge because the world expected nothing from her! i live in the U.S.A. and if a 11 year old can see this why doesn’t the world do something!

guys by BFF is a Ballerina and has soooooo much talent but…….her teachers ell her shes terrible they dont expect anything from her

Does anyone participate in publicschool sports, but homeschool?? For me it’s a struggle. At practice, most of my friends are christians, but don’t act like. They crude sexual and racial jokes, then praise God for the beautiful day. How do you approach people like that, when your not laughing with, and how do get em back on track without being offensive or anti-friendly. I’m not saying I’m righteous, but, what do you do??

Hey johnalene!
Thanks for the fun fact!
Even if you don’t live to close to General Santos, doesn’t mean that you can’t keep in touch.
i really do hope that you can at least try!:)

It’s a good thing I discovered your blog while searching for fresh ideas that will spike up my presentation a bit. Just perfect. I find the entries “refreshing.” When I read this post, I just can’t resist the urge to participate. Pardon the length of this entry.

Here in the Philippines, the society is still quite conservative. I say quite ‘coz people are slowly on their way to liberation from feudal thinking and “ancient” principles. And most of these people are the youth. Like the rest of our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world, the youth, we, usually tend to be apathetic and passive. We still haven’t realized the power that we have. Somehow everything changed back in 2001 when the call for the impeachment of then President Estrada was at its peak. The youth marched to EDSA and protested against corruption and bad governance. And then, he was gone. Of course, there were other theories why he suffered that fate but I would like to think that it was because of the youth’s realization that “Hey, I have a role after all.” If the youth wasn’t able to realize that, at least other sectors did.

From 2001 onwards, there’s been a constant call for the youth to take a stand and speak out. Politicians slanted their campaigns for the youth. Mass media institutions came up with different programs for the youth. Perhaps the church may have came up with something, too.

And somehow, the constant prodding empowered the youth even more.

Now that the presidential election is just a few months away, the hottest-up-for-grabs chunk of the market is the youth. Which I think is good. Young Filipinos are highly expected to push for change by standing up for their rights. I’m quite confident that the youth are wiser now.

However, education and career are entirely different stories. Given that the majority of Filipinos are poor, the expectation to finish college and land a high-paying job is quite low. BUT, the expectation to provide for their families is still high. In other countries, independence is promoted. Here, dependence is cultivated. You don’t work for yourself. You work for your parents, your siblings, your relatives… The ties that bind us to our families are quite strong…So strong sometimes that it’s absurd.

I’m not saying that we should entirely wipe that out or that it’s bad. I just hope that we find balance soon. It just breaks my heart to see young people slaving off their lives for other people. I just hope that before we voice out our opinion on what will happen to our country or the world, we’re able to decide what will happen to OUR lives. After all, the revolution starts within.

Good night guys! I hope we all learn from each other.

Leanna, here’s my email 🙂 let me know when you guys will be here! [email protected]

Hey guys,

I just finished your book. I am 33 and am a full time youth pastor as well as a full time seminary student. I really appreciate all that you wrote in your book. It has really changed me and my thoughts about youth ministry. I realized that I am spoon feeding my students and doing everything for them. Even though our ministry has grown and even though I feel that my students grow in their relationship to Christ, the expectations that I have for them were really low. I decided that I was going to raise my expectations. I have given my students the opportunity to take the program and run with it. I told them that they could take care of it front to back and I would just keep handling the spiritual part for a while because I have a plan for all of them. They have decided to take me up on my deal. I am very excited to see what they do. I have a group of leaders that have stepped up to take on the responsibility of the ministry. My first challenge to them was to get your book and start reading it. I feel like the challenge and inspiration that you present will get them even more fired up. I just wanted to tell you that from a pastors standpoint, I really appreciate your book and really appreciate the spiritual aspects that you have put in it. Keep it up. God is raising up a group of radical, responsible, PASSIONATE young people for a revival in Christianity!! I want to be a tool that he uses to make that happen. Thanks again!!

Jabo Thomas
Youth Pastor
Lanes Chapel UMC
Tyler, Texas

To Reid Cimala, Alex & Brett. Reid said on Oct. 22nd, “I have been thinking about it a lot lately in relation to the American church. Why do we as a body of believers, an holy and beloved group of people with unimaginable power inside us in Christ, never shoot for the stars? never do hard things? never live out faith in a way that screams that Jesus is more valuable than our stuff?”
Some may feel that my post on Oct. 19th was rather grandiose when I said to Alex & Brett. “You fellows and the Rebelution are not only helping the rebellion against low expectations in the secular world, but may well have sparked a rebellion against low expatations among those who claim the name of Jesus Christ as Savior. I even have a dream that denominational barriers can begin to crumble, that we may be One in Christ, as He and the Father are one.”
I believe that the statement of Alex & Brett on page 229 of their hardbound book is shooting for the stars. They wrote, “Here is where the Rebelution comes in, because THE MARK OF GENUINE TRANSFORMATION IS TO TRUST GOD ENOUGH TO OBEY HIM [capitalizations are mine.]
If all who claim the name of Christ as Saviour and are truly desiring to do His will, were to agree on these words of the twins, I believe they would insist that this should be a foundational doctrine in a non-denominational group of Christians. those who believe that Christ meant what he promised in John 7:17, that, “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.”
Martin Luther, who stressed that we are saved by faith, not by works, wrote the following remarks in his exposition of John 3:19, “Although faith suffices for salvation and although I attain heaven thrugh faith, it is nonetheless true that good works must issue from this faith: otherwise, faith is not genuine – – – wherever sin still holds sway, there is no forgiveness of sins and no faith in Christ.” (From Luther’s Works, Vol. 22: pg 393-4; Sermons on the Gospel 0f St. John, Chapters 1-4)

Hey Leeanna Miles My name is Tiffany, and i am eleven. Do you think kids like me can be missionary’s my dad said “Yah, Right.” but i feel like God is calling me to singapore were my BFF is.

Cherise said on October 30th, “I am from the Caribbean island of Barbados and let me tell you, low expectations is the norm for believers and non-believers. Young Christians here think once they go to church and look holy there then they can do whatever they like during the week. But I see a rebelution beginning were more and more Christians are becoming radical for Christ and actually walking the walk and not just talking it and doing what they like behind the scenes.”
I believe that true repentance and belief in Jesus Christ require that we live up to the HIGH expectations of our Lord, and I am convinced that we MUST HAVE HIS SPIRIT TO DO THESE THINGS.
Christ said (Matt. 10:37-38) “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.” Again (Luke 14:33): “He that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.” I believe that it is not in our power to meet these HIGH expectations unless we have His Spirit. St. Peter said (Acts 5:33), “We are witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them THAT OBEY HIM.” And Romans 8:9 goes on to say, “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” So we must have His Spirit to do His will. Since the Spirit of Christ accomplishes the work, we have nothing of which we can boast. See Eph. 2:9 about the Spirit being a gift from the grace of God to those who truly have faith in Him.
I believe it behooves each of us to pray earnestly for Christ to show us if we truly desire to do the will of God. Jesus made it clear in Mat. 7:21 that “Not everyone that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaen; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” Our very salvation is at stake.

Hey Guys! I’m Kelsey, from Almeria, Spain. You guys asked what the expectations are like in different countries, and I just couldn’t resist!
In Spain, the teens nowadays have extremely low expectations for life, and nobody expects much from them anyway. In my highschool, for example, one of the girls in my class was caught cheating, and instead of getting on her for cheating, the teacher got on her for not knowing how to cheat.
Everyone is just expected to go sleep with everybody, they even hand out numbers for girls to call in case they get pregnant, and need help. When they heard that I was going to keep myself entirely for my husband, they just couldn’t understand and thought that I was a nun!
I’ve also noticed that kids talk back to their parents as if it were no big deal. They think that honoring your parents is old fashioned, and that they know what’s best for themselves. I find it really hard to understand that the parents themselves expect less than anyone out of their own kids.
Church is also perceived as old fashioned and boring to them. Even the Catholic Churches are almost empty on Sundays! The expectations are so low (but I guess this is just Cathlic. . .) that if you get baptized as a 6 month old and do your first comunion when you’re 8, you’re good to go!
Here it’s all, “live life today, and get everything right tomorrow.” (but as you can guess, they never do!). I think that teens here, and all over the world are in need of a revival. They need God more than ever, and they just can’t see it.
If you ever find time, please pray for the rebelutionaries here in Almeria. Even though we’re not many, I know that God can use anyone in anyway to accomplish anything he wants to, and that includes us!
Alex, Brett and all of the others: Thankyou so much for everything you do, I know you hear it a lot, but you guys are doing an excelent job! Keep your eyes on Jesus!

P.S.- Have you ever considered doing something on here in Spanish? I don’t know if you will ever be able to do a conference here in Spain, but I think that even if you can’t get over here, the teens would be really encouraged by this website if only they could understand it! Especially the modesty survey, and the “Do Hard Things” entries! If you ever wanted to, or needed help translating stuff, my sister and I could translate some things, and maybe even get the Spanish teens excited in doing some hard things for Christ! Well, just an idea!

On Nov. 13th, Kelsy Rose from Spain said, “If you ever find time, please pray for the rebelutionaries here in Almeria. Even though we’re not many, I know that God can use anyone in anyway to accomplish anything he wants to, and that includes us!”
What a great request that is!! I personally believe that God answers the prayers of all who “hunger and thirst after righteousness,” regardless of where they live on this planet. Christ said in Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled.”
I truly believe that the “Doing Hard things” blog can be an instrument for conveying the high expectations of our Lord and Saviour to people like Kelsey who earnestly desire to do the will of God, and that He will make arrangements for her and others like her to be given the gift of the Holy Ghost “to them that OBEY Him,” Acts 5:32.
Kelsey said that she and her sister could help translate some things into Spanish. What a great thing it would be to translate some of the blogs which target the high expectations of our Saviour into Spanish for her friends who may not be proficient in English. Please e-mail me, [email protected], if I can be of any personal help.

Ooops oh yah and i am also known as Diary Writer i change names k?

Nikita asks if there is such a thing as a liberal Christian. Jesus said, “If we love Him we will keep His commandments” – John 14. Peter said in Acts 55:32 that God gives the Holy Ghost to them “that obey Him.” So how can we claim to be Christians when we openly break His commandments? We need to pray that Christ will show us whether we desire to do His will at all cost. Certainly we all make mistakes in our Christian walk, but I don’t believe we can blatantly continue to break His commandments and claim that we have the Holy Spirit.

Yah im really sad about all that……

Thoughtful and interesting, thank you. I grew up in manilla but moved to england at such a young age I can hardly remember anything apart from the delicious food. I finally found some authentic Filipino recipes if you want to take a look, I thought I’d share it with you!

Thanks for sharing.. Regards.

When I purchased the building at 7578 El Cajon Blvd. it looked nothing
like you guys recall seeing. The whole reason was to have one large
recording studio. We Did That. The Music will always Live On from…
Straita Head Sound Corp., in the many Albums and Singles that are still on the market. I am happy to have had a place that we all liked going.
In fact, I lived there an the 3rd floor, Yep that’s correct. Gary S.

I was looking through some of your posts on this site and I think this website is real informative ! Keep on posting .

Carolyn Monroe a de gros nibards exhibe sa petite chatte rasée devant un black qui a une bite énorme qui qui ne pense qu’a l’enculer comme une chienne. La blonde aime se faire enculer comme une chienne, aussi elle lui donne son cul et le black lui enfonce sa grosse bite très profond et commence à lui défoncer le cul, la chienne aime ça avant de ce faire éjaculer sur le visage.

pimpin