Spread your wings and soar

The worst of times? Perfect timing!

The preface to Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities says: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness...".

Today's scientific and technological civilization has reached an unprecedented level, and the exploration of Mars has reached the point of studying specific plans for "human immigration." Google's Alpha Go Zero goes a step further, using artificial intelligence (AI) to defeat the human world Go champion. It can learn Go by itself and upgrade itself without any human guidance, and its Go combat power far exceeds that of humans. Google is also applying this technology to related fields, and AI and 5G will become the technological forefront of the era.

However, a small new coronavirus in 2020 has infected more than 30 million people around the world and nearly one million people have died by mid-September. Various countries and regions have drastically suspended work and school, closed cities, and stagnated the economy. The impact has even exceeded 2008 financial crisis.

The COVID-19 epidemic has impacted all walks of life and affected everyone, especially the younger generation. They are in the golden age of learning, but due to the suspension of classes, they have lost face-to-face contact with friends, classmates, and teachers, and all activities are online. However, the Internet is full of distractions and temptations. Many children are caught off guard. In order to relieve stress, they become addicted to online games or spend a lot of time on various social media (such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc.). Many people's concentration and learning efficiency have declined rapidly, which worries parents.

How to better understand, lead, and shepherd young people in this period of rapid change, so that this seemingly ignorant and corrupt era can be transformed into an excellent opportunity to gain wisdom?

Where does understanding and acceptance come from?

Serving teenagers in the church and being a parent of two teenagers, I feel that it is extremely difficult to educate the next generation. Thank you God for using many brothers and sisters who love me to rescue me from the hardship caused by the death of my wife in 2015. He allowed me to see the needs of the young people of this generation, and I used what I learned in Executive Leadership to serve the younger generation. In particular, it provides a platform for young people with single parents to receive equipment and training, hoping to be used by God in the future.

Young people in the postmodern era are generally very independent and opinionated, not afraid of challenges or authority, and are willing to make breakthroughs and seek innovation. Due to the development of Internet technology, all kinds of knowledge, theories, and information are now available through Google and Baidu.

Fragmented learning, coupled with the use of recommendation engines by social software such as Facebook and Tik Tok, push a large amount of shallow content to teenagers, making them no longer "lack of knowledge" but "information overload". Therefore, it is even more difficult to follow the instructions of parents or seniors because they are already accustomed to speaking out on social media. Therefore, in the recent "Black Lives Matter" wave, which calls for facing up to racial injustice and police reform, a large number of young people have appeared.

Why are teenagers unwilling to communicate with their parents? In fact, the main reason is not that games occupy their attention, nor is it that social media such as TikTok have corrupted their minds. But they discovered at some point that parents, teachers, and spiritual elders who they once respected and trusted very much would also behave inconsistently and have double standards (for example, not letting their children watch mobile phones or social media, but they themselves had no restraint) , even unwilling to admit mistakes and refuse to correct them, causing cracks in the original mutual trust.

The younger generation can no longer feel love and understanding when interacting with parents and tutors. In the past, when parents cared and cared for their children, they would feel like the warmth of the sun; once upon a time, children would only see the dazzling sun (rules, harsh punishments) and not feel the warmth. The original attachment between the two generations began to become alienated. From then on, the children began to seek other groups where they could be accepted and understood.

Under such circumstances, if parents still hold the attitude of "do as I say" or "just leave it to the church" regarding the transmission of faith, it is no wonder that the children will think "this is the faith of their parents". Or it has “nothing to do with my studies or life”, so I am unwilling to think deeply about my faith, and even stopped going to church altogether after I left home to go to college.

Help them spread their wings and soar!

Feeling this, in 2019, with the support of Pastor Huang Lixun, the head of the single parent ministry of True Love International Family Association, the author and two graduates from graduate schools at the University of Southern California and the University of California, Riverside, invested three months to Intensive training for five teenagers from single-parent families to participate in the World Artificial Intelligence Competition for Youth (WAICY) held in Pittsburgh. Both participating teams won first place in their respective age groups, and one team also won the overall championship with the highest score.

What today's teenagers need is not just knowledge instruction. They feel that they can "possess" "knowledge" on Google and Baidu; what they need is "loving care" and "practical experience", especially to recover from difficulties. The method and perseverance to stand up. Only when parents and counselors understand their true needs, enter their hearts, let them feel care and love, and truly understand and accept themselves, will teenagers open their ears and listen to the teachings we want to convey from God. President Roosevelt once said: "No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care about them."

In today's "stay-at-home economy" environment, the church must consider adjusting its direction and taking the initiative in pastoring young people. Rather than “bringing” young people back to the church, we use the latest Internet technologies, including Zoom Conference, Online Small Group, and Daily Bible Study App, to enter their daily lives; to “bring” the church into their lives, truly Realize that "faith is life, life is faith."

Through this epidemic, God has opened the church walls and connected through the Internet to reach many people who had not attended church before. Although it seems to be the worst environment, it is also the best time to preach the gospel and expand the kingdom of God.

Beginning in March 2020, with the support of President Ye Gaofang, Pastor Huang Lixun, and Elder Liao Hejian of the True Love International Family Association, the Uprising youth fellowship was established, and currently meets online. The purpose of the fellowship is to build a community that loves each other, glorifies God, and cultivates outstanding young leaders who can apply AI; the action plan is Learn, Grow, Apply, and Serve.

The goal of the fellowship is not only “Use AI for Good” but also “Use AI for God”. God uses the most advanced AI technology to win and create the next generation.

Among the members of the 2019 championship team, John Liu and Kevin Liu will soon enter a very good university in California, majoring in computer and engineering. Their training and competition experience for WAICY, as well as the process of training the next batch of participating students, have become an important part of their lives. Not only did the two young people understand the knowledge of AI, but their lives were gradually changed by God. While serving other children, they also developed humble leadership qualities. They understand better that even the most advanced AI technology has many shortcomings, allowing them to walk with the Lord with a humble heart while mastering the latest technology. The team they coached in 2020 is designing an AI robot to provide emotional support to assist people who need emotional care during the COVID-19 epidemic but cannot get it from real-life situations.

▲The author (first from right) and assistant coach Kevin Tang (first from left) intensively trained five teenagers (from second left: John Liu, Kevin Liu, Timothy Chen, Perry Huang, Dorothy Chen) to participate in the "International Youth Artificial Intelligence Competition". This is the championship team with the highest score overall. (Photo courtesy: Chen Dejian)

See → Feel → Change

In the traditional teaching model that only focuses on explaining the meaning of scriptures, young people often find that they know a lot of teachings but cannot do it, and knowledge cannot be connected with experience. They may wonder: If God’s words are the truth, why can’t they be put into practice or used in life? How can such truth be worth learning and believing?

Professor John Kotter of Harvard University is known as the "Father of Leadership and Change Process". He found that the traditional "analyze, think, change" (analyze, think, change) model often encounters bottlenecks in action; many good concepts, methods, and teachings remain at the level of the brain (thinking) and cannot be truly implemented. For action, it cannot bring about changes in a virtuous cycle.

Therefore, he proposed the "see, feel, change" model: through real eyesight and personal experience of the effects of change, people will be more willing and easier to implement it.

When establishing this Wings Spread training platform, we take the Bible as the foundation and the teachings and practices of the Lord Jesus as a “servant leader” as a model (refer to Matthew 23:11-12). When young people see the service attitude and actions of counselors and feel how practical help can be given to people in need (such as single-parent families and other disadvantaged groups) through the use of AI, these people can also hear the gospel. And feel the love of God, then you can accept the truth of "the greater must serve the younger" with all your heart, change yourself, continue to practice, and bring about more changes.

At each Wings-Spreading Fellowship meeting, the counselor, Elder Liao Hejian, teaches leadership and character based on the Bible, and then moves into AI teaching, training and practice. The entire process is based on a "project-based learning" model, emphasizing practical operations. While training in AI skills, we also train other tutoring staff, as well as young teacher-like leadership staff. Team operation is "learning by teaching; learning by doing"; as 2 Timothy Chapter 2:2 says, teach "those who are faithful to teach others."

In addition to online fellowship, we also often care for children and parents through email, WeChat, and contact platforms such as Zoom, LINE, and Discord. We have even been contacted by parents and groups outside of Los Angeles, including youth fellowship leaders in China and parents in Canada, hoping to have similar "leadership + artificial intelligence" training in their local areas.

The younger generation does not need to be a generation that has left faith; the Internet age does not need to be the worst era. If the older generation can "teach to learn; learn by doing", have a pastoral heart for young people, see and feel the impact of making good use of tools and resources, and humbly work and walk with the Lord, You can change your own thinking and behavior, and also bring about changes in young people.

Pray that the younger generation will become what Philippians 2:15 says: “That you may be blameless and blameless, children of God without blemish in a crooked and perverse generation. You may appear as lights in the midst of this generation.” Shine."

Chen Dejian,dejian.chen@gmail.com, now works as a senior computer cloud designer at Oracle Computer Company. He once served as the technical director of Southern China Region of Computer Association and the strategic alliance director of Asia-Pacific region of the US headquarters. Master of Executive Leadership, Tiny Habit Life Coach certified by Professor Dr. BJ Fogg of Stanford University. Tutor and head coach of International True Love Family Association’s Wings-Spreading Youth Fellowship.