The word “rebel” usually connotes a person who challenges conventional wisdom in a counterproductive way – breaking rules to make a statement. Alex and Brett Harris, 19-year-old brothers, are self-proclaimed rebels, but they’re certainly not antagonists against society, nor are they do-nothing nihilists. Instead, these rebels, who together were the youngest interns ever at the Supreme Court of Alabama, are rebelling against apathy.

When they were 17, they launched the Christian teen Web site TheRebelution.com, which has received more than 16 million hits. At 18, they started a conference series, The Rebelution Tour, which took them across the country and as far as Japan. They even helped organize a grassroots campaign Web site for presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, HucksArmy.com. In April, they published their first book, “Do Hard Things – A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations.” The Church Solutions team was lucky enough to catch up with them and learn more about the faith that drives their rebellion.

CS: At some churches, “youth group” and youth evangelism have become synonymous with video games and pizza parties (and nothing more). What thoughts would you share with churches concerning the role and potential of their youth ministries?

AH: The low expectations our society has for young people have infected everything, including the church. Sometimes it really does seem like the goal is just to entertain the teens. I mean, hey, if they’re at youth group, they’re not doing something else that’s bad, right? But what Brett and I have found is that what teens need, and what they really want, is to be challenged. They want to know who God is and what He’s like. They want doctrine. Meat, not milk, as the Apostle Paul would say.

BH: And it’s exciting, because not only is God waking up the teens, but youth pastors are beginning to catch on as well. We were recently at a gathering of over 100 youth pastors from the biggest churches in Portland, listening to a 35-year veteran of youth ministry say the same thing: Teens aren’t stupid. It’s time to raise the expectations. What people are realizing is that how we’ve been doing it isn’t working, that we’re losing eight out of 10 young people by the end of their first year of college. Pizza party faith doesn’t cut it. Teens want and need a faith, and a God, worth serving, living and dying for. ...