Friday Review (1/12/24)

Each week we compile a list of helpful articles from other sites, in a variety of categories, for youth workers to read, reflect on, and/or discuss with parents and volunteers. If you have any articles you’d like to suggest, we’d love for you to share those in the Youth Pastor Theologian Facebook group. That’s a great way to bring them to our attention and to discuss them with like-minded youth workers! (Inclusion in this list does not imply complete agreement with the publishing source, but we have found these articles to be beneficial.)

Youth Ministry

When Teenagers Choose Sports or the Arts Over Youth Group, by Matt Brown (Rooted)

As youth ministers, our Great Shepherd has given us responsibility for our students (Heb. 13:20; 1 Pet. 5:2). One day, he will call us to give an account for our sheep, including the wayward ones. This can sometimes be a scary thought, especially when we see kids who are missing youth group week after week. Here are several considerations as we lean into our calling to shepherd the students in our ministries who attend only sporadically.

Kids and Their Bodies in 2024, by Walt Mueller (CPYU)

I can’t imagine what it’s like to navigate puberty in today’s world. Television, film, and social media is pounding them with thousands of images and messages daily, each one contributing to a set of appearance standards that become the benchmark for being normal, acceptable, likeable, and lovable. Parents can and must help kids navigate this confusing new transition of rapid physical growth by playing the following roles:

Biblical & Theological Studies

Does Church History Matter? The Rise and Fall of What the West Once Was, by Hank Hanegraaf (Christian Research Institute)

On this introductory episode Fr. John Strickland provides an overview of his analysis and answers the question of whether or not church history matters with a resounding yes, while encouraging Christians to seek the solution to our current cultural decline by returning to the deep past of early Christendom—the age of paradise.

Cultural Reflection/Contextualization

Anthony Edwards and His Troubling Decisions, by Daniel Darling (World Magazine)

Abortion on demand is a symptom of the sexual revolution, which has severed sexuality from covenant faithfulness within marriage and from responsible fatherhood. Abortion has given young men a convenient way to escape fatherhood. Thus, every day babies are killed on the altar of convenience. This incident shows the value of pregnancy resource centers, who offer compassionate alternatives to women who want to keep their babies. And it shows the urgent need to train and equip young men toward covenant marriage and responsible fatherhood.

Stop Speaking Christianese, Please, by Alan Shlemon (Stand to Reason)

Remember, as an ambassador for Christ, a key role is to tell people God’s message of reconciliation. Therefore, make sure people understand what you’re saying in words that are clear to them. Stop speaking Christianese. You want people to understand God’s message to them so they can respond.

Pastoral Ministry

Dear Pastor... Don’t Undervalue the Sacraments, by Kevin P. Emmert (Crossway)

Yet sola Scriptura must not be confused with nuda Scriptura (bare Scripture), or solo Scriptura (only Scripture), the flawed idea that Scripture can be understood outside any church context or that other sources have no bearing on the task of theology, which necessarily informs our worship and living. Even though Scripture is the chief means that God uses to nourish us and draw us closer to himself, it is not the only means he uses to do so.

Don’t Let Yourself Be ‘Cured of Churchgoing’, by Mia Staub (Christianity Today)

In all this, I want to remind those suffering from church homelessness—especially my fellow young adults and single people—that you are not alone. More than that, you don’t have to be content with this loneliness. You can be resilient and find the family God has promised you. And every time we make the decision and effort to show up for service on a Sunday morning, our very presence in the house of God means the devil has failed to cure us of churchgoing.

Family & Parents

But We Did Everything Right: Reflections on Parenting “By the Book”, by Katie Polski (Rooted)

I entered parenthood intending to do it “right:” take them to church regularly, keep the sugar to a minimum (except on planes), do daily devotions, and provide stability with an array of opportunities. I checked off all the boxes. So, when a child showed signs of spiritual doubting, I became unduly anxious. When a child rebelled against my rules, I felt utterly lost and confused. And when a child chose a different path than what I deemed good, I became resentful.

Taking the Long View Revolutionized My Parenting, by Laura Spaulding (The Gospel Coalition)

Eventually, I realized “right” didn’t mean Pinterest parenting or a one-size-fits-all formula guaranteeing lifelong godliness or success. And yet redefining parenting success, godliness, or the “right way” based on cultural trends only promises more confusion and guilt for weary parents. Nobody benefits, least of all the next generation, when anyone besides the Lord—the only perfect Parent—defines the ideal.

Help! I’m Raising a Legalist, by Ginger M. Blomberg (Crossway)

As Christian parents, we want our kids to do the right things. Some of us have found, though, that in trying to avoid raising Herdmans, we are inadvertently raising Alice Wendlekens, kids who follow the rules not out of love but for control. How do we teach our children to be discerning, both to recognize and to do right, but at the same time to show God’s love and care for the imperfect people around them?

From YPT this week

Leading as a Shepherd and a Sheep, by Bryan Barrineau

What does it mean for a youth pastor to lead as a shepherd and a sheep?