Friday Review (12/15/23)

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

Anxiety and Gen Z: Longing for Deep Peace, by Liz Edrington (Rooted)

Anxiety is an invitation to connection with this daily bread, with the body of Christ, and with the lovely creation God has given to reveal his goodness to us. So let’s invite our students to see what following Jesus looks like in all of its honest, messy, beautiful glory. Let’s invite them to see our daily dependence on the Lord as we hold out the Word of life, trusting he will meet us at every step.

Biblical & Theological Studies

Concupiscence. It’s Not Just About Sex, by Jared Kennedy (The Gospel Coalition)

But in Christian theology, concupiscence isn’t just about sex. The term applies more broadly to disordered inclinations and desires that are wrongly bent in any way—whether they be greedy, lustful, unfairly prejudiced, or selfishly biased. Church history shows us how embracing a Reformed understanding of desire can help Christians today.

Feast on the Bible’s Grammar, by John Piper (Desiring God)

A great deal of emphasis usually is put on figuring out the original intention of the author for his situation first. Then, only after you have done that hard work of interpreting the original meaning in the original setting, you ask the question about whether it has any application to your own life. What you’re drawing attention to when you quoted me is that I have said that this approach can be quite artificial — meaning, it simply won’t work to keep the intention of the author separate from my situation, because my situation may be a part of his intention originally.

Cultural Reflection & Contextualization

3 Things to Consider During Spiritual Conversations with Non-Christians, from Barna

Spiritual openness is widespread right now. Barna data show that 77 percent of U.S. adults believe in God or a higher power, 74 percent would like to grow spiritually and 44 percent are more open to God today than they were before the pandemic. As the holidays approach and opportunities for sharing faith abound, today’s article offers some helpful insights from Barna’s Spiritually Open series.

You Can’t Deepfake In-Person Relationships, by Ian Harber (The Gospel Coalition)

Unfortunately, AI-powered deepfake technology will only become more convincing with time. This trend should be of particular concern for Christians and the church. However, the embodied community of the local church offers a ready solution to this growing problem.

Pastoral Ministry

What Babylon Teaches the Church About Discipleship, by Shanda Fulbright (Cross Examined)

My goal isn’t to change your mind that discipleship is a must when it comes to Christianity. My goal is to get you to think more deeply when it comes to what it means to disciple and be discipled. I’ll start with the claim that discipleship is not isolated to Christianity. And I’ll prove this by using an unconventional source – Babylon.

Nobody Can Know the Trouble You've Seen, by Samuel D. James (Digital Liturgies)

It sure seems to me that most of the virulent rhetoric that seeps into evangelical contexts features participants who penalize (even subconsciously) other people for not having the same ideological autobiography that they have. Is it even possible to dialogue about gender roles without somebody concluding, ten minutes into the whole thing, that the conversation itself is clearly a subtext for normalizing abuse or heresy? 

Family & Parents

Beyond Narnia, Ramona, and Green Gables, by J. D. Peabody (Christianity Today)

For Christian parents, this all raises serious philosophical questions about the place and purpose of stories in the development of a child’s belief system. Should we choose only books that portray or align with Christian values? Is our goal to reflect the realities of the world or to provide a respite from them? When are we rightly safeguarding young minds, and when are we being overly protective?

Just a Stay-At-Home Mom, by Lara D’Entremont (Renewed In Truth) 

Yet we, and most of the world, have wrongly placed our identity. We’ve put our identity and worth into what skills we’ve developed, what titles we’ve been given by others, and what roles we fill. We’ve forgotten a truth the church established hundreds of years ago in a catechism still recited in churches today:

Drawing Near: Loving Your Adult Children and Grandchildren, by Brenda Harstine (Fieldstone Counseling) 

If you feel weary and worn about how to do these things, take heart! Loving your adult children and grandchildren is not meant to be a riddle. Seasons come and go. Relationships may feel fragile and intimidating at times. But our God is not confounded by these complexities, nor is he absent from your burdens.

From YPT this week

YPT Podcast Episode 54: Discipling New Believers with Aaron Armstrong

Discipling new believers is an incredible blessing, but also a challenge. What should they learn and where do we begin?

Service Projects and A Culture of Servanthood in Youth Ministry, by Mike McGarry

Service projects and developing a culture of service in your youth group is an important way to grow students in Christian maturity. Here’s what that looks like and some help to get started.