Friday Review (1/27/23)
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
Discipling the Difficult Teenager, by Matt Polk (Rooted)
When we have the mind of Christ towards our students, we see them for who they really are—image bearers of God, loved, broken, and needy. This mindset shift adds needed fuel to the fire of our mission of discipleship. It helps us see all of our students as worthy recipients of our devotion.
Biblical & Theological Studies
The Many Odd Uses and Abuses of Matthew 18, by Keith Evans (Gentle Reformation)
While I am using a bit of playful hyperbole in the above illustration, a similar oddity happens when disagreements and conflict within the body of Christ arise—Matthew 18 seems to become the solitary text of scripture able to be discussed. It is as though the whole enterprise hinges upon that single verse!
How to Read Hebrew Poetry, by Matthew H. Patton (Ligonier)
Poetry stretches the boundaries of language and makes great demands on readers to fill in the gaps. But if God thought it best to reveal so much of Scripture in poetry, we need to become good readers of it. Here are four tips for reading Old Testament poetry well.
Cultural Reflection & Contextualization
The Dehumanizing Effects of Constant Performance, by Chris Martin (Terms of Service)
Ultimately, we are led to live in constant performance mode. Why? Because we need to maintain the awesome image of ourselves that our audience projects onto us, and in order to maintain that, we must create the kind of content they long to consume.
Lesson for the Church from the Barnes & Noble Turnaround, by Trevin Wax (The Gospel Coalition)
Surveying the cultural trends, we might be tempted to put our faith in something else, to focus our attention not on the Word and the sacraments but on extraneous things—our coffee, our music, or our programming. Over time, pastors in the fields of labor lose any sense of being a leader in worship and become managers of religious dispensaries, as if they oversee a supermarket of spiritual goods and services.
Pastoral Ministry
What Makes for a Good Sermon? {Acts 2:22–42}, by William Boekestein (Core Christianity)
The sermons we hear have their own contexts. And if we truly preach “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27) every sermon will be different. But they will all have at least three things in common with this one.
When Your Job Feels Meaningless, by Reagan Rose (Redeeming Productivity)
Whatever your calling, you can be made more useful by learning how to set goals, create a schedule, or manage a to-do list. It doesn’t matter if you’re a homemaker, pastor, student, professional, or entrepreneur, the necessary trellis work of personal productivity can only make you more effective in the vine work of fulfilling God’s unique calling on your life.
Family & Parents
Be Your Own Unique Style of Grandparent, by Barbara Lee Harper (Stray Thoughts)
They say that most of what we teach our children is “caught” rather than “taught.” I think that’s probably especially true of grandchildren. We won’t have as much directly instructive time with them as their parents do. But hopefully, through our love, our lives, our testimony, and our words, we can have a great influence on them for God.
On Letting Your Kids Go, by Tim Challies
A friend recently asked for some guidance for parents whose children are leaving home, perhaps to go to school or perhaps to join the military or perhaps just to begin an independent life. “What counsel might you give them” she asked? I thought I’d take a few minutes to consider it. Here’s what I came up with.
Recovering Proverbs 22:6 for a New Generation, by Chap Bettis (The Disciple-Making Parent)
Because of this past misunderstanding, this verse has fallen out of favor. I have not heard any parent mention it in a very long time. This is unfortunate. It is still God’s holy and helpful word. I would suggest a younger generation needs to study, meditate on, and recover the importance of Proverbs 22:6. How?
From YPT this week
Book Review: Superheroes Can’t Save You, by Todd Miles by Andrew Slay
Superheroes Can’t Save You provides youth workers with an outstanding resource to teach students theology (Christology, in particular).
YPT Podcast Episode 24: Cultivating Faith That Lasts (Danny Kwon) with Danny Kwon
Every parent and every youth pastor wants their teenager to continue walking with Jesus throughout adulthood. What leads to that and what can we do about it?