Friday Review (2/7/25)
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
Manifesting Your Destiny? Why Teens Need a Better Hope, from Growing Young Disciples
True hope, fulfilment, and success do not come from visualising or manifesting our desires but from trusting in the sovereign God who loves us and leads us. By helping teenagers build their lives on the firm foundation of God’s providence and grace, we equip them to stand strong in a culture that tempts them with self-reliance. Let’s guide them away from the shifting sands of self-help spirituality and onto the solid rock of Christ and His purposes.
Gen Z, Fight ‘Brain Rot’ by Reading Books, by Luke Simon (The Gospel Coalition)
If ours is a “brain rot” culture, then we, as Gen Z Christians, have a unique chance to stand out. In a culture of brain rot, we can be builders.
Youth Minister, Consider Rethinking Your Parent Meetings This Year, by Kyle Hoffsmith (Rooted)
The noun “pastor” is more important than the adjective “youth,” and instead of being a mere program director, God has called us to be a shepherd of our students. Yes, that means we minister to students directly, but it also means we prioritize the parents of these students. Connecting with, caring for, and even discipling parents may sound daunting, but it is an essential aspect of our shepherding students.
Biblical & Theological Studies
10 Things We Get Wrong About the Love of God, by Sam Storms (Crossway)
The love of God, then, is clearly the source or cause of the atoning work of Christ. God does not love people because Christ died for them; Christ died for them because God loved them.
Sin Causes Anxiety, Too, by Casey McCall (Remembrance of Former Days)
Considering this rapid cultural shift, I believe that Christians today need to reclaim sin as a major cause of anxiety and depression even as we affirm Murray’s thesis that it is not the only cause of mental health struggles. It may not even be the most prevalent cause. Nonetheless, we have valid theological reasons to expect a person living in unrepentant sin to feel depressed and anxious.
Cultural Reflection & Contextualization
Iron Sky: Peter Thiel and the Rise of Gay Space Fascism, by Jonathan Cioran (Mere Orthodoxy)
This ideological necromancy gave birth to today’s so-called ‘Dissident’ or ‘New’ Right. An entirely new movement similar to the old alt-right in its focus on the genetic and IQ differences between races and its Nietzschean critiques of liberal society but jettisoning the old alt-right’s bizarre and off-putting optics in exchange for a kulak-friendly embrace of traditional American symbols and mythos.
Pastoral Ministry
No One’s Born to Preach, by David Mathis (Desiring God)
God may indeed make born-again Christians in a moment of regenerative eye-opening, but he doesn’t make preachers like that. He has plenty of craftsman’s patience for the making of his preachers, forming and shaping them over years on end, over decades of experience and private meditation and public practice.
The Vibe Shift: What Does It Mean For The Gospel?, by Stephen McAlpine
Vibes come, vibes go, but human sinfulness remains stubbornly the same. Our duty in this vibe shift will be to present the gospel in as compelling, and counter cultural ways, as we did when we were proclaiming it pre-vibe shift.
Family & Parents
The Church’s Opportunity When ‘Gentle Parenting’ Crashes, by Trevin Wax (The Gospel Coalition)
Diagnosing sin in our kids’ hearts doesn’t strip them of dignity. On the contrary, it dignifies and deepens them. We treat children as moral agents, respect them enough to discipline them in love, and then forgive and restore them.
A Christian Philosophy of Parenting?, by Paul O’Brien (in X)
I propose ignorance, innocence, and over-protection are wrong and foolhardy goals. Parents, instead, should help their kids towards virtue, holiness, and love of Jesus.
From YPT this week
YPT Podcast ep.90: Should I Stay or Should I Go? with Will Standridge
How do you discern whether or not to stay and endure through seasons of tension and conflict, or to move into a new ministry… or an entirely new vocation!
How I’m Teaching the Apostles’ Creed in Youth Group by Andrew Slay
The Creed was written to summarize Christianity’s core teachings, as well as correct errors and common heresies. Here are three reasons I taught it in Youth Group and why you may choose to do the same.