Friday Review (3/28/25)
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
The Sons of Sceva and Gen Z’s Spiritual Anxiety, by Cyril Chavis Jr. (The Gospel Coalition)
Christianity will only become compelling to a post-Christian culture when people realize that Jesus’s demand for exclusive worship comes coupled with Jesus’s demand to trust him for security amid life’s threats. This powerful Jesus melts away the spiritual anxiety that animates our religious pluralism.
Five Exhortations for Discipling Teenagers in Your Youth Ministry, by Kathryn Eckhardt (Rooted)
In the past seven years of serving in youth ministry as a young adult, the Lord has taught me many things that helped to equip me for that conversation before small group. Here are five exhortations for youth ministers as we disciple teenagers.
Biblical & Theological Studies
What Does the Bible Teach About Sexuality?, by Christopher Yuan (Ligonier)
To understand biblical sexuality, it’s essential to consider both the biblical proscriptions—God’s “no”—and the biblical prescriptions—God’s “yes.” A comprehensive understanding of what the Bible teaches about sexuality requires a well-rounded and thoughtful theology on the subject. At its core, a proper theology of sexuality must begin with the foundation of marriage.
Engaging with “Practicing the Way”: Nine Thoughts on John Mark Comer’s Best Seller, by Daniel Schreiner (9Marks)
I wish that Comer would have used his engaging writing and sharp cultural analysis to persuade readers of the authority of the Scriptures and the necessity of the cross. The result could have been an excellent discipleship tool for following the Jesus of the Bible. Instead, I was left with a Jesus that would make for a great life coach, but not the Savior and Lord as revealed in God’s Word.
Cultural Reflection & Contextualization
We Are Not Númenóreans, by Pierce Taylor Hibbs (Moments That Make Us)
If the Númenóreans were offered Christ, they wouldn’t have wanted him. That’s because they wanted something else more. They wanted to find a way around death, despite the impossibility.
Wokeness as a Tax on Human Nature, by Samuel D. James (Digital Liturgies)
As long as the American Left is beholden to a performative surprise that people aren’t boycotting Snow White, the American Right will make a lot of emotional sense to people that identity politics say it shouldn’t make sense to. The Woke Left has not so much abandoned the self-evident realities of human nature as it taxed it. And we all know what red-blooded Americans think of taxation without representation.
Pastoral Ministry
Pastors, What Do We Owe Our Congregations?, by Daniel Jung (SOLA Network)
We might never know how long we will be parish ministers, but we do know that our calling will extend far beyond the pulpit. Taking the time to answer this question will help us discern if our call will keep us in the pews of a church, or take us to the aisles of Home Depot.
Prioritize Culture over Calendar in Women’s Ministry, by Amy Hornbuckle (The Gospel Coalition)
We should consider feedback from women in our churches as we make ministry plans. But not all expectations need to become a reality. In my years serving in women’s ministry, I’ve come to see that the culture of a ministry is more important than the calendar of events.
Family & Parents
Building the Habit of Family Worship, by Esther Shin Chuang (Christianity Today)
Growing up in the Asian church, I thought worship belonged in the church. Now I’m bringing it into our home.
Is Permissive Parenting a Sign of Civilizational Decline?, by Chap Bettis (The Disciple-Making Parent)
And that brings us to our current cultural moment. As we look through both of the sin lists, we can see many of these qualities on the rise. So, it is not surprising that we should also find parenting philosophies that allow and even explain away disobedience in children.
From YPT this week
YPT Podcast ep.97: Jesus is Worth It with Chris Morphew
How do we help youth follow Jesus when life and faith feels confusing? Chris Morphew joins the podcast to share about how to help then discover the following Jesus is Worth It!
Teaching Youth About the Exclusivity of Christ by David Manuel Correa
Gone are the days when we could take it for granted that students might believe without questioning that Jesus is the way, the truth, the life, and that no one comes to the Father except through Him. How should youth workers respond?
Better Than You Think by Chris Morphew
If you ask most followers of Jesus what they think is going to happen to them when they die, they’ll tell you that they’re going to go to heaven to be with Jesus.