Friday Review (3/4/22)
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
Helping Students Cope with Climate Anxiety by Dave Wright (Rooted)
How do we best serve a generation that is fearing the worst for the environment? Or even worse, fearing an apocalyptic future? Can we even approach this overly political and highly polarized subject?
Biblical/Theological Studies
Theology Cannot Save Us by Russell Moore (Christianity Today)
But if we’ve seen anything in the evangelical meltdown of the past five years, it’s that theology is not enough. And left on its own, theology can become just as much of a prop for a cultural, politicized Christianity as anything else.
Putin, the West, and the Myth of Progress by Trevin Wax (The Gospel Coalition)
Why do so many leaders speak as though they could simply will a better future into existence, as if the calendar itself might help push against “medieval” mindsets and ensure our journey toward more sophisticated and civilized heights? Because of the Enlightenment’s unshakable faith in progress.
Cultural Reflection & Contextualization
The Virtuous Cycle of Church and Culture by J.K. Wall (Gentle Reformation)
We can best understand God's original design for the realms of church and culture as a virtuous cycle. And one of the most famous examples of the virtuous cycle in action is online retailer Amazon.
War in Our Pockets by Chris Martin (Terms of Service)
Every single part of the human experience from dining to schooling to entertaining to dating to wedding to dying has become content. Everything is content, and when everything is content, nothing feels important—it feels like entertainment.
Pastoral Ministry
Bursting Christian Bubbles (All Nations Church Ilford)
However happy we may or may not feel in our Christian bubble, a lot of people out there are still on the broad road that leads to destruction. Jesus Christ hasn’t come to rule over a Christian bubble, but over heaven and earth.
Community Is Not Discipleship by Andrew Cross (Lifeway)
While 78% of churchgoers say they’ve developed significant relationships with people at church, only 48% say they intentionally spend time with other believers to help them grow in their faith. It seems there has been a trend for churchgoers to meet together but not grow together spiritually. Doesn’t that defeat the purpose?
Dear Pastor... You Need to Recognize Your Limits by Paul David Tripp (Crossway)
If you’re a leader, you don’t know everything, you can’t do everything, you aren’t completely mature, and you don’t have inexhaustible energy. You are not just a package of strengths, gifts, and experiences; you are also a collection of weaknesses and susceptibilities.
Family/Parents
Ask Rooted: How Do the Ordinary Tasks of Family Life Reveal the Gospel? (Rooted)
There are many such rhythms in parenting—small, repetitive tasks we do in service of our children, which God uses by His grace to shape our own souls as well. Each member of our family is being shaped not only by habits of faith, but also by the tenor and tone of our family routines.
When You Want to Know How to Parent Your Children by Christina Fox (Core Christianity)
There are no steps to follow—no list of “3 Ways to Get Your Child to Take a Nap” or “5 Steps to Smooth Mealtimes” or “How to Get Your Teen to Remember to Set His Alarm.” This makes sense, since the Bible isn’t a manual to follow, but a story of God’s redemptive love for his people.
From YPT this week
Discussing the War in Ukraine with Students by Jason Engle
As the world tries to process the events in Ukraine, students are also wondering what’s happening and how they should feel about it. Here are five discussion points for parents and youth workers to help their youth respond in prayer and with faith.
Setting Goals in Youth Ministry by Mike McGarry
How can youth workers lead better by making plans for their ministry around the four key audiences every youth ministry serves? An example is provided.
YPT in Action: Charles Hedman by Charles Hedman
“YPT in Action” is an ongoing series where we hear from various youth workers about what it means for them to be a youth pastor theologian who builds their ministry to students on a biblical foundation. This edition features Charles Hedman (Capital Hill Baptist Church, Washington DC).