Friday Review (4/4/25)
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
How One Gen Zer Is Gaining Biblical Literacy the Old-Fashioned Way, by Ben LeBlanc (The Gospel Coalition)
The phone-free environment that allowed Summit students to dig deep into God’s Word is the exception. For most young people, the digital age has created a world hostile to reading generally and Bible reading specifically.
Spring Training in Student Ministry: The Critical Role of Parent Discipleship and how to Strengthen It, by Zac Workun (Lifeway Research)
How do we equip parents to take the lead in discipling their kids? Here are some practical ways churches can come alongside families and make parent discipleship a reality.
Biblical & Theological Studies
You Are Not Your Theology, by Brittany Allen (Treasuring Christ)
It is good to have good doctrine; it is better when good doctrine leads us to worship Jesus. Our theology didn’t save us, Jesus did. Our theology didn’t free us from sin, Jesus did. Our theology is not our identity, Jesus is.
Why Are There Four Gospels?, by Ben Hicks (Proclaim & Defend)
Some people have wondered why we have four accounts of Jesus – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Others have been bothered that these accounts are so close (especially Matthew, Mark, and Luke), and yet there are important differences. Why four accounts and not just one? If we have four accounts, why do they sound different?
Cultural Reflection & Contextualization
War of Stories: How Your Entertainment Shapes You, by Greg Morse (Desiring God)
Television shows and movies are like sermons. They teach. They illustrate. They exhort. They persuade. The productions that possess a conviction beyond profit have a truth they mean to impart, an impulse they mean to cultivate, a reflex they mean to train.
Fandom and the Way of Christ, by Chad Huffman (Center for Faith & Culture)
There are some ways in which fandom can become fanatical. But while fandom can sometimes become tribal, trivial, or idolatrous, it often reflects the same search for truth and beauty that we find in Christianity. The point then is not whether fandom and spirituality can coexist, but how they can illuminate one another.
Pastoral Ministry
How to Preach in 20 Challenging Steps, by Jonathan M. Threlfall
I’ve heard it said that to preach, you must: Read yourself full. Write yourself clear. Pray yourself hot. Preach yourself empty. I appreciate the elegance and simplicity of this scheme, but as anyone who has tried to preach knows, there’s a lot more to it than that.
How Not to Handle a Pastoral Succession, by Caleb Morell (Crossway)
Pastoral transitions are fraught with difficulty, compounded by the length and public prominence of the outgoing pastor. The experience of K. Owen White at Metropolitan Baptist Church, though humorous in retrospect, is a cautionary tale for churches navigating pastoral transitions.
Family & Parents
Finstas, Rinstas, and the Teenage Art of Selective Authenticity, from Growing Young Disciples
This is not new. In fact, teenagers have long lived dualistically, maintaining separate identities depending on their environment. There has often been a sacred-secular divide, where church and faith belong in one compartment, and everything else—school, friendships, social media—lives in another. But what is new is the digital nature of it.
Teaching Kids to Read and Love the Bible, by Landry Holmes (Lifeway Research)
Regardless of the format—print or digital—as children spend time in God’s Word and receive God’s salvific gift through Jesus—the Word—they’ll grow in their love of the Scriptures. One of the ways we can foster that love is by providing each child in our churches with a physical copy of the full-text Bible, along with devotional books and Bible reference resources designed for kids.
From YPT this week
YPT Podcast ep.98: Building a Culture of Question-Asking in Youth Ministry with Valerie O’Brien
Teenagers have lots of questions. How do we engage those questions and cultivate a ministry culture where they ask and discuss them with their youth leaders?
Personal Discipleship in Youth Ministry by Nick Hartman
Personal discipleship is about taking a group of younger believers and intentionally guiding them toward growth. What’s that look like and how can we do it?
Leaving Your Student Ministry Well by Bryan Barrineau
Leaving well begins on day one. Here are six key lessons I’ve learned about transitioning out of a student ministry.