Friday Review (5/31/24)

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 Are We Handling Generational Differences?, by Stephen Kneale (Building Jerusalem)

 It is easy to look at younger people in the church, or even a world outside the church, and bemoan the fact that they simply do not recognise our greatest hits. Not only can they not sing the tunes because they have never heard them, they don’t recognise the notes we often hit in our preaching either.

What’s Up with Miracles in the Bible? (Tough Questions Teenagers Ask), by Bradley Blaylock (Rooted)

The question is not whether our students have to hold to a specific interpretation of each of the stories in Scripture. Rather, the question is whether our students need to be open to and believe in the Bible’s accounts of miracles.

Biblical & Theological Studies

7 Kinds of Sacrifices, by T. M. Suffield (Nuakh)

Getting your head around the sacrificial system in the Old Testament can be difficult. Here’s my attempt to briefly summarise the various sacrifices.

The Great Dechurching Will Hurt Poor People, by Matthew Loftus (Mere Orthodoxy)

Irrespective of whether you think that the Church should try to transform the world in any particular way, it is inevitable that churches full of Christians will do good. They will care for one another. They will care for poor people. They will provide places where the elderly, sick, and lonely can spend time with other people.

Cultural Reflection & Contextualization

What Believers Can and Can’t Affirm in Those Who Affirm Same-Sex Marriage, by Darrin W. Snyder Belousek (Christianity Today)

Whichever position you might find yourself in, Rebecca McLaughlin’s new book will point you to precisely the place in the Bible where you should begin—with the gospel and Jesus. More about that in a bit.

Understanding the Metamodern Mood, by Brett McCracken (The Gospel Coalition)

Part of it is that social media’s inherent denarratived randomness has powerfully shaped a schizophrenic cultural consciousness. We see the world as we see our scrolling feeds: one random thing after another, ephemeral and quickly forgotten, providing mild amusement and occasional resonance but without an anchoring narrative that offers lasting satisfaction.

BOOK REVIEWS: ‘The Anxious Generation’ & ‘Unlocked: The Real Science of Screen Time’, by Robin Barfield (Church Society)

The dangers and potentials for discipleship and evangelism in a smart-phone-era are enormous. For Christian parents sifting the wisdom the world has to offer on new technology and parenting is critical.

Pastoral Ministry

Three Respectable Sins of Pastors, by Tim Challies

What matters to God is his people—the people he called, created, and redeemed. It is of the utmost importance to him that they are faithfully shepherded by pastors who are willing to deny themselves—to deny their own egos, their own desires, their own visions of success—for the sake of caring for what he values most.

Special Needs Ministry Remains an Untapped Opportunity for Many Churches, by Aaron Earls (Lifeway Research)

While the church may believe they would welcome everyone to participate, those with special needs may not feel welcome unless the church takes active steps to find and remove any hindrances. Peoples said the necessary accommodations can vary from child to child and family to family.

Family & Parents

Three Words for Christian Parents, by Rebekah Matt (Great and Noble Tasks)

When my husband and I look back over all our years of parenthood, with its many mistakes and its many moments of pure joy, we’ve come to a conclusion about what God expected of us as Christian parents, and it’s these three words: Lay the foundation.

Parents, Are You Raising Angry Partisans?, by Casey McCall (Remembrance of Former Things)

We should live in a manner that makes the gospel more intelligible to our children. I wonder, however, if our angry partisanship models the way of the flesh more than the way of Christ. I fear we are making disciples, not of Christ, but of the angry podcast host we play on our way to drop our kids off at school every day. If we’re not careful they are going to conflate the two.

From YPT this week

YPT Podcast ep.73: Preaching that Connects with Matt Kim

Most of us have listened to sermons that were biblically and theologically sound, but they weren’t helpful. In today’s conversation, we want to help youth leaders preach and teach in a way that connects with the youth in your ministry.

Three Biblical Truths About Marriage that Reframe Teen Dating by Foster Toft

How does a biblical understanding of marriage reshape the way Christian teenagers date?