Friday Review (6/30/23)

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.)

editor’s note: this is the final weekly edition of the Friday Review for the ‘22-’23 school year. July and August will feature a monthly review and the Friday Review will return mid-September. Thanks to Alex Tufano for faithfully collecting and writing our Friday Review!

Youth Ministry

Mission trips are an evangelical rite of passage for US teens – but why?, by Caroline Nagel (The Conversation) 

I have been studying short-term missionaries for the past six years. I have interviewed dozens of pastors, trip leaders and young missionaries, and I have had the opportunity to participate in a mission trip in Central America. Through this research, I have learned about why so many young Christians want to go on mission trips and have been struck by their desire to “serve.” Yet, as a geographer, I am concerned by their lack of knowledge about the people and places they visit.

Ask Rooted: What Does Relational Discipleship Look Like During the Summer?, from Rooted 

Between sports, camps, and family vacations, it can be hard to keep up with students. And yet, summer also presents a unique opportunity for more unhurried and intentional discipleship. We asked some Rooted writers how they maintain relationships with students over the summer. We hope their answers encourage and inspire you as you point students to Jesus this summer.

Teens, Let’s Value Church History, by Emma-Cathryne Sloan (The Gospel Coalition) 

As we seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness, it’s good to remember that our historical family in the faith forms a long line of royal priests. We’re bound to our fellow members of the kingdom by our chief cornerstone, Christ. Our study of church history should always lead us to worship the God who does mighty works for his people. What a glorious thing.

Biblical & Theological Studies

10 Things You Should Know about Sanctification, by Margaret Elizabeth Köstenberger (Crossway)

Though work remains to be done in terms of our spiritual growth, the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit involves placing us in a spiritual position of having been cleansed from sin. As believers, we’re set apart for God’s holy use, having experienced regeneration and initial purification. In this way, sanctification works in tandem with justification. Due to the imputed righteousness of Christ, we’re viewed as righteous, and due to the sanctifying work of the Spirit, we’ve been, and are, sanctified, not only as part of an ongoing process, but by virtue of having been placed in a position obtained at the moment of conversion.

Cultural Reflection & Contextualization

Will AI Help or Harm Content Creation?, by Mike Leake (Borrowed Light)

I’ll tell you at the beginning that I don’t know the answer to that question. But I do know that as with every tool, the wise and the foolish will use it differently. Therefore, whether it helps or harms content creation will be determined by which path we take. Will we take the path of fools or the path of the wise?

‘Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall’ Is No Longer a Fairy Tale, by Trevin Wax (The Gospel Coalition)

The 1937 Disney classic shows the mirror mounted on a wall. But other versions of the story show the queen looking into a handheld mirror. Today, imagination is reality. I have a magic mirror in my pocket. And so do you.

Pastoral Ministry

When the Sermon Fizzles Instead of Sizzles, by Tim Challies

And so, on behalf of all the pastors who long to serve their church Sunday by Sunday, I call on all of us to plead with God for power in the pulpit. I call on all of us to make it our responsibility to pray for the preacher and the preaching. I call on all of us to consider that weak and powerless preaching may have as much to do—or even more to do—with the congregation’s lack of prayer than the pastor’s lack of preparation.

13 Pieces of Unconventional Preaching Advice, by Tim Wilson (Gospel-Centered Discipleship) 

What I want to share in this article is the preaching version of marginal gains. I’m assuming you’ve preached a few times and know how to explain a passage and point to Jesus. If you can do that, there are some small things you can do that will make an impact on your preaching. On their own they aren’t huge, but together they can make a difference. 

Family & Parents

What Memorizing Scripture Will Do for Your Kids, by Douglas Sean O’Donnell (Crossway)

One of the neglected spiritual disciplines of our time is Scripture memorization... Whatever the reason, I have written this article to encourage the young and old, especially the young through the counsel of the old, to start now and make memorizing Bible verses a new spiritual discipline—a holy habit that will help you develop a deep and lasting relationship with God.

In Praise of Ordinary, Popsicle-Type Summer Days, by Katie Polski (Rooted)

I hear this sentiment from many parents today, and I often wonder how we got to the point of feeling guilty or anxious over the inability to provide a summer-long “Disney Cruise” for our children. There is nothing wrong with offering extraordinary opportunities for our kids, but a feeling of shame over mere ordinary provisions is a sign that we have bought into a cultural ideal rather than listening to how Scripture exhorts us as parents.

From YPT this week

Church Discipline and Student Ministry, by Jack Fitzgibbons

It can be tempting for youth ministry leaders to avoid discipline as much as possible. We may worry that, because of having to discipline, students may not see us as a safe option to have heart-to-heart conversations. Yet, it's an essential part of the job. If there is no discipline in the ministry, your student ministry's culture will be one of chaos.

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