Friday Review (9/20/24)
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
5 Things You Need to Know About Gen Z in 2024, from Barna
For leaders, pastors and parents who are in close proximity to Gen Z, here are the five things you need to know about this generation:
When It’s Time to Leave Your Current Youth Ministry Position, by Bradley Blaylock (Rooted)
Like most youth ministers, I loved my students. The idea of telling them I was leaving made me want to crawl into a hole and disappear. I can’t promise I was the greatest seminary student ever—but I don’t remember the class on how to tell the teenagers you have spent a few years ministering to that you might not ever see them again.
Biblical & Theological Studies
4 Truths about Rest from Creation, by Beau Landers (Center for Faith & Culture)
Creation (Genesis 1–2) provides God’s blueprint for humanity. In six days, the God of the universe created and gave purpose to all of life according to his glorious design. And then, when everything was “good” and all was “completed,” God “rested” on the seventh day (Gen 2:3–4). In a world filled with chaos, there are at least four truths we can learn from this account:
Seeing Dignity Instead of Misery Among the Poor, by Amy Straub (A Life Overseas)
Material wealth isn’t wrong in itself, but it comes with unique blind spots and temptations. God doesn’t require us to repent of our wealth, and material blessings shouldn’t incite feelings of guilt. But in order to thrive spiritually, we must reject the belief that wealth brings joy, and instead trust the God who says we can be content without it.
The Trinity Is Not a Team, by Matthew Y. Emerson and Brandon D. Smith (Crossway)
The eternal communion of Father, Son, and Spirit is the grounds for our communion with him and one another. Our triune God, simple and perfect for all of eternity, has always been the one God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Cultural Reflection & Contextualization
Tua, Youth Sports, & the Brain, by Walt Mueller (CPYU)
While most of us don’t have kids playing professional football, we do have kids who play youth football, along with other sports that include the potential for blows to young, developing heads and the brains those heads hold inside. With that in mind, I want to offer some thoughts here on a recent bit of research regarding youth sports and non-concussive impacts. . . all put together in ways that we hope will help you think Christianly about the best course to take with your kids in light of this advancing body of research and the related concerns.
Pastoral Ministry
Pursue Healthy Eldership, by Murray Capill (The Gospel Coalition)
The elder-led church will only be effective when these concerns drive the elders’ conversations and when their work is undertaken not as detached directors but as godly men active in church life and engaged in people’s lives.
Are You a Pastor Who Hurts People? Six Diagnostic Questions, by Jonathan Threlfall (9Marks)
In fact, I believe this is how most hurt happens: not when a pastor deliberately plots to make his people suffer, but when he occupies his heart with concerns and interests other than his personal relationship with Christ and the central task of caring for Christ’s flock.
Family & Parents
Storytelling: The Parenting Tool You Didn’t Know You Needed, by Betsy Childs Howard (The Gospel Coalition)
What if I told you there’s another tool you can add to your parenting tool belt? One that wouldn’t replace any of the other tools but, like a corkscrew, would make some hard jobs easier? Parents, let me recommend to you the art of storytelling.
From YPT this week
YPT Podcast ep.74: Strengthening the Senior Pastor/Youth Pastor Relationships with Cody Busby
In this podcast, we talk with Cody Busby (Mike’s pastor) in order to encourage and support healthy senior/youth pastor relationships.
Teaching the Broader Gospel: Redemption by Jason Engle
Explore how the gospel's redemptive power unfolds in past, present, and future tenses. Discover how understanding these aspects deepens our grasp of salvation and aligns our lives with God’s grand plan.