Friday Review (9/22/23)
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.)
Youth Ministry
Making Youth Group ‘Senior Night’ More Than Once Each Year, by Danny Kwon (Rooted)
Ultimately, as I reflect upon the many years of doing “Senior Night,” there wasn’t a single class of graduating seniors that didn’t want to talk about their futures. Many of these weekly meetings were more organic than planned out, even as we repeatedly shared the gospel encouragement of Matthew 6:33-34. I cherish those gatherings years later as God-given opportunities to invest in our seniors, helping them to “seek first his kingdom.”
Youth Ministry: Our Primary Task, by Walt Mueller (CPYU)
How often we forget and in how many ways have we strayed from this primary task as we engage in youth ministry... There are numerous reasons why the preaching of the Word has diminished in our youth ministry world, but preach the Word we must!
Biblical & Theological Studies
How Jesus Wanted Us to Read His Gospel, by Ashley Anthony (For the Church)
In the next room, strewn across the floor and his high chair, sat his half-eaten lunch. I’ll never understand what makes my toddler desire stale crackers instead of a freshly made sandwich, but he always eats the crumbs off the floor, the bread that seems lesser to me. Often, I’d argue, when we’re reading the Gospels, we also eat the lesser bread.
Cultural Reflection & Contextualization
5 Myths about Mental Illness, by Tom Karel (Crossway)
“You have a mental illness.” This statement borders on terrifying! It brings up many unsettling thoughts and complicated fears in our hearts and minds. This subject is further confused by the many differing opinions swirling around the internet. Moreover, in the post-Christian era in which we live, Christians may wonder if the advice they find is true, scientific, or Biblical?
Bridging Generational Divides with Jean Twenge, with Russell Moore
Twenge, a professor at San Diego State University, and Moore discuss the differences—and lack of differences—between generations. They consider why our current government leaders are so much older than most of the population, how the naming of children signals generational changes, and the influence of technology on increased individualism. They talk about how people of various ages value self-esteem, how smartphones affect rates of mental health issues, and the implications of society’s reconception of marriage.
Pastoral Ministry
Does Evangelism Objectify People?, by Chandler Moore (The Gospel Coalition)
We live in an increasingly pluralistic society. Ironically, it tends to celebrate diverse religious views while criticizing attempts at religious conversion. Critics accuse evangelism of objectifying the people it seeks to convert. What should Christians make of this claim?
Ecclesiological Triage, by Michael Lawrence (9Marks)
Where our agreement is thick, so should our cooperation be. Where it is thin, our cooperation will reflect the same. But wherever possible, and to whatever extent possible, we want to cooperate with other churches for the sake of the gospel—its declaration and its demonstration.
Don't Begin With the Needs of Your People, by Darryl Dash (Dash House)
Don’t get me wrong. Pay attention to your congregation’s needs. You will still need to do that. Just don’t let those needs set the agenda. Let the text set the agenda, and over a regular preaching ministry of months and years, you will find that it speaks to those needs in a far richer way than anything you could have come up with any other way.
Family & Parents
Healthy Rhythms in a Godly Marriage, by Garrett Higbee (Biblical Counseling Foundation)
A friend and I were talking about challenges of balance recently, and he said if you put your head in the oven and your feet in the freezer, your average temperature might be okay, but the damage at the extremes will be substantial. Running hot and cold in a marriage is not healthy or sustainable. So, what should replace this balancing act? I would like to suggest we give up balance and go for healthy rhythms.
The Impact Memorizing Scripture Has on Your Children, by Sally Michael (New Growth Press)
If we are going to prepare children to live in a world that is hostile to the gospel, they must be infused with the life-giving, eternal words of Scripture. Just as God’s Word is firmly fixed in the heavens, so we want it firmly fixed in our hearts and the hearts of our children. Scripture memorization is a God-given tool to accomplish this purpose.
From YPT this week
YPT Podcast Episode 42: Is Seminary Worth It with Doug Ponder
Is seminary worth the time and sacrifice? Why would a youth worker go through all of that if they can just read books, watch youtube, and listen to podcasts? Doug Ponder from Grimke Seminary responds.
7 Tips for Planning a Book of the Bible Series in Youth Ministry, by Yoan Pérez de Ordaz
So you want to teach through a book of the Bible in youth group but don’t know where or how to start? Here are seven tips to help you plan your book of the Bible series for teenagers.