Friday Review (9/27/24)
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
Christology: Why Prophet, Priest and King Matters for Children’s and Youth Ministry Today | Part 2, from Growing Young Disciples
In part one of this blog, we briefly explored the threefold office of Christ and how it is presented in Scripture. In this second part, we will consider why this doctrine is significant for our ministry to children and young people.
Addressing Teenagers’ Loneliness Through Intergenerational Friendships in the Church, by Emmie Thompson (Rooted)
As you think about the Cassies in your own ministry—lonely students who need the godly influence and care of older believers—here are three things to remember:
Biblical & Theological Studies
Sabbath Isn’t As Hard As You Think, by Jon Hyatt (Center for Faith & Culture)
Exploring how humans and their life patterns promote or discourage one another’s flourishing demonstrates Christian Sabbatarianism’s validity and utility. Three questions help us see this.
The Beauty of Scripture’s Word Pictures, by Jeremy Oliver (Biblical Counseling Foundation)
People sometimes refer to the Bible as God’s instruction manual. While I can appreciate the sentiment, imagine for a moment if He’d actually written it like one.
Why You Should Trust the New Testament: Reasons for Reliability, by Benjamin Shaw (Christian Research Institute)
Given that NT reliability is not only a popular but also an important topic, what can be said about it? Since the topic can be addressed from multiple angles and perspectives, I will present several different arguments that are part of a larger case that I have recently made in Trustworthy: Thirteen Arguments for the Reliability of the New Testament.2 While I cannot cover all thirteen here, I can briefly introduce several to demonstrate that the NT is, in fact, trustworthy.
Cultural Reflection & Contextualization
3 Ways to Disciple Your Kids in an Election Year, by Cory Barnes (The Gospel Coalition)
There are several issues of biblical clarity every Christian parent ought to embrace and pass along to their children this election season. We must model a distinctly Christian and countercultural approach to political engagement in at least three ways.
Pastoral Ministry
“Disqualified”: What it Means and How a Pastor Gets There, by Jesse Johnson (The Cripplegate)
When an elder’s disqualifying sins are uncovered in this way, it is frankly counter-productive to talk about “restoration to ministry.” The goal is that the person would fully confess their sins, and be assimilated into corporate worship and fellowship, not restored to being an elder. Pursuing restoration “to the ministry” only incentivizes the very compromises and coverups that caused the problems to begin with.
Can I Submit to My Elders Thoughtfully?, by William Boekestein (The Gospel Coalition)
When you read in Scripture that church members must submit to their leaders (e.g., Heb. 13:17), do you cringe, imagining servile compliance to even unbiblical demands? When you hear Luke praising the Bereans for fact-checking Paul’s preaching (Acts 17:11), do you hear an endorsement for church members independently evaluating which parts of pastoral leadership they’ll respect?
Family & Parents
A Parent’s Guide to Talking with Kids About Gender, by Andrew T. Walker and Christian Walker (Crossway)
Because we believe the home is central to the development of the next Christian generation, we call our sequence of conversational instruction “floors” that correspond to a home. Below you’ll see three “floors” of biblical truths and conversation starters. Instead of having strict age guidelines, we use “floors” to help guide you to determine where your child may best fit based on development, maturity, and age.
Train Up a Child, by Don Johnson (Proclaim & Defend)
Often these parents are aged, their children have spent many years living in the world, yet the parents still hope in a childhood profession of some kind or hope for some fruit for all their efforts to raise their children in the faith, in a Christian environment.
From YPT this week
YPT Podcast ep.75: Ministry to Youth in Crisis with Seth Teegarden
How can youth workers care for and minister to youth in crisis, many of whom have experienced various kinds of trauma?
Teaching the Broader Gospel: Glorification by Joseph Bradley
We can help our students see the importance of living with the end in mind by showing them the culmination of the power, promise, and presence of God in glorification.
Five Insights From Barna’s GenZ volume 3 by Nick Hartman
Barna has released the third volume of research on GenZ. Here are five helpful insights to help you reach and disciple the next generation in the gospel.