Friday Review: Our Favorite Articles of 2022
Each week this year, we compiled 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. This is our best of 2022 list, with a couple articles in each category that stood out in particular.
As I (Alex) compiled the Friday Review this year, I learned a few things about myself, ministry, and the resources we have available to us. First, I grew to appreciate more diverse voices and sources of content. There are a few high-profile authors who have appeared throughout the year, a few authors I became aware of this year who have become regular stops in my reading, and others who only popped up once or twice. I am grateful for how my awareness has grown in size and breadth this past year. We find the highest quality resources when we look both inside and outside the circles we frequent. Tim Challies’ daily ”A La Carte” and the YPT community have been most helpful in broadening the resources featured in these reviews. 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!
Second, I became more aware of my bias and tendencies as I curated these lists of resources. This goes hand in hand with the first thought - as the Feedly list of sources grew larger, I was able to recognize my blind spots more. I think this is a good principle for us to consider in many areas of ministry. As we put together teaching plans, add or remove programs, or resource students, parents, and leaders, we have directions we tend to lean. The more we can grow in our self-awareness, the more effectively we can minister to the different types of adults and students we serve. I still have a lot of room to grow in this area, and am grateful for how the Friday review has helped me in that way.
Finally, I have become more convinced that a growing portion of our role as pastors and leaders is in curating excellent and theologically sound resources for parents and students. There is no shortage of information available to us - from sermons and podcasts to books and articles. It is very easy for us to be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of content, and those we minister to are likely more overwhelmed by all they could read and listen to. As families’ schedules continue to be more packed full, and we often have less time with students and parents, we would be wise to consider how well we are curating resources for them to benefit from on their own. I’m grateful for the role we can play at YPT in helping you curate those resources, and am praying that God would provide us the wisdom we need to shepherd his sheep well.
Now on to some of the best resources from this year!
(Inclusion in this list does not imply complete agreement with the publishing source, but we have found these articles to be particularly beneficial.)
Youth Ministry
Do I Need to Study Theology for Children’s Ministry?, by Robin Barfield (Union Publishing)
This has been the pattern of church life for decades—the children’s ministry is run by the happy volunteer or the young person who is testing out whether they are ready for the pastorate. Is this model the best one for children and youth? Perhaps there’s a better way and this thinking is upside-down.
Our Main Goals for Youth Ministry, by Deepak Reju (9Marks)
A few married or singles volunteer with the youth group, yet seldom would the rest of the church interact with those teenagers outside of the youth ministry. In a typical church, walls exist between these social groups. Little effort is made to cross over, apart from occasional conversations on Sundays after church.
Biblical & Theological Studies
Reformed Theology - In The Wake of Sexual Assault by Leah Boyd (Sassy Seminarian)
I believe that an acknowledgement and understanding of the workings of God’s justice, both spiritually and materially, provide an incredible opportunity for me to pray for real earthly justice and retribution to be done on my behalf, without diminishing the almost unfathomable offering of spiritual forgiveness for even my worst enemy.
Theology Cannot Save Us by Russell Moore (Christianity Today)
But if we’ve seen anything in the evangelical meltdown of the past five years, it’s that theology is not enough. And left on its own, theology can become just as much of a prop for a cultural, politicized Christianity as anything else.
Cultural Reflection & Contextualization
Gen Z, Creators, and Our Mental Health Tipping Point by Rex Woodbury (Digital Native)
Gen Zs have grown up in a world of constant scrutiny, comparing the messiness of their own lives to other people’s airbrushed selfies and curated highlight reels. This takes a toll.
3 Ways to Engage LGBTQ+ Pride Month by Michael Horton (Core Christianity)
So instead of just rolling our eyes this Pride month, let’s use it as a springboard for loving outreach and hospitality, for self-examination, and for prayer that people we love will find, instead of pride in a way that leads to death, release from captivity.
Pastoral Ministry
Beware the New Seeker Sensitivity by Trevin Wax (The Gospel Coalition)
If our message has become little more than “make the world a better place” by voting this way or that, Christian proclamation has become wildly misdirected, no matter how many doctrines we say we believe. Unless our focus is on God, who he is and what he has done, unless our message centers on Jesus as the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, unless our dependence is on the Spirit who sweeps through the sanctuary and does his work in the hearts of people, we lose the thrill of orthodoxy and become little more than an arm of a political movement. Beware the new seeker sensitivity.
Preacher, What’s on Your Kids Menu?, by John Joseph (9Marks)
We want our kids to know that the church is for them, Jesus is for them, and eternal life is for them, so let’s speak to them in our sermons. Consider adding these items to your kids menu, and in time, you’ll find a growing appetite among the kids.
Family & Parents
Parents Set the Pace for Their Adult Children’s Religious Life by Christian Smith and Amy Adamczyk (Christianity Today)
Parents set a “glass ceiling” of religious commitment above which their children rarely rise. Parental religious investment and involvement is in almost all cases the necessary and even sometimes sufficient condition for children’s religious investment and involvement.
Family Discipleship Is More Than Family Devotions by Barnabas Piper (Lifeway)
I am not a parenting expert, because there is no such thing. We’re all just doing our best to be faithful. But here are five family discipleship rhythms I’ve discovered that help me faithfully point my children to Jesus without burdening them.
Best of YPT this year
Five Gospel Onramps by Mike McGarry
Here are five gospel onramps to help youth workers and students learn how to share the gospel naturally with their nonChristian friends.
YPT Podcast Epsiode 18: Christ Centered Exegesis with Seth Stewart
Most of us know the entire Bible finds its fulfillment in Christ, but how should that effect the way we study Scripture and teach students? In this episode, we talk about Christ centered exegesis and highlight some excellent resources for youth pastor theologians.
From YPT this week
So many books. So little time. A handful of YPT’s readers and contributors recommend books to narrow down your reading list for the new year.