Monthly Review: July 2022

Each month this summer, 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

3 Essential Emphases In Youth Ministry by Jordan Francis (Reframe Youth)

Students in this generation usually talk about their emotions well, but they don't control them and often can make unwise choices. They also want to be people who do stuff; they don't just want to talk about it; they want to experience it. So the question becomes, how do we shape our youth ministries in a way that speaks to some of the particularities of students today?

Why Christian Teens Have an Identity Crisis by Sarah Barratt (The Gospel Coalition)

We cannot find within ourselves what can only be found in the heart of God. But in his heart, we find all we need and more besides.

Biblical & Theological Studies

Are Faith and Science Incompatible? by Andrew Menkis (Core Christianity)

We trust that our senses are reliable; we believe that the laws of nature will continue to function regularly tomorrow as they have today; we have faith that other humans have their own conscious existence despite not being able to see their minds. Whether or not we should have faith that God exists remains a valid question, but whether faith is a valid way to know God is not.

Cultural Reflection & Contextualization

Transformation of a Transgender Teen by Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra (The Gospel Coalition)

While gender transitioning starts on the outside, trying to align it with a person’s insides, Christian transformation starts on the inside and moves outward.

How Is the Sexual Revolution Affecting Women and Girls Today? by Jen Oshman (Crossway)

So many women and girls in our age are walking around with this trauma and these deep, deep wounds because they've sought to separate their bodies from their souls. But the truth is we are unified. We are embodied souls, and our bodies were created good by our good God.

Pastoral Ministry

National Tragedies Still Call Forth Sermons. But Their Tone Has Changed by Keith Bates (Christianity Today)

A new history argues that Protestant ministers have traded prophetic introspection for triumphalist civil religion...This is a fitting end to a narrative that serves as a reminder of both the social and ecclesiastical consequences that follow the church’s steadfast pursuit of public status.

Is Church Growth Desirable or Dangerous? Yes by Adam Parker (Reformation21)

[W]e should pursue faithfulness, and pray that God would bring from it fruit. Sessions should pray that God make them faithful stewards of those people the Lord has sent their way and given them delegated care of. We should not be pulling back from blessing God’s people out of a fear of growth, but neither should we be controlled by a desire for it.

Dear Pastor... You Can Serve Both Your Ministry and Your Kids by Ajith Fernando (Crossway)

Whatever a child’s family background may be like, ultimately it is the reception or rejection of grace which influences the future path the child takes. But we who are in ministry can do all we can to give our children a glimpse of the beauty of a home with an atmosphere marked by the joy of the Lord.

Family & Parents

Should I Let My Kids Watch This? 10 Tips for Discerning Parents by Brett McCracken (The Gospel Coalition)

How do parents navigate the tension of wanting to protect their kids from harmful content while also avoiding legalism that can backfire? As you disciple your kids through the mind-boggling amount of options they have at their fingertips, what considerations can guide your approach?

Turn and Face the Strange: Navigating Change With Our Teenagers by Anna Meade Harris (Rooted)

Whatever your child faces in the fall, God will use it for his glory and their good. In the meantime, use the waning weeks of summer to play, to rest, to enjoy the faithfulness of a God who does not change.

From YPT this month

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.

Learning from “Thor: Love and Thunder” About Distraction by Alex Tufano

This spoiler-free article considers how Thor: Love and Thunder can serve as a reminder for youth workers to resist distractions from their mission, regardless of how fun or entertaining those distractions may be.

Teaching Students About Justification by Joseph Bradley

What is the doctrine of Justification, how is it connected to the gospel, and how can we teach it in youth ministry?

Growing a Gospel Culture in Youth Ministry by Vince Greenwald

We know the gospel should shape our youth group’s culture, but we aren’t always sure what that should look like. What do we mean by “gospel culture” and what does it look like in student ministry? Here are three examples: Honor Time, Burden Bearing, Walking in the Light.

Teaching Students a Theology of Prayer by Jason Engle

Here are some important truths about prayer that I hope will train students to understand Christian prayer at they grow in the faith.