Monthly Review: July 2023
Each month this summer, we compile a list of helpful articles from other sites 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 particular articles to be beneficial.)
Youth Ministry
Intergenerational Friendships In Church by Caroline Taylor & Sarah Ebenezar (Evangelical Magazine)
In our 21st century Western society, the average child’s relationships are predominantly with other children, with the exception of immediate family members. It’s no surprise then, that the average adult tends to also socialise with people of a similar age. In this context, intergenerational friendships are becoming less common and harder to practice. Yet, our churches, a meeting of God’s people, are a place where all ages gather together to worship the Lord.
Parents Are Key to Youth Ministry by Thomas Walters (The Gospel Coalition)
Our mission as student ministers isn’t to have the best games, the most action-packed events, the best-sounding bands, or a bottomless pizza buffet at every event. Our mission is the discipleship of young men and women who will treasure Christ and lead others to do the same. The Bible first gives this task to parents. So youth ministry should support and champion them.
Pass on a Faith Teenagers Can Grow Into by Mike McGarry (New Growth Press)
Rather than keeping the cookies on the lowest shelf, or feeding into Christian alarmism, maybe it’s time to simply commit ourselves to teaching teenagers Christianity. I know that sounds like a no-brainer, but student ministry has a track record for minimizing the role of doctrinal instruction. I believe it’s time to renew the theological mission of youth ministry. After all, we’re graduating a generation of church kids who hardly know what it means to be a Christian
Biblical & Theological Studies
Is There a Danger of Worshipping the Bible Instead of God? by Randy Alcorn (EPM)
I agree that there is a danger of having our faith in the wrong object. And there have been some people who seemingly hold the Bible in higher esteem than they do Jesus. But seen properly, the Bible is not a competitor with God; on the contrary, it is our God-given means of knowing Him through His revealed truth.
Not Just Good Theology, but Good Theology Delivered Well by Courtney Yates (Gospel-Centered Discipleship)
It’s easy to find fault with such an approach, it’s shortcomings painfully obvious. There’s a flip side, however, to the man shouting on the street corner, a flip side that far too often goes unnoticed. There’s not only good theology delivered poorly, but there’s bad theology delivered well, and both are equally destructive.
Cultural Reflection & Contextualization
Don't Share That Clip by Sameul D. James (Digital Liturgies)
The point is that the Internet is an ecosystem that treats everything like a kind of pornography. Separated from physical reality by the screen, the digital user encounters all of existence as a consumable substance, a substance that often distorts the true nature of the thing being depicted. Our relationship to life via the Web is very similar to the porn addict’s relationship to sex.
Man Cannot Live on Feeds Alone by Trevin Wax (Desiring God)
The answer to mindless scrolling is more mindful lingering. Studying the Scriptures and pondering the ancient creeds and confessions gives us the opportunity to grow in our knowledge and wisdom, so that we are better equipped to follow Jesus. In a world where people are tossed and turned by all the latest developments, it’s more important than ever to be rooted in something that can sustain us, something that can transform us, something that doesn’t change with the news..
Pastoral Ministry
Preaching to the Imagination by Carl Santos (The Gospel Coalition Canada)
We need to paint a picture so beautiful, winsome, and provocative that hearers are challenged and drawn to engage with God as they never have before. We need to call them to a truth that they could never have dreamt up in their wild philosophies.
3 Ways to Pursue Sabbath When You’re the Pastor by Mason King (Lifeway Research)
However, when you’re tasked with leading the worship gathering, preaching the Sunday sermon, or overseeing ministry instead of receiving it, it takes a lot of work to embrace, let alone plan for, the reality of Sabbath rest. There are plenty of false sabbaths available to those driven by duty. And their half-promises can leave us wondering if a call to ministry is a sacrifice of Sabbath rest for the sake of others.
Family & Parents
For Fathers of Young Children by Jon Bloom (Desiring God)
A few weeks ago, our twins graduated high school, ending more than a quarter-century of shepherding our five children from birth to adulthood. Which makes me something of a veteran father (though certainly not an expert). So, my colleagues wondered if I’d be willing to write down some words of counsel for fathers of young children. While I could say many things, here are three lessons that I find myself frequently reflecting on these days.
Midsummer Check-in: How’s It Going, Parents? by Molly Witherington (Rooted)
While those ideas may have inspired some, they just left me with one more idea that I knew I’d lose steam for by week three. Right now I’m staring down summer thinking of how exhausting it is going to be to wrench them away from screens over and over again. So while I won’t give you a formula that will result in your 9 year-old enjoying The Secret Garden in the hammock, or your 12 year old’s theology enriched by the Heidelberg catechism, I can share a few things that have helped us enjoy unstructured time with each other during the summer.
From YPT this month
Three Homiletical Lenses to Strengthen Your Bible Teaching by Eddie Hertel
These three lenses will help youth ministers teach and apply the Bible to their students more effectively.
Can Christians Believe in Evolution? by Mike McGarry
This excerpt from the book “Discover: Questioning Your Way to Faith” helps teenagers grapple with their questions about creation and evolution.
Advice for New Youth Ministers by Mike McGarry
It can feel overwhelming to be a new youth ministry. Here’s advice as you begin, and a downloadable guide for new youth ministers.
God’s Eternality is Good News for Youth Ministry by Josh Fikkert
How can youth workers respond to the disparity between the three hours/week students spend at church and the 109 waking hours in the rest of the week?