Friday Review (2/16/24)
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
Walking with Children and Teens Through Doubts About Christianity, by Faith Chang (Sola Network)
As Christians, we are called to disciple the next generation in our homes and churches. So what do we do when they ask us big questions? How do we respond when they question their faith?
Gen Z’s Biggest Obstacles May Be Their Greatest Gospel Opportunities, by Kyle Richter and Emily McEnery (The Gospel Coalition)
We’re hopeful for this next generation. They’re spiritually open, curious, starved for deep connection, and craving a sense of belonging that we believe only Jesus can meet. Raising up the next generation will take the whole church not just seeing past these obstacles but meeting Gen Zers in them to bring about the transformative power of God’s grace in their lives.
Biblical & Theological Studies
Render unto Caesar challenges us all, left and right alike, by Stephen Kneale (Rebuilding Jerusalem)
There will be ways in which Jesus’ teaching on civil engagement challenges all of us. Submission to government, and seeking to live peaceful and quiet lives, will necessarily mean that we submit to all manner of laws that we simply don’t like. Some of them we may even find egregious impositions on us. There were, after all, few laws more galling to the Jews than paying a poll tax to an occupying force using blasphemous coinage!
Help! I Don’t Enjoy Reading the Old Testament, by Jason S. DeRouchie (Crossway)
The OT is Christian Scripture, and we can enjoy it best when we approach it through Christ and for Christ. The OT magnifies Jesus in numerous ways, and his person and work clarify how to rightly discern the continuities and discontinuities of salvation history. Through the light and lens that Christ supplies, Christians can enjoy the same God and the same good news in both Testaments.
When Valentine’s Day Meets Ash Wednesday, by Esau McCauley (The Atlantic)
Ash Wednesday does not simply tell us that we might die. It suggests that through the power of God, death might not have the final word. It is bold enough to maintain that all our temporal affections are echoes and hints of a divine love that can bear the weight romantic love cannot.
Cultural Reflection/Contextualization
Christians Are Not Ready for the Age of "Adult AI", by Samuel D. James (Digital Liturgy)
But that vision requires helping people get beyond the “Does it harm anyone” framework, not simply appropriating the question. So it seems very likely that Christians will have to bring God into the discussion. When there’s no one to exploit, there is still God to offend. When there is no one to be trafficked, there is still God who sees. And when there is no one to stand over your shoulder to intervene or care, there is still God who saves.
‘Nones’ Have Always Been with Us, by Joe Carter (The Gospel Coalition)
In hindsight, it’s easy to become nostalgic and assume that in the past, Christianity was a fashionable belief because people accepted its teachings as true. But as with any other belief that has become fashionable, there was always a large percentage of people who accepted it because it helped raise or maintain their status among their peers.
Pastoral Ministry
Why Pastors Should Get a Family Wage, by Rhys Laverty (Mere Orthodoxy)
Economic issues, congregational sensitivities, witness to unbelievers—all of these impinge upon the conversation. But we must begin with biblical principles. And when we ask “what should our pastor’s salary be?” it seems hard to argue, with our feet planted in 1 Corinthians 9, for anything other than a pastoral family wage.
Family & Parents
You Don’t Have to Give Your Child a Smartphone, by Casey McCall (Remembrance of Former Days)
Parents exist to moderate the freedom their children get to enjoy based upon the maturity level of their children at any given age. We have roughly eighteen years to get them ready for full adulthood when they will make all their own choices. It’s not hard to see that children are not physically, emotionally, or spiritually ready for the freedom afforded by unregulated access to a smartphone.
Who’s Afraid of the Teenage Years?, by Tim Challies
Parenting teens has not been without its challenges, of course, for there is nothing in this life that comes without challenges. Nothing worthwhile, at least. But it has been my experience that the teenage years have come with joys far beyond the joys of the little years. Parenting teens has been a pleasure and a privilege. It has been an honor and blessing. So for those who have been warned only of the trials to come, let me recount some of the joys.
You Can’t Reclaim the Culture by Having More Kids, by Matthew Loftus (Mere Orthodoxy)
I have long argued that a family that is otherwise indistinguishable from their unbelieving middle-to-upper-class neighbors in terms of where they choose to live and how they spend their money is probably not different enough to make a difference. If your basic outlook on life still functionally treats financial security and physical comfort as your primary life goals, then homeschooling and family discipleship can easily be perceived as different wallpaper on the same house.
From YPT this week
YPT Podcast Episode 58: Biblical Youth Ministry in Hard Places with Tim Beilharz
This episode of the podcast features Tim Beilharz in Australia, talking about biblical youth ministry in hard places.
How Can Young Youth Leaders Partner With Parents?, by Jason Engle
We all know we “should” partner with parents, but what does that look like as a young youth worker?