I am a meteorologist and a former youth leader at church…I have a lot to say on both subjects…and then some
Adam McLane over at Youth Specialities posed a question about a “youth ministry gap.” That is a gap between the youth ministry that is run by a paid staffer vs. the volunteer, and the differences between the two. He asks a good question about how do we bridge the gap. I left my two cents in the comments, but it boils down to linking the two leaders so that they help each other, so that they body of Christ comes together for the good of the upcoming generation.
I watched one of the the Youth Specialities podcasts and they mentioned that we should start working with our graduating seniors now so that when they graduate next year they can transition into a college world easier. Interesting thoughts on how to do it.
I usually read this stuff through XXXChurch.com, but I ran into this through another blog site. This secular view of the trends is what we have been saying has been happening. This is a secular site so I’ll give a warning for some of the language in the article.
HOW INTERNET PORN IS CHANGING TEEN SEX: DETAILS Article on men.style.com.
More and more Mary and I run into the hopeless teen, that don’t look hopeless on the outside, but are hurting on the inside. Anecdottaly, we have been seeing this as a trend, but now we have numbers.
I was listening to the Net @ Night podcast with Leo Laporte and Sarah Lane (standing in for Amber MacArthur) the other night. Somehow the subject they started talking about was a portion of the Conan O’Brien show from earlier in the week. This was an interesting, because Scot McKnight, a theologian and blogger that I regularly read just got done with a series about the book Generation Me: Why Today’s Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled–and More Miserable Than Ever Before. Both of these hit on the unique subject that with everything we have, people are more miserable. I see this with the youth group kids and the some people in church. Listening to the podcast Money Life with Chuck Bentley, he has been hammering the fact that we have put ourselves into debt to buy things that end up making us miserable. So we keep trying to earn money to buy our happiness, only to be unfulfilled. I won’t go into details, but there are people that I am close to that they haven’t figured that out yet. In fact, they once told me that the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. I think that in the coming years, that America will realize that we need to change…
I’m glad the youth of America want the unvarnished truth:
And research suggests teens do want the awful truth: Three-quarters say they would like the media to talk more about the consequences of sex, according to a 2007 study by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.
‘Secret Life of the American Teenager’ explores teen pregnancy – Los Angeles Times
I just hope that Hollywood would get the message and not send us more unrealistic stuff. I’m middle of the road on the series. It has good moments and statistics, but sometimes falls back on stereotypes for some of the dialog. However, it’s not bad.
Commentary: I know what Illinois governor feels like now – CNN.com
I like this quote from Mr. Colson:
At the height of Watergate, a dear friend of mine, Tom Phillips, then CEO of Raytheon, invited me to his home. As we sat in his kitchen, Tom read to me a chapter on pride from a little book by C.S. Lewis titled “Mere Christianity.”
Lewis wrote, “There is one vice of which no man in the world is free. … The vice I am talking about is Pride or Self-conceit. …. Pride leads to every other vice. … A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you. … Pride is a spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense.“
I couldn’t agree more. I see it in the mirror in the morning and I see in the kids we work with.
Tyra ‘shocked’ by risky teen sex – Parenting & Family – TODAYshow.com
I guess Tyra doesn’t get out much. While I don’t doubt some of the information, this survey is skewed by who goes and takes it. It doesn’t have any scientific validity, so I question the statistics.
Well, some of them may be telling the truth, but knowing that people fake stuff just to get on Jerry Springer, then I think that Tyra is really naive.
This site is hilarious. Some youth workers put the statements of some of their youth on the site.
however, I can’t. There have been some things that go on with youth pastors and churches that I can’t elaborate on at this point. Part of the problem is that I have a heart for the hurting youth pastors, who have been used and abused by churches. I once attended a NYWC in Pittsburgh in 2002. There I saw a seminar entitled “The Church has Fangs,” or how some churches don’t always act very Christian-like, with Len Evans. My church at the moment is pretty good. We have some typical things, but most of those things seem to have smoothed out as grace has been applied. I need to remember that grace when I get angry about situations where the church has shown its fangs.
Since that seminar, and then later during a guided prayer session in Dallas (2004) at another NYWC, I saw youth workers crying and in my heart, I felt God whispering in my spirit of me being a pastor/spiritual director to youth pastors. In the meantime, I read everything about youth ministry. I talk to kids. I look for ways to speak into their lives. In short as “Tiger” McLuen once said, “Be a Bob.” (I won’t tell the whole story, but it has to do with building a relationship with kids.)
This has taken my faith into radically new directions at times as I question what the Christian church really wants.
I question those that think that their buildings are more important than their kids.
I question those that don’t look at the youth as worth the effort. They question why the need for a youth program.
I question those that seem to stay in their comfortable country club and think that their tradition is the only correct theology. There is a difference, and I have to constantly go back to God to question whether I am letting that interfere with my relationship with Christ.
That last one was a poke at some denominationalism that I have run into as of late.
I like to think that when I get mad at a church that it is a holy anger. I’m just not sure that I always channel it constructively like Christ did when He healed on the sabbath in the book of Mark.
On a twitter post I said something about the Republican party hijacked Christianity. I don’t agree with the Republican party because they have some unholy planks that most ignore. The Democrats are no different. I look for who agrees most with me.
Instead of spreading the wealth that Obama would like, if Christians were just generous to the poor and oppressed, Show mercy and do Justice, their wouldn’t be a need to spread the wealth.
While I agree with a couple of big issues that the political parties talk about, most ignore the mercy and justice that needs to be done at their own home.
I wrestle with these things.
Someday, I’ll write what I am trying to not rant about, but it is too soon for the things to have happened, and I can’t even speak in generalities at this point without tipping my hand.
However, as I think about it, all of this has to do with pride, and being self centered. I admit that I struggle with that. I know that I am not always right.
