Friday Review (10/6/23)
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
Youth Pastors Are Not Apprentices, by Michael F. Bird (Word from the Bird)
But, what if, the youth pastor was not the ecclesiastical scullery maid of ministry, the lowest position on the lowest pay where you start out? What if the youth pastor was instead treated as a theological and spiritual pediatrician?
The Next Generation Is Leaving the Faith Earlier Than You Realize, by Aaron Earls (Lifeway Research)
So what can churches do? Further regression analysis of the Lifeway Research dropout data reveals factors that make teenagers more likely to stop attending church as they become young adults. Some of it falls on the teenagers themselves or their parents. But other issues involve the church.
Biblical & Theological Studies
What Old Testament Promises Are for Me?, by John Piper (Desiring God)
Maybe what would be helpful for Maureen, for me, and hopefully for others too is to list the differences between the people of God (the church) today and the people of God (Israel) in the Old Testament, as well as how God relates differently to each. These points can then function as a kind of filter.
The Problem with Trying to Portray the Holy Spirit, by Fred Sanders (Crossway)
As we strive to know the Holy Spirit the way he makes himself known in Scripture, we are constantly tempted to add a few details, to quietly nudge the Spirit in the direction of being more immediately vivid than how we meet him in Scripture. We wish the Holy Spirit were, frankly, more of a character, with more lines of dialogue and a better-defined personality profile.
Cultural Reflection & Contextualization
Blessed Are the Rich, for They Can Afford to Limit Their Kids’ Screen Time, by Bonnie Kristian (Christianity Today)
Too much tech is bad for children. But are we only discipling families ‘entrusted with much’?
Andy Stanley, The Church, Our Kids, and LGBTQ, by Walt Mueller (CPYU)
Wisdom and discernment are so desperately needed in today’s cultural setting. Sadly, I’m afraid that muddy teaching, a lack of clarity (intentional most of the time), and outright heresy on matters of sex and gender are being absorbed due to the fact that we are following messengers without evaluating their messages in light of the Scriptures.
Pastoral Ministry
Reconstructing Faith: How Does the Church Rebuild?, by Trevin Wax (The Gospel Coalition)
It’s time to get to work. Enough carping against the church from the sidelines. We get it; the church is a mess. It has always been a mess, but if it’s going to be around in 50 years—and it is—then we must ask, What is it going to look like? What role do we have in what that church will look like then?
Enduring Lessons from the Rise and Fall of Mars Hill, by Gary Millar (The Gospel Coalition Australia)
The last ordinary episode of Mike Cosper’s The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill podcast dropped at the end of 2021, though I must confess that I have only just got around to listening to it. And as I look around at the church in 2023, I think it is important to recognise that just because most of us have moved on from talking about the podcast is no guarantee that we have learned anything much or made any needed changes.
Family & Parents
There’s No One Equation for Educating Christian Kids, by Gretchen Ronnevik (Christianity Today)
Some equations work, and some do not. But the constant in educational success stories, in my observation, isn’t any one equation. It’s that God will be faithful to our children, and we can trust him no matter what comes.
One Thing My Parents Did Right: Admit Their Sin, by Daniela Angulo (The Gospel Coalition)
This childhood experience stretched out throughout my life to model the kind of humble heart Christians should have toward each other. My parents could easily have played tyrant and never apologized to me, brushing me off as a child who didn’t need apologies from those who were her guides in life. They could have hidden behind their God-given roles as parents and forgone their roles as my fellow Christians.
From YPT this week
YPT Podcast Episode 44: Evangelism as the Care of Souls with Sean McGever
In this podcast episode, we talk with Dr. Sean McGever about how youth pastors, volunteers, and teenagers themselves can engage in evangelism, and about the role of conversion and sound doctrine.
The Necessity of Teaching Theologically at Youth Group, by Christian Vargus
It’s more than important to teach theologically in youth group… it’s necessary. This article kicks off a monthlong series about the role of theology and doctrine in student ministry.