Friday Review (5/9/25)
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
Why It’s Good for Youth and Children’s Ministers to Be Trained to Do Family Ministry, by Cameron Cole (Rooted)
I emailed a mentor who bluntly said, “There is a direct correlation between your impact on parents and the efficacy of your youth discipleship efforts.” I had heard in my first year that there’s no such thing as youth ministry—only youth and family ministry. Now I was starting to witness that reality.
Porn Shaped Gen Z Men. The Bible Can Too, by Luke Simon (The Gospel Coalition)
Gen Z was raised on instant gratification. Everything we want—entertainment, information, food, clothing, and even social validation—is available with a click. We’ve grown up on dopamine media and all its fabricated highs, cheap thrills, and immediate results. So when a young man opens his Bible, reads a chapter, and walks away with no dopamine burst or goose bumps, it’s easy to think, What’s the point?
Biblical & Theological Studies
10 Arguments Against Physician-Assisted Suicide, by Ewan Goligher (Logos)
Physician-assisted death is a profoundly weighty matter, for it raises timeless questions about the meaning and value of our lives, the problem of suffering, and the possibility and nature of human existence beyond the grave. At bottom, the question of assisted death is a question about the nature of human value and how we are to dignify that value in ourselves and in others.
Deconstruction is sooo 2022!, by Stephen McAlpine
Of course the return to faith isn’t merely a return to Christianity. As I have said in the past, there is a veritable tsunami of crazy spiritualities making its way onto the Western secular shore. A shore once stripped of the detritus of Christianity by the retreating sea of faith is open to something – anything – that can offer a hint of transcendence in this immanently framed age..
Cultural Reflection & Contextualization
Pondering Pikachu: Learning to Steward our Hobbies Well, by Chad Huffman (Center for Faith & Culture)
If at the end of day I am motivated by the rat-race of the collectible economy, then I have started to display that my desire has led to obsession and my obsession to idolatry, and idols are cruel taskmasters. A better way is one of moderation, one of stewardship, and spiritual calculation.
The Babies Money Can Buy, by Nadya Williams (Mere Orthodoxy)
If you’re wondering how much two healthy babies, lab-conceived and gestated by surrogates, will set you back in this economy, the bill is $120,000 in Mexico. I know, that does sound rather high. But it’s really quite a bargain—after all, it is over double that stateside. Although you could just take out a loan. Simply add one more payment to your regular monthly bills—you know, don’t forget to pay your mortgage, water, gas, baby, car, electric.
How to Get People to be Friends With Machines in Three Easy Steps, by Samuel D. James (Digital Liturgies)
We can rage at Zuckerberg and the technopoly he represents all we want. We should. But there are attitudes, values, and assumptions at work in the world we are making that add up to AI friendbots. I don’t think it will work to tell the prophets of modernity, “This far, but no further.”
Pastoral Ministry
Your Pastor Isn't Your Therapist...And Your Therapist Isn't Your Pastor, by Nicholas McDonald (The Bard Owl)
If ten years ago, people were asking too much of me as a pastor - to be both their therapist and shepherd - it’s almost like the script has reversed: the therapist has become not only a therapist, but a pastor.
Family & Parents
I Am Still Her Mother, by Jackie Gibson (New Growth Press)
“How many children do you have?” is a question I am often asked. No matter how many times I have heard it, it can still raise my heart rate and make me flustered. Sometimes I still hesitate. Should I just say, “three,” since that is how many I have on earth?
How to Talk About Finances Without Imploding Your Marriage, by Annie Eisner (RELEVANT)
You’re not just managing money. You’re merging two financial worldviews. That’s going to take intentionality, humility and probably a few awkward conversations. But the couples who learn how to communicate through their differences — without weaponizing spreadsheets or guilt — tend to come out stronger.
From YPT this week
Podcast ep.101: Podcast revamp, Our Ministry Journeys, D.Mins. and Spouses in Youth Ministry
Introducing a whole new YPT Podcast! In this episode, we introduce you to John Gardner, Mike’s new cohost and we share about our youth ministry journeys, experiences pursuing our D.Min.’s, and answer a question about spouse involvement in YM.
How to Understand and Teach the Gospel of Matthew by Cody Cagle
The four gospels each have their own characteristics and emphases. How can we understand, teach, and apply Matthew with greater clarity?