Friday Review (9/30/22)

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 and Children’s Ministry

What God Taught Me As I Left Youth Ministry by Seth Stewart (Rooted)

But whether you’re thinking about leaving youth ministry or plan to be a lifer, know what God is calling you to. He is calling you to suffer. God is calling you to be crucified with Christ. He’s inviting you to suffer like his firstborn child—so that he can hold you and tell you over and over that you are his son, and daughter, his boy or his girl. 

Biblical & Theological Studies

How Much Theological Education Do You Need? by Andrew Wilson (Think Theology)

But whoever you are, you are called to grow in the knowledge of God, without in any way thinking that your knowledge makes you any more saved than anybody else. It can be a tricky line to walk.

Teaching Apologetically by Chris Talbot (Helwys Society Forum)

I have personally found Francis Schaeffer as a guide, especially in relation to apologetics. Thus, as we walk through the importance of teaching apologetically, Schaeffer will accompany us, pointing out important landmarks and pitfalls and, ultimately, the right destination. By looking at his works and observing his example, we can start to understand how to teach and live apologetically.

Cultural Reflection & Contextualization

Are You Afraid of This Question? by Chris Martin (Terms of Service)

My primary concern with regard to how we relate to the social internet is how our unintentional use of it is shaping our hearts and minds without us even really realizing it... I am concerned about all of the above, but I am most concerned about the internal, malformative effects of social media on our hearts and minds than I am about external threats posed to us by the companies who own the social internet and the governments who may compel them to act in certain ways.

Why Do Christians Make Such a Big Deal about Sex? by Rebecca McLaughlin (Crossway)

In some ways, the divorce of sex from marriage that we’ve witnessed in the twenty-first-century West is not unprecedented. Some form of commitment-free sex for men has been a feature of most societies throughout history, and women have borne the consequences: social, emotional, and physical. But Jesus locates sex in the one-flesh union of marriage between a man and a woman and gives it spiritual significance.

Pastoral Ministry

Blessed Are Those Who Mourn Suicide by Mia Staub (Christianity Today)

A person-centric theodicy liberates us to hear deep cries of anguish, especially in the context of suicide. The more we humanize this issue in the church, the more we can be like the one who came to suffer among us: Christ himself.

I Don’t Know by J.V. Vesko (Credo)

Moreover, admitting that you don’t know something has two positive outcomes: (1) it becomes an opportunity for you to learn! (2) you show your congregation that you don’t know everything but are willing to learn. The latter, I believe, sets an important example for your church, or even your children. The best teachers are usually the best students. Therefore, never be afraid to say, “I don’t know”!

Rebuilding Church Community: What’s Actually Working? by Markus Miller (Christianity Today)

One ongoing impact of the pandemic is that, today, pastors find themselves shepherding congregations that are more divided and more relationally distant. How can ministers cultivate deep, authentic fellowship in congregations struggling with superficial or polarized relationships?

Family & Parents

Mom, Jesus Is Praying for You by Kristen Wetherell (KristenWetherell.com)

“You’ve got this” is a popular encouragement for moms. But what’s behind it? If it’s the belief that I naturally have what it takes to keep my children alive, help them flourish, and even see them come to Christ without completely losing my mind in the process—then I definitely don’t “have this.” Not on my own.

When I Became “That Little League Parent” by Steve Eatmon (Rooted)

I am by no means perfect in this area of little league parenting, I am only passing on what I have learned through his Word. But even when we fail, it is our duty as parents to show our kids who really has our back and who we really should worship: the son of God who loved us and gave himself for us.

7 Ways to Create a Family Worship Culture in Your Home by Jodi Hiser (The Gospel Coalition)

May we be families who intentionally create an atmosphere where our identity in Christ is lived out each day. May we be families who boldly contend for the truth by instilling it deep into the hearts of our kids in daily servings, teaching them where they belong and to whom they belong.

From YPT this week

How Info-Centric Christianity Enables Doubt by Matt Bellefeuille

Doubters can fixate on this question: what are the exact beliefs I need to have to be a Christian? They’ve internalized something I call “info-centric” salvation. Let me explain what I mean.