Recent teen trends

Been scouring the website and came across the following issues re. teenagers that we in youth ministry need to be aware of. Each one speaks to a different facet of the adolescent world: physical development, faith development, and cultural awareness. As you read each one, consider what are the things you can take away from these issues that can better assist you in your local ministry. I'd be interested to hear your comments on each one.

Helmet Boxing
Knowing teenagers' need for thrill, engaging in helmet boxing is yet another seems to be another example of their seeming inability to think of the logical consequences for their actions (e.g. "personal fable"). Be sure to check out the video.

How can we better educate our parents about this issue, as well as assisting our teenagers to better understand the possible consequences of engaging in such a practice? I'm not dissing boxing, but rather trying to address the issue from the standpoint of protection of our youth.

Religion's Generation Gap
Great article from the Wall Street Journal on what happens when students become more devout than their parents. This is an extremely pertinent issue in youth ministry, as all of us have had to deal with situations just like this. I'm thinking about some of the students in my group who have desperately fallen in love with Jesus, yet live in nominal Christian homes where mom and dad don't understand their passion and dedication to Christ.

Generation Next

Excellent website that is seeking to understand students who are aged 16-25. The video clips are very useful, and could be used to better educate parents (and seminary students!) to some of the key issues that our high school and college students are facing.

If you've got sharp students in that age range, the website wants to hear from them and include their insights.

Family Vacation

The family and I spent the last seven days in sunny and hot Orlando. There we did all the "traditional" family things one does there--hit the Disney and Universal theme parks. Lots of fun hanging with the family, something I don't get to do enough of.

The "high point" for me was spending the day at Cocoa Beach --one of the prettiest beaches around (where I got a very nasty sunburn!) and visiting the world famous Ron Jon surf shop. Very cool place--could spend several hours there checking out their boards.

The vacation gave me a nice break mentally, as I head out tomorrow for our denominational youth event, Nazarene Youth Conference. Approximately 9,000 teens and adult sponsors will gather together for six days of worship, teaching, service, and fellowship as they learn together what it means to be holy people involved in service to the world. It was at a NYC (way back in 1983) that I encountered God in an incredibly significant way, and accepted His call on my life. If you think about it, please pray that God's Spirit will be especially present and fruitful in our midst.