Have you noticed how passionate and articulate teenagers can be about anything except their faith?
Eavesdrop on a conversation amongst teenagers and you’ll hear them talking passionately about many things: Friends. Video Games. Relationships. Celebrities. The Environment. School (well, scratch that).
But try to engage many young people in a conversation about faith, and you may as well prepare yourself for blank stares. Read more…
Reason #4 – Young Christians’ church experiences related to sexuality are often simplistic, judgmental.
“With unfettered access to digital pornography and immersed in a culture that values hyper-sexuality over wholeness, teen and twentysometing Christians are struggling with how to live meaningful lives in terms of sex and sexuality. One of the significant tensions for many young believers is how to live up to the church’s expectations of chastity and sexual purity in this culture, especially as the age of first marriage is now commonly delayed to the late twenties. Research indicates that most young Christians are as sexually active as their non-Christian peers, even though they are more conservative in their attitudes about sexuality. One-sixth of young Christians (17%) said they “have made mistakes and feel judged in church because of them.” The issue of sexuality is particularly salient among 18- to 29-year-old Catholics, among whom two out of five (40%) said the church’s “teachings on sexuality and birth control are out of date.”” Read more…
In February 2009, and again in February 2010, I co-led two successive trips to New Orleans.
Both times, we travelled during University reading week. Both times the trip closely coincided with Mardi Gras.
I wonder why the students came.
Was it pure altruism? Was it a process of self-discovery? Was it the story of a city neglected by its own mayor, state politicians and federal government?
Was it the plea from our friends and partners in the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana? What was it, exactly that brought two separate groups together to travel to New Orleans? Read more…
Reason #3 – Churches come across as antagonistic to science.
“One of the reasons young adults feel disconnected from church or from faith is the tension they feel between Christianity and science. The most common of the perceptions in this arena is “Christians are too confident they know all the answers” (35%). Three out of ten young adults with a Christian background feel that “churches are out of step with the scientific world we live in” (29%). Another one-quarter embrace the perception that “Christianity is anti-science” (25%). And nearly the same proportion (23%) said they have “been turned off by the creation-versus-evolution debate.” Furthermore, the research shows that many science-minded young Christians are struggling to find ways of staying faithful to their beliefs and to their professional calling in science-related industries.”
Really?? Or is the true reason isnt’ that we are antagonistic but that we as Church don’t explain things well or we avoid challenging topics all together? Read more…
It’s sad, but for many churches, the most referred-to youth ministry book is entitled “Single-Digit Youth Groups.” Perhaps it’s because all too often we can see ourselves in its title. It has clear and broad applicability for small churches like ours.
This is a book that’s been recklessly promoted throughout the Anglican Church. You’ll find it at conferences, featured on the shelves of well-meaning booksellers, and recommended on many youth ministry blogs. As for me, I wish it would just go away.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, there’s something about this situation that doesn’t sit well with me. It’s a bit too bleak for my taste. When I spend too much time thinking about the future of a church that celebrates Single Digit Youth Ministry, I get depressed.
Is this all we’re shooting for? Is this all the imagination we can muster? Are we really that defeatist? Why do we set our mental barrier at 9 young people? Have we forgotten how to dream? Have we forgotten why we’re doing this in the first place? Read more…
Most youth and young adults head out on short term missions because they want to make a difference, they want to help, they want to battle injustice. It would most likely be devastating for them to know that their short term endeavors may actually make things worse for the people they are meant to serve! Read more…
Reason #1 – Churches seem overprotective.
“A few of the defining characteristics of today’s teens and young adults are their unprecedented access to ideas and worldviews as well as their prodigious consumption of popular culture. As Christians, they express the desire for their faith in Christ to connect to the world they live in. However, much of their experience of Christianity feels stifling, fear-based and risk-averse. Read more…
It is obvious that Christmas has gone from celebrating the birth of the prince of peace to a celebration of the victory of consumerism. But how do we talk about it with our teenagers? Here are a few resources that I have found helpful in starting up conversation around consumerism and Christmas:
What Would Jesus Buy?
A documentary following Rev. Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping as they travel across the U.S. toward the “shopocalypse”! It is at points hilarious, at times troubling at times incredibly touching. This film works equally well with adults or with youth, so try something crazy, get parents and youth to watch the film together!
Advent Conspiracy
A movement trying to get Christmas to be less about buying and more about worshiping fully, spending less, giving more, and loving all. A website full of resources, ideas and stories, this movement to go from buying stuff to solving water issues around the world is something your youth may get excited about. Check it out here.
Coyote Solstice Tale by Thomas King
One of my favorite children’s books of all time, this funny, touching and beautiful story can be a great way to ease youth into the conversation. And seriously, who doesn’t love a kid’s book.
Now I know, it is getting really close to Christmas, and though these may be great ideas, it is a bit to late. Well friends, it turns out that consumerism is not just an issue at Christmas time, but year round. Here are some non-Christmas related resources.
The Story of Stuff
Shorter then WWJB, this film looks at the impacts of our consumption on the environment and other people. Done in a very accessible way, this video is a great starting point for discussing the impact of our stuff on our world. Check it out here.
Last, music video’s can be a great way to start the conversation with your youth. Here are two that look at consumerism from very different angles.
Wings by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
One of my youth introduced this video to me. A song about how the artist was recruited into the movement of consumerism through his shoes. An amazing song and a powerful video.
I Own You by Wax Tailor ft. Charlie Winston
A really cool video, and an interesting song from the perspective of your stuff.
Consumerism is probably the biggest issue facing our youth and society today. If we want to help our youth explore the God of Abraham, Moses and Jesus, we are going to have to make them aware of the current God of stuff that demands their allegiance. If you have any resources, please let us know.
Growing up, my family and I would spend every Christmas Eve at my Aunt’s house. We’d pack up the car in the early evening and make the hour-or-so drive from Milton, Ontario to St. Catharines. St. Catharines was where my folks grew up, and is still, to this day, the hometown of much of my extended family – cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents.
On the drive, we’d always tune in to the CBC to hear Alan Maitland reading The Shepherd. Year, after year, we would be sure to leave at just the right time in order to hear this story on the drive to our Christmas Eve gathering. Sometimes, if the drive had taken less time than we had thought, we would wait silently in the parking lot for the final cadences of Frederick Forsyth’s classic short story.
We would walk around to the buzzer and call to be let up to Aunt Tena’s apartment. Inside we would find a feast of untold quantity, with classic Mennonite dishes alongside family favourites. Over the course of the coming hour, our extended family would also buzz up and more and more people would crowd into the living room. And there we ate together. Plates on laps, old amongst the younger, we would mix and mingle, we would talk about what was important to us, and we would share all that had happened in the preceding months. Read more…
There is an interesting study out from the Barna Group discussing why young people leave church. http://www.barna.org/teens-next-gen-articles/528-six-reasons-young-christians-leave-church . The research lists six significant reasons why nearly three out of every five young Christians (59%) disconnect either permanently or for an extended period of time from church life after age 15. I’m not looking to analyze The Barna Group’s research. I realize there are many other opinions that exist on this topic but thought it would be a good starting point for discussion. Do the themes have merit? Do you find truth in them as a youth leader or as youth growing up in the church? Can we use them to understand the current generation of youth? Are the reasons to broad to be able to facilitate any concrete change? My goal is to look at each of these reasons on their own in my next few blogs in the hopes of starting some discussion on the site and in my own parish. More understanding of where youth might be coming from never hurts and spreading the knowledge around throughout the congregation is even better! We can’t discuss what we don’t understand so if there is some validity to the reasons in the study then the conversation with our youth workers, youth and parishes is a good one to have.
Reason #1 – Churches seem overprotective.
Reason #2 – Teens’ and twenty somethings’ experience of Christianity is shallow.
Reason #3 – Churches come across as antagonistic to science.
Reason #4 – Young Christians’ church experiences related to sexuality are often simplistic, judgmental.
Reason #5 – They wrestle with the exclusive nature of Christianity.
Reason #6 – The church feels unfriendly to those who doubt.
Have you noticed how passionate and articulate teenagers can be about anything except their faith?
Reason #3 that young Christians leave the church. 
It’s sad, but for many churches, the most referred-to youth ministry book is entitled “Single-Digit Youth Groups.” Perhaps it’s because all too often we can see ourselves in its title. It has clear and broad applicability for small churches like ours.
Recent Comments