“We need to get real about the mostly postmodern teens we are dealing with in our youth ministries. They are very different from the kinds of kids that I encountered when I started in youth ministry a few decades ago. These teens aren’t sure that a person can be sure about anything. As you reach them and teach them they need to know that it is healthy for them to wrestle through their doubts to their faith, just like the early disciples did.”
“I thought we were supposed to try to remove their doubts by teaching them the truth,” Ty said bluntly, a distinct edge in his voice.
“Actually when you start teaching them the truth you may be introducing even more doubt into their minds. I mean, come on Ty, think about some of the basic creedal stuff of Christianity. We believe in a God that we can’t explain, trust in a Savior we’ve never met and look forward to a heaven we’ve never seen. It sounds, well, unbelievable. That’s why it’s called amazing grace. If it was easy to understand and embrace we’d call it average or normal grace. The claims of Christ contain a whole lot of truth for an adolescent mind to wrap around and embrace without doubting some aspects of it. This is especially true about Jesus claim that he was “the way, the truth and the life” and that no one gets to heaven except through him. Many in this postmodern culture reject the notion that there is one true truth. There’s your truth and there’s my truth, but there is not one true truth.”
excerpt from Ministry Mutiny…A Youth Leader Fable
Questions:
- What is different about seeking to reach postmodern students verses youth ministry in the past?
- How do we change our tactics for reaching them without compromising the truth and our trust in the timeless power of God’s Word?
- How “infected” is your youth group with the “true for you but not for me” mentality so prevalent today?
- What can we do to get our teenagers to repent (change their minds) about the power of God’s Word, the gospel and truth?
Comment on the 6 Youth Ministry Principles of Ministry Mutiny
