Youth Culture Matters - A CPYU Podcast: Recent Episodes
CPYU
A podcast from CPYU (Center for Parent/Youth Understanding) discussing issues related to the world of youth culture, children, teens and young adults. Hosted by CPYU President Walt Mueller.
It's summertime and here on Youth Culture Matters were devoting our time to shorter episodes where we're talking about purposeful parenting, addressing timely topics to encourage and equip you as parents to help your kids navigate their world in ways that bring honor and glory to God. Take a few minutes to listen in today as I share about raising discerning kids.
It's summertime and here on Youth Culture Matters were devoting our time to shorter episodes where we're talking about purposeful parenting, addressing timely topics to encourage and equip you as parents to help your kids navigate their world in ways that bring honor and glory to God. Take a few minutes to listen in today as I share about helping your kids develop what's called "habitus."
It's summertime and here on Youth Culture Matters were devoting our time to shorter episodes where we're talking about purposeful parenting, addressing timely topics to encourage and equip you as parents to help your kids navigate their world in ways that bring honor and glory to God. Take a few minutes to listen in today as I talk about our need to raise "weak" kids.
It's summertime and here on Youth Culture Matters were devoting our time to shorter episodes where we're talking about purposeful parenting, addressing timely topics to encourage and equip you as parents to help your kids navigate their world in ways that bring honor and glory to God. Take a few minutes to listen in today as I talk about rewiring the rewiring.
The U.S. Surgeon General just dropped a massive warning on what’s trending with our kids regarding screen time, and the message it sends on how screen-time is impacting our children and teens is a wake-up call for all of us. Today, on this episode of youth culture matters, I chat with three youthworkers to break down the reports data and recommendations, and to strategize about how we can best respond for the good of our kids, and God’s glory.
What does it mean to thrive as a youth worker in today’s rapidly changing youth culture? And what are the best practices we can employ to insure that we are faithfully serving the Lord in this high calling of ministering to students? We’re tackling those questions and more as I chat with a trio of seasoned youth workers from the National Network of Youth Ministries – Wayne Morgan, Travis Deans, and Tony Villafane, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
One survey found that one third of 11 year-old boys had gambled in the last year. Smartphones and gambling apps are now driving the numbers up among children and teens. As Christians we need to embrace a biblically-faithful theological perspective that not only informs our personal behaviors and choices, but which we can pass on to our kids as they grow up in a world that is doing everything it can to nurture them into a lifetime of gambling. That's what we talk about in this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
The number of parents expressing concerns and confusion regarding smartphones and screentime is on the rise. And as we learn more about what kids are seeing during screentime and what they are opting out of in order to spend time on screens, the worries are rising. What our parents need is a robust theological and practical response to these issues. Youth pastor Jake Bier decided to dive in to provide information, theological insights, and response strategies not just for parents, but for the entire adult population in his church. You can hear how Jake addressed the technology issue with integrity and depth, as I chat with him on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
If we aren’t careful, social media can become a place where we can very easily indulge our sinful nature in ways that cause us to turn ourselves into little idols. We can become consumed with building our brand, bowing to the desires of our followers, and sharing versions of ourselves that really aren’t who we are at all. In a day and age where we experience ramped up identity pressure, we need to go to the right source to discover who we’ve been made to be. Today, I’m chatting with author and pastor Justin Poythress about overcoming these temptations, and finding stability and purpose in Jesus, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Several years ago, a concerned father approached me during one of our CPYU seminars to pose this question: “How can I expect my 13-year-old son to hear the still small voice of Jesus with all those other voices out there calling him to come and follow, come and follow?” Like this man, our greatest desire should be to see our children and teens launch into adulthood as faithful followers of Jesus. How can we trumpet the life-giving message of the Gospel in a world filled with competing voices? We’ll look for answers to that question as we chat with Katie Polski as she gives us three helpful reminders regarding the effective spiritual nurture of our kids, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
One of the great questions we face as Christians in today’s world is this: how do we lead young people to embrace biblical truth when the world they live in is obsessed with the "sovereignty of self"? They’re swimming in a culture of self-made truth, governed by the unholy trinity of me, myself, and I. Recently, I read a book for teens and young adults that pushes back against these false narratives—and does it with incredible kindness and grace. It’s called God-Breathed: Connecting Through Scripture to God, Others, the Natural World, and Yourself. Today, I’m chatting with the author, Rut Etheridge, to talk all about it on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
All of us who do youth ministry know peers who have lasted a long time in youth ministry, and those whose time in ministry has either been a flash in the pan, or perhaps a flitting around from position to position, never staying long enough in one place to really nurture students into a deeper faith. This is not surprising in a culture that doesn’t value commitment. Can’t we change this? Jody Livingston has identified ten essentials for longevity in youth ministry. That’s why we’ve invited Jody in to talk about his new book, Staying Power, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
It seems like every other day brings a story of a Christian leader, whether well-known or not, that falls into moral failure. How should we respond? Do we continue to use their teaching and writing after the revelations of sin come to light? And perhaps most importantly, are there lessons we need to learn about ourselves from the sins of those who have been entrusted with leadership? That's what we're talking about on this timely and sadly necessary episode of Youth Culture Matters.
With 2025 coming to an end and 2026 right around the corner we want to invite you to listen in as we talk today about devotional resources that can help us grow in our faith. Resources that we can put into the hands of our teenagers, resources for youth workers, resources for parents, and resources for the rest of us to all grow in our faith. We'll be discussing some of the best devotional resources we've found in this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
If I was to list the many ways in which today’s cultural narrative is misdirecting and misshaping our kids, the topic of identity would have to be at the top of the list. This is especially troubling when we realize that the search to figure out who I am is front and center in our kids lives as they grow through adolescence. Our friend Mike McGarry has written a book to help teenagers know and live out the beautiful reality of finding one’s identity as a divine image bearer. Stay tuned as I chat with Mike about leading kids to the truth about who they are, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
It's a pretty sure bet that everyone of us has been lonely at some point in our lives. In today's world, loneliness has reached epidemic proportions, especially among our children, teens, and young adults. Shelby Abbott has written a great new book on loneliness... it's causes and cure... and that's what I'm talking about with Shelby, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Here’s a fact of life regarding something that we all have in common: We’ve all been made by God to worship. The question is, who or what will we choose to worship. True and proper worship is our active response to God whereby we declare His supreme glory and worth, not just when we gather to sing, but with every fiber of who we are in every moment and endeavor of our lives. What are we doing to prepare our kids to worship this way in spirit and in truth, both now and for the rest of their lives? Listen in to learn how to curate deep, counter-cultural, and meaningful worship times with your kids, as we chat with seasoned and thoughtful worship leaders, Tom Yarbrough and Tammi Rhoton, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
I’m guessing you and all your kids are familiar with Taylor Swift, and most likely you know about her music. In recent days, she’s received lots of publicity for her new album, The Life of a Showgirl. And there’s one particular song on the album that’s garnered attention for it’s blatantly sexual and obscene lyrics. Because kids are listening and singing along, we need to teach our kids to think critically and Christianly about all music and media, and this particular song is a perfect place to start. Stick with us we chat with a couple of youth workers about the song, their students, and how they will be addressing it, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
You’ve seen the headlines. You’ve read the data. And you know doubt have heard and even lived in the growing number of stories. Teen mental health is a growing concern, as our kids deal with what seems like unprecedented amounts of anxiety, stress, and pressure. . . all being experienced during the vulnerable years of adolescence. As parents and youth workers, we need help, and a new book from our friends Dr. Danny Kwon and Dr. Monica Kim is one resource we can’t do without. Stick with us as I chat with Danny and Monica about how to understand and address the teen mental health epidemic, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
We love our sports, don’t we? We play, our kids play, and we are increasingly involved in indulging our allegiance to our teams. Over the course of the last couple of weeks, sports outlets have run story after story about players and fans behaving badly. Would you agree that the level of behavior on the fields and in the stands is getting somewhat less than civil? With Jesus as the Lord of all of life, what difference should our faith make for how we play and watch sports? And, how can we effectively teach our kids about integrating their faith into their engagements with sports? That’s what we’re addressing on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
It's summertime and here on Youth Culture Matters we're devoting our time to shorter episodes where we're talking about "Purposeful Parenting." We'll be addressing timely topics to encourage and equip you as parents to help your kids navigate their world in ways that bring honor and glory to God. Take a few minutes to listen in today as Walt Mueller shares ways to teach your kids about how to navigate body image pressure.
It's summer time and here on Youth Culture Matters we're devoting our time to shorter episodes where we're talking about "Purposeful Parenting." We'll be addressing timely topics to encourage and equip you as parents to help your kids navigate their world in ways that bring honor and glory to God. Take a few minutes to listen in today as Walt Mueller shares ways for you to help your kids navigate the epidemic of teen stress and anxiety.
It's summer time and here on Youth Culture Matters we're devoting our time to shorter episodes where we're talking about "Purposeful Parenting." We'll be addressing timely topics to encourage and equip you as parents to help your kids navigate their world in ways that bring honor and glory to God. Take a few minutes to listen in today as Walt Mueller shares ways to teach your kids to hear and follow God's will.
It's summer time and here on Youth Culture Matters we're devoting our time to shorter episodes where we're talking about "Purposeful Parenting." We'll be addressing timely topics to encourage and equip you as parents to help your kids navigate their world in ways that bring honor and glory to God. Take a few minutes to listen in today as Walt Mueller shares ways to teach your kids how to reclaim the gift of paying attention to each other in a screen saturated world.
It's summer time and here on Youth Culture Matters we're devoting our time to shorter episodes where we're talking about "Purposeful Parenting." We'll be addressing timely topics to encourage and equip you as parents to help your kids navigate their world in ways that bring honor and glory to God. Take a few minutes to listen in today as Walt Mueller shares ways to talk to your kids about making wise as opposed to foolish choices.
It's summer time and here on Youth Culture Matters we're devoting our time to shorter episodes where we're talking about "Purposeful Parenting." We'll be addressing timely topics to encourage and equip you as parents to help your kids navigate their world in ways that bring honor and glory to God. Take a few minutes to listen in today as Walt Mueller shares ways to talk to your kids about biblical sexuality during this "Pride Month."
If you’ve read Jonathan Haidt’s book, The Anxious Generation, you know that one of his most talked about remedies to teen anxiety is for schools to take steps to keep the phones out of students hands during the school day. While that might seem to be something easier said that done, how can we move schools in that direction, and how do students respond? I want to invite parents, youth workers, and school administrators to find out as you listen in to my conversation with two school administrators who followed Haidt’s advice, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
The new Netflix four-part drama series Adolescence has received rave reviews. Here at CPYU we have watched it, and we applaud the way it raises so many of the issues and problems facing teenagers and their families today. If you’ve already watched Adolescence, we encourage you to keep listening, and if you haven’t we recommended taking the time to watch before listening to this episode of our podcast. If you care about kids, the Adolescence mini-series is one we highly recommend, and it’s what we are talking about on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
If we haven’t been there ourselves, we have no idea what it’s like. When Anna Meade Harris’s husband went to be with Christ back in 2010, she suddenly found herself navigating the new and difficult world of being a widow and single -parent to three young boys. In many ways, she lost her place in the local church. Now desiring to help families, churches, and youth ministries navigate the unique realities of single parent families, Anna has written a book that will help all of us understand and respond to the unique needs of single parent families. I chat with her about that book, God’s Grace For Every Family, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Because we live in a rapidly changing world, it’s important that parents and youth workers keep their fingers on the pulse of youth culture, taking the time to know just what our kids are navigating, along with how to help them understand what God’s Word has to say about living to His glory. My friend Micah Marshall is a youth worker who has taken this calling seriously and does it well. Listen in as I chat with Micah about how to build meaningful connections with kids in order to effectively communicate the timeless truth of the Gospel, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
In I John 2:6 we read these words written about what it means to be a follower of Jesus: "Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did." In his new book, "Radical Like Jesus", Greg Stier helps us to understand what it means to be in Christ and to live like Jesus. I'm excited about this book and how we can use it in our homes, our churches, our youth groups, and our own lives. And, I'm especially excited to be chatting with my passionate and engaging friend, Greg Stier, about his new book, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
You don’t even need to listen carefully to hear our culture nurturing us and our kids into a consumer mentality of get, get , get. That message is everywhere! But the gospel is one that tells us to respond to the grace we’ve been shown and given, with a lifestyle of give, give, give. What does this mean for youth ministry and how we do discipleship? My friend Dave Coryell recently wrote a book built around a metaphor involving hippos and honey bees that can help us shift our youth ministries to better reflect gospel priorities. Stay tuned as I chat with Dave Coryell and Josh Good about this much-needed youth ministry shift, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
It’s that time of year between thanksgiving and Christmas when so many of us are watching and talking about our favorite holiday movies. As with all things in life, Christians need to think differently about movies. What is it that makes a movie good? What can movies tell us about the human condition? And how can we use movies in our homes and ministries to advance the Gospel? Stick with us as we engage in a winsome, fun, and informative conversation about movies with our movie-loving friend John Perritt, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Truth be told, I’ve yet to meet a parent who hasn’t at some time felt like a failure. Fear, guilt, shame, and regret are feelings that visit us all from time to time as we think about how well or not so well we are doing as Dads and moms. But for the Christian parent, there are truths about our God and ourselves that we need to hear, ponder, embrace, and live out. Stick with us as I chat with counselor Lauren Whitman about her helpful new book, “when parents feel like failures”, on this episode of youth culture matters.
As a parent and now a grandparent myself, I have lived through the ups, down, stresses, strains, opprotunties and joys that come with raising kids in today’s world. Recently, the U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory regarding the troubling state of the mental health and well-being of parents. Because youth workers are strategically positioned to come alongside, encourage, and ministry to parents in today’s world, we need to pay attention to this advisory, and look for ways to proactively minister to the parents in our churches and communities. Stick with us for my roundtable conversation with youth workers about the advisory and our response, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
When Fern Nichols sent her two oldest sons off to junior high school, her heart was heavy, knowing that they would be facing all kind challenges, choices, and temptations. Her concerns were shared by other mothers and they gathered to pray for her kids. This happened 40 years ago back in 1984. This was the beginning of Moms in Prayer International. Today, I’m chatting with two moms who are part of the Moms in Prayer ministry about how to pray for our kids as they navigate life in a changing youth culture, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
One of the most pressing developmental tasks facing all of our kids is the task of identity formation. It’s during the period of adolescence that the question, “Who am I?” is front and center. Because our kids are growing up in the world that pummels them with conflicting messages directing them to find their identity in what they do or how they feel, they need voices that will steer them into embracing an identity which has been given to them by the creator of life itself. I’m talking with Jonathan Holmes about his fantastic new book, Grounded in Grace: Helping Kids Build Their Identity in Christ, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
One of my go-to sources for information and thoughtful analysis on today’s youth culture is social psychologist, Jonathan Haidt. In his newest book, The Anxious Generation, Haidt offers insights and practical responses to the mental health epidemic sweeping through the population of children and teens. I’ve invited a group of youth workers who have read Haidt’s book to a roundtable discussion about our kids, mental health, Haidt’s insights, and Haidt’s four simple rules for remedying the crisis, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
How can we teach our children and teens to live out their faith and devotion to Jesus Christ in a culture that is largely ignorant of and even averse to the Gospel? One powerful teaching tool which we oftentimes overlook are the stories we can pass on regarding those who over the course of church history have devoted themselves, warts and all, to faithfully following Jesus Christ, regardless of the cost. On this episode of Youth Culture Matters, I chat with biographer Ellen Vaughn about Elisabeth Elliot, a modern-day follower of Christ whose ups and downs filled life and devotion to Christ offers a powerful example of what it means to live counter-culturally for the sake of the Gospel.
How can we best care for and love our kids as they navigate life in a confusing culture that encourages questioning whether or not they were born in the right body? As Christians, we are called to root our convictions on identity and gender in the unchanging word of God. Still, there’s been lots of confusion among youth workers and parents regarding the issue of gender, leading many to misguide kids in deeply damaging ways. Now, a growing number of detransitioners are speaking out from their own experience about the insidious and damaging transgender ideology. We welcome author, filmmaker, and the executive director of the Center for Bioethics and Culture, Kallie Fell, to take us into the very personal and compelling stories of detransitioners, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
This episode was originally released on April 26, 2023.
Don’t judge. You do you. Be authentic to yourself. God just wants you to be happy. These are just some of the cultural mantras that saturate the soup of today’s culture. If we aren’t careful, even followers of Jesus Christ can get swept up in the spirit of the times and believe these lies that we see and hear on social media each and every day. Alisa Childers will help us understand how to listen to evaluate and respond to these cultural lies as we talk about her new book, Live Your Truth and Other Lies: Exposing Popular Deceptions that Make Us Anxious, Exhausted, and Self-Obsessed, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
If you’re a youth worker or parent, you’ve been called to lead. As followers of Jesus Christ, learning to lead properly and to his glory is essential if we hope to nurture our kids in the Christian faith. I recently read a short little leadership book that took me on a deep and helpful journey into looking at who I am as a leader. The book, Faithful Leaders, And The Things That Matter Most is the most helpful leadership book I’ve ever read and I believe it would be for you, too. Stick with us as I engage in an energizing chat with the book’s author, Rico Tice, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Journalist Abigail Shrier is no stranger to controversy. She hit the topic of rapid onset gender dysphoria hard in her first best-selling book, Irreversible Damage. Recently, she released a new book, Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren’t Growing Up, which calls out therapeutic practices which she believes hurt rather than help our kids. Stick with us as I chat with counselors Julie Lowe and Dr. Phil Monroe to get their take on Shrier’s new book, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
The school year has come to a close and we’re launching into the summertime, a season that the old popular tune tells us is a time when the living is easy. If you’re like most, the summer months are a time for vacation getaways and getting your nose into a good book or two. On this episode of Youth Culture Matters, I’m going to share a very fast run-through of twenty books from which to choose if you’re looking for some good summer reading, all of them related in some way to faith, life, youth work, and parenting in today’s world.
Over the course of our years studying youth culture here at CPYU, there are a host of films that have offered us helpful peeks into the adolescent experience. One of the most provocative of those films is 1985’s The Breakfast Club. As the fortieth anniversary of the film is coming up, it’s amazing how well the film still captures the realities of teenage life. Today, I chat with a couple of youth workers about how The Breakfast Club is still very moving, and in many ways timeless, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
What is it like when undeserved mercy confronts undeniable evil, when kindness upends condemnation, and when heaven engages hell? Today, I interview two members of a family about how these things became real for them. It’s a story we need to hear, to consider, and to share with our children and teens as a way to learn about God’s amazing grace. Listen in as I chat with Tim Rogers and Megan Shertzer about how mercy is more powerful than murder, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Our children and teens are growing up in a world marked by a confusing mix of ever-changing challenges, choices, pressures, and expectations. These realities make it increasingly difficult for them to know what to believe and how to live in the world as faithful followers of Jesus Christ. How will they know right from wrong? How can they develop Biblical wisdom in order to be able to discern truth from lies? We are talking about practical ways to cultivate wisdom and discernment in our kids, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
It was back in January of 2007 that Apple CEO Steve Jobs spoke prophetic words to the attendees at the Macworld Conference. Jobs famously said, “Every once in a while, a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything.” He was talking about the smartphone, a device that has changed just about everything. Stick with us as we have a youth worker roundtable conversation about the latest findings on teens, tech, and social media, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
We begin the podcast with a fun discussion about music. Then CPYU Research Fellows and Youth Workers, Jason Engle, Kerry Trunfio, Tim McAlpine, and new CPYU staff John Barry, talk about the U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory on Social Media and Youth Mental Health. We take a look at some of the data it points to, as well as practical ways the insights can impact our ministries. We also look at a few trends and news stories from the world of teens and technology and discuss how to approach the issues biblically.
One of the questions youth workers are asking more than any other is this: What can I do to come alongside of and help parents as they seek to love their LGBTQ+ kids? Because all of our kids are divine-image bearers and we are called to parent them with grace and truth. I invite you to listen in as I chat with Joan McConnell and Joy Worrell, both members of the Parent and Family Ministry Team at Harvest USA, about how to best support our youth ministry parents as they navigate these tender, sensitive, and difficult issues in ways that honor the Lord and His good design on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Culture is changing at breakneck speed, and today’s youth workers need to not only keep up with the host of new challenges facing our kids, but they need to respond in ways that communicate the truths of the Gospel so that our kids might embrace a life of faithfulness to Jesus Christ as His disciples. Today, I pull together a group of boots-on-the-ground youth workers to help us learn more about where culture has gone over the last year, where it’s headed, and how we can practically respond as we nurture kids in our churches and homes. I invite you to listen in to our helpful conversation, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
“The feminist movement has given birth to many things: one of these is the popularization of gender, a concept that drives a wedge between sexed identity and embodiment.” Those words are written by Abigail Favale in the autobiographical chapter simply titled “Heretic”, in her new book, The Genesis of Gender: A Christian Theory. Abigail’s personal story and thoughtful book on the gift of our embodiement as male and female is a must-read for anyone hoping to lead kids through the current muddied and confused cultural narrative on sex and gender. I invite you to listen in to this conversation with Abigail Favale, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
The way that we parent and the way that we do youth ministry is always informed by the theology we embrace, whether that theology is embraced consciously or unconsciously. Of course, unless we work to consciously embrace a biblically-faithful and orthodox theology, we run the risk of thinking about God and Jesus in ways that are inaccurate and not even Christian. One hundred years ago, J. Gresham Machen faced and addressed this same dilemma, and he did so in ways that are helpful and informative for us today. I chat with my friend Dr. Steve Nichols about how Machen’s message is timely for us today, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
All of us in the youth ministry world have heard the experts tell us about the differences in generations. We have to realize that all of these statements are generalizations that are sometimes accurate and helpful, and sometimes not so accurate and less than helpful. What should we think about generational theory? And how can we as people who care about and love kids use it with wisdom and discernment in our youth ministries? Listen in as I chat with my friend Crystal Kirgiss and three of our youth worker friends about the good, the bad, and the ugly of generational theory, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
As Christians, our lives must be marked by a never-ending passion to know and live the truth. This is especially necessary in those aspects of life where convincing and easily-believed lies have taken root and grown, not only in the culture, but in our lives as well. What we believe about sex and gender is too often shaped by lies, rather than the truth of God’s will and way for His creation. Today we chat with someone, who like all of us, has believed and lived lies. By God’s transforming grace, she has also been brought out of darkness and into the light. Rosaria Butterfield is passionate about helping all of us know and live the truth, and I’m chatting with her about all of this on this episode, of Youth Culture Matters.
Here in the United States, over 45 million children and teens participate in organized sports every year. It’s no secret that over the years youth sports are costing families more and more in terms of time, effort, and money. If we allow it, this growing commitment can cut into our commitment to live a life of faithful Christian discipleship. Many youth workers and pastors lament how youth sports are taking so many kids away from opportunities for Christian nurture and growth. Today, I’m talking to our youth worker friend, Jason Engle, about how we can best navigate youth sports and church participation, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
It’s no secret that conversations about sex and gender are front and center in today’s world. This creates challenges for those of us who want to communicate God’s good design for sex and gender in our homes and churches. What voices are our kids listening to? And what should we be teaching regarding what it means to live lives of gender and sexuality regarding God’s design? Today, I’m chatting with one of the most trusted and helpful voices regarding biblical sexuality, Dr. Christopher Yuan, on this practical and helpful episode of Youth Culture Matters.
This episode was originally released on October 19, 2020.
Recent research tells us that about half of our eleven to twenty-one year old girls regularly alter their photos to enhance their appearance online in order to find acceptance. Researchers also tell us that our girls are much more likely to experience anxiety and depression than their male peers. What are cultural forces that are shaping and even mis-shaping girls in today’s world? Why are more and more of our girls struggling to figure out who they are and how to live in the world? And what can parents and youth workers do to guide girls through the earthquake of adolescence and into an adulthood where they flourish? Stay tuned as we chat with physician, counselor, and author Dr. Leonard Sax about his new book, Girls on the Edge, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
This episode was originally released on June 5, 2021.
People have always had questions, doubts, and objections to the Christian faith. Kids growing up in today’s youth culture are no exception. As they marinate in a cultural soup that encourages them to rely on their own intuition rather than biblical authority, the challenges to embracing a lifetime of following Jesus are very real. And I fear that the nurture taking place in our homes, churches, and youth groups all too often remains shallow, leaving kids to simply embrace the cultural narrative, rather than engaging with solid biblical answers to their questions. One of the best resources to remedy this is Rebecca McLaughlin’s new book, 10 Questions Every Teen Should Ask and Answer About Christianity. Stay with us as we chat with Rebecca about helping our kids find life-giving answers to their toughest questions, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
It’s been just a few days since Tim Keller went to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. A pastor, writer, and theologian, Keller has had a profound impact on so many during the late 20th and early 21st centuries. I, for one, have been blessed by Keller’s ministry. Today, I’m going to converse with some youth ministry friends about the life, impact, and legacy of Tim Keller and what it means for all of us moving forward, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Don’t judge. You do you. Be authentic to yourself. God just wants you to be happy. These are just some of the cultural mantras that saturate the soup of today’s culture. If we aren’t careful, even followers of Jesus Christ can get swept up in the spirit of the times and believe these lies that we see and hear on social media each and every day. Alisa Childers will help us understand how to listen to evaluate and respond to these cultural lies as we talk about her new book, Live Your Truth and Other Lies: Exposing Popular Deceptions that Make Us Anxious, Exhausted, and Self-Obsessed, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Our kids are growing up in a world where questioning one’s birth gender is an encouraged option. With more and more of our kids questioning their gender and even taking steps to transition, we need solid guidance on how to compassionately walk alongside them and minister to them in ways that glorify God. Stay tuned as I chat with my friend Nicholas Black about what to do say and what to do with those who are experiencing gender confusion on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
It’s mind-boggling, isn’t it? I’m talking about the rapid advances being made in technology and social media. As parents and youthworkers, it’s essential that we not only keep up with these changes, but that we also develop biblically-faithful strategies for helping our kids and their families navigate the use of these tools in ways that bring glory to God and advance our human flourishing. Knowledge, caution, and wisdom are necessary. That’s what we’ll address as we chat with Chris Martin about his new book, The Wolf in their Pockets: 13 Ways the Social Internet Threatens the People You Lead, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Where is God in the midst of the trials and suffering we face in life? Jesus told us that in this world we will have trouble, and the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation is filled not only with testimony to this fact, but with a theology of suffering that we must know, embrace, and pass on as an inheritance to our kids. If you’re like me, you often wonder how God works in the lives of those who face unimaginable suffering. When all seems hopeless is there any hope? Today, I chat with some young youth worker friends who have been and are in the midst of the unimaginable. Stick with us for a compelling conversation about real life suffering, real life hope, and a challenge to teach this to our kids, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
So today, I’ve got great news for youth workers! CPYU has put together a youth ministry training opportunity that we know will encourage and equip you as you look for ways to effectively minister to kids and their families. And I want to invite you to join us for four days in March to hear from sixteen gifted youth ministry trainers in five plenary sessions and your choice of twenty-eight different breakout sessions. Listen in as we introduce the Northeast Youth Ministry Summit and how to bring biblical hope to anxious hearts, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
We can’t answer the question What am I to do?, until we first answer the question “What am I to believe?” As Christians, we are called to listen to God’s Word, seeing it as the light that shapes our beliefs and guides our choices. Perhaps there’s no more urgent place in today’s world to embrace this reality than in God’s good gifts of marriage, sex, and gender. In an effort to help us recover and live out God’s will and way in these areas of life, Dr. Tim Tennant has written a fabulous book that will inform parents, youth workers, and pastors alike. I talk with Tim about his book, For the Body: Recovering a Theology of Gender, Sexuality, and the Human Body, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Because our children and teens are vulnerable, they need to be protected. After more than two decades as a family counselor, our friend Julie Lowe has seen how important it is to help parents and caregivers think wisely and biblically about the dangers children face. Instead of living in fear or denial, parents and caregivers can equip children to assess people and situations and model for them how to live by faith in a world where evil exists. Today, we chat with Julie to get insights from her brand new book, Safeguards – Shielding Our Homes and Equipping Our Kids, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Culture is catechizing and indoctrinating our kids twenty-four seven. From the time they emerge from the womb, our kids grow up in a media-saturated world that tells them who they are, what to believe, how to live in the world. Sadly, the culture more often than not steers our kids away from the life-giving answers that the Bible provides to all these questions. Parents and youth workers, we need to be intentional about teaching our children and teens a biblical worldview, and that’s we’re talking about today as we chat with Amy Davison from Mama Bear Apologetics, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Anyone who takes the spiritual growth and nurture of children and teens seriously can’t help but lament all the data that points to reality of so many young people coming of age and walking away from Christ and his church. But our lament is for naught if we don’t take steps to reverse this troubling trend. Today, we chat with our friend Tony Souder about some specific ways we can build the long-lasting faith of kids through fostering intergenerational relationships and facilitating intergenerational ministry opportunities, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
It was the late great media theorist Marshall McLuhan who said that first we shape our tools and then our tools shapes us. He went on and said, we become what we behold. Any of us who have used social media know that McLuhan was spot on. . . and if we don’t know it, we need to. Today, we take a look at how social media is shaping and misshaping us as moms, dads, kids, and youth workers. Listen in as we chat with Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra about her own story and her practical and Gospel centered book, Social Sanity in an Insta World, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
It was the late great media theorist Marshall McLuhan who said that first we shape our tools and then our tools shapes us. He went on and said, we become what we behold. Any of us who have used social media know that McLuhan was spot on. . . and if we don’t know it, we need to. Today, we take a look at how social media is shaping and misshaping us as moms, dads, kids, and youth workers. Listen in as we chat with Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra about her own story and her practical and Gospel centered book, Social Sanity in an Insta World, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
It was the late great media theorist Marshall McLuhan who said that first we shape our tools and then our tools shapes us. He went on and said, we become what we behold. Any of us who have used social media know that McLuhan was spot on. . . and if we don’t know it, we need to. Today, we take a look at how social media is shaping and misshaping us as moms, dads, kids, and youth workers. Listen in as we chat with Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra about her own story and her practical and Gospel centered book, Social Sanity in an Insta World, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
If you had it to do all over again, what would you do the same, and what would you differently. I can tell you that the older you get, the longer your list of answers becomes. Recently, I’ve been thinking about what I would add to my list of youth ministry strategies and practices if I was starting off this school year leading a local church youth ministry. I’ve come up with a list that I hope will encourage and equip you to be more effective in your youth ministry, and we’re talking about that list on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
If you had it to do all over again, what would you do the same, and what would you differently. I can tell you that the older you get, the longer your list of answers becomes. Recently, I’ve been thinking about what I would add to my list of youth ministry strategies and practices if I was starting off this school year leading a local church youth ministry. I’ve come up with a list that I hope will encourage and equip you to be more effective in your youth ministry, and we’re talking about that list on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
If you had it to do all over again, what would you do the same, and what would you differently. I can tell you that the older you get, the longer your list of answers becomes. Recently, I’ve been thinking about what I would add to my list of youth ministry strategies and practices if I was starting off this school year leading a local church youth ministry. I’ve come up with a list that I hope will encourage and equip you to be more effective in your youth ministry, and we’re talking about that list on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Well, all that hot fun in the summertime that sly and the family stone sang about so long ago is coming to an end as the fall is upon us and we are getting back into the swing of things with our youth ministry schedules. The big question we’re asking you today is this: What are you doing with parents? We’ve put together a roundtable of youth workers who talk about the importance of ministry to parents along with a host of parent ministry ideas and strategy, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
One of the greatest challenges facing the church, the home, and youth ministry today is the need for effective Christian nurture and discipleship that will lead kids to a deep faith that informs all of life for the rest of their lives. One necessary component in these ministry efforts is to welcome and answer the kinds of doubts and questions teenagers express about Christianity. Darkroom is a brand new series of free videos and support resources marked by quality in production and content, designed to be used by church and home to spark deep and meaningful conversations about the issues kids face today. Stick with us as I chat with Darkroom content creator Mary Jo Sharp, about this free new evangelism and discipleship resource, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
It seems that you can’t get away from all the cultural noise regarding issues of sexuality and gender. Sex education is coming fast and furious at our kids at younger and younger ages. This means its more important than ever that we speak and keep speaking about sex and gender from a biblical perspective. And, we must start to share God’s truth with even our pre-school children. What should we be teaching them about sex and gender. Stick with us as I chat with a group of parents and youth workers about ten truths from God’s Word on sex and gender home and church must be teaching kids, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Christian apologist Alisa Childers has called Progressive Christianity an entirely different religion from historical biblical Christianity. It has, she says, another Jesus and another Gospel. By twisting the Scriptures, Progressive Christianity plays well in today’s youth culture, and it is leading our kids away from obeying God, and into following their own feelings and preferences. To effectively lead our kids into a deep understanding of the Christian faith, we need to be able to recognize and answer progressive Christianity’s half-truths. That’s what we’re doing today as we chat with six youth workers about how to correct the lies of progressive Christianity, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
The late pastor Dr. James Montgomery Boice once said that “we must evaluate our experiences by the Bible’s teaching, rather than the other way around.” If we aren’t careful, the church, our youth ministries, and our selves will fall into the dangerous and deadly trap of believing, living, and leading in ways that are marked by that other way around. As youth workers and parents, we need to be aware of how this is happening through the advance of what’s called progressive theology, and we need to mindfully push back by staking ourselves to the truths of God’s Word. That’s why I’m chatting with a group of six youth workers about progressive Christianity and its dangers, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
A few weeks ago, a newspaper headline asked, “Is woke to be the only religion allowed in U.S. public schools?” Another headline reported that the Google search engine has gone woke, by adding an inclusive language function designed to suggest politically correct terminology. Our kids are learning that being woke is a virtue. What does it mean to be woke? How does wokeness mesh or not mesh with a biblical world and life view? How can we talk with our kids about wokeness in ways that are informed and balanced? Is there a Christian response to the dogmas of wokeness? That’s what we’re addressing today as we chat with Noelle Mering about her new book, Awake, Not Woke, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
What was the first thing you did this morning when you opened your eyes? Perhaps even before you got out of bed? A growing body of research says that you, like many others, grabbed and checked your smartphone. Have you ever spent time thinking about what your smartphone might be doing to you, your brain, and relationships? Stay tuned for some interesting insights from four boots on the ground youth workers about what they see smartphones doing to their students, along with some honest confessions about what those same phones are doing to them. . . on this episode of youth culture matters.
With summer fast approaching, many parents and youth workers are considering which summer activity options are the best ways to promote spiritual growth in children and teens. I believe one of the most valuable experiences we can give to our kids is time away from normal life and a chance to unplug and power down. Perhaps the perfect place to see this happen is at a Christian camp. Here at CPYU we are so excited about the benefits of Christian camping that today, we talk with two long-time camp directors, Greg Anderson and Nate Parks, on this episode, of Youth Culture Matters.
Suicide is one obvious sign that things are not the way they’re supposed to be in our world. For a growing number of our kids, the sad reality is that they come to believe that suicide is their only means of escape from a life that seems darker than the darkness of death. As parents and youth workers, we need to guide our kids into building their lives on the foundation of being known and loved by God, a foundation that will provide them with hope in the midst of difficulty. Today, I’m talking with counselor Julie Lowe about teens and suicide, recognizing the signs, and sharing Gospel-centered hope, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
This morning as I left my house, I grabbed three things: my car keys, my wallet, and my smartphone. Chances are, you did the same. And if you’re like me, you check your phone and social media early in the morning, before going to bed, and who knows how many times in between. It’s so much a part of daily routine that we don’t even realize we’re doing it. Not only that, we have little or no idea about what our smartphones and social media might be doing to us. Today, I talk with author Chris Martin about how to push back on the hold the technology has on our hearts and minds, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
I recently saw a meme that featured this very familiar desire shared by parents everywhere: What I want more than anything else is for my kids to be happy. As a parent, I always wanted my kids to be happy. In today’s culture, the pursuit of personal happiness is at the foundation of our beliefs and behaviors. But what happens when we emphasize the pursuit of personal happiness to the extent that it derails our kids from faithfully following Jesus? Stick with us as I chat with Crystal Kirgiss and Duffy Robbins about the most healthy ways to think about happiness, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
After each of my four children were born, I spent time wondering about the course their lives would take. What did God have in store for their futures? What would God call them to vocationally? Would they be called to singleness or marriage? And if it was marriage, who would they choose to marry? As a youth pastor, I asked the same questions about my students, especially as marriage has declined in our culture. I would oftentimes pray for my own two daughters, asking God to provide good husbands if in fact marriage was in His plans. I also knew that I shouldn’t just sit back and let nature take its course, but that I had to prepare them to choose well. Tom Stein has written a very helpful letter to his own daughter about choosing a Godly husband, and that letter is what we’re talking about, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
There’s little chance that we are able to discern biblical truth from the spirit of the times until our roots go deep through washing and delighting ourselves each and every day in the Word of God. Sadly, many of those called to nurture children and teens in the faith today are misleading the young by never faithfully teaching the truths of God’s Word. And without a knowledge of the truth, the enemies lies are more easily believed. Even what seems like an innocent Christian children’s book can put kids on a fast road away from the true Christian faith. That’s why I’m chatting today with Elizabeth Urbanowicz about how to train our kids in biblical discernment, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
It was over three-hundred and fifty years ago that Richard Baxter wrote, “Study hard, for the well is deep, and our brains are shallow.” Baxter’s words are timely for life in our world today, as we tend to feel around for what is good, true, and right, rather than engaging our brains to find what is good, true, and right. This shift has created challenges to our efforts to always be ready to give an answer for our Gospel hope. That’s why we’re chatting with Dr. Steve Nichols and educator Graham Dennis about the place and practice of apologetics in a post-truth world, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Parenting and youth work these days hasn’t gotten any easier. Both involve relating to and leading kids who have to navigate a difficult and confusing world. This means that as leaders, we have new challenges to navigate as well. Counselor and author Julie Lowe is no stranger to these difficulties, and we’ve found her to be a source of great wisdom and guidance as we encounter tough situations. Stick with us as Julie answers many of the questions facing parents and youth workers in this rapidly changing youth culture, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Remember Kevin Malone from The Office? The sitcom character once said, “I work hard all day. I like knowing that there’s going to be a break. Most days I just sit and wait for the break.” I laughed when Kevin said it. But for the Christian, work and our attitude toward it is to be something different. Sadly, most of us don’t know what that something different is. Too many of our kids are growing up without a working theology of vocation, calling, and work. And if we want to see our kids liberated from the cultural narrative of seeing work as a necessary evil, we need to educate them properly. Stick with us as I have a paradigm shifting chat with Dan Doriani about his new book, Work That Makes A Difference, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
There’s absolutely no way we can ignore it. The Netflix nine part series Squid Game is a big hit across cultures and generations. It’s especially popular among our kids. Since pop culture artifacts like Squid Game serve as a worldview forming and reflecting map for our kids , we need to pay attention. And that’s what we’re doing today as we chat with our friends Clark Fobes and Kevin Yi about Squid Game, it’s message, its meaning, and how to respond, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
You most likely remember Paul McCartney taking the lead on the Beatles’ classic 1970 song, “Let It Be.” Devastated by the death of his mom Mary to breast cancer when he was only 14 years old, McCartney was paying homage to the memory of his mom’s best advice when he sang, "When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be.” Wisdom. It’s much needed and sadly, in short supply. We live in a world where social media and technology undermine our wisdom, and we are fattening up on foolishness. I’m grateful for Brett McCracken and his new book which provides an antidote to our current wisdom famine. Stick with us as we chat with Brett about his book, The Wisdom Pyramid: Feeding Your Soul In A Post-Truth Word, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
1970 was a long, long time ago. In September of that year, Ford introduced the Pinto. The supersonic Concorde landed for the first time at Heathrow Airport. The first New York city marathon was held. Both the Mary Tyler Moore show and Monday Night Football premiered. And along with all of that, I was fourteen years old and starting my freshman year of high school. That was also the year when a new youth pastor showed up at our church. Fifty one years have passed since the day I met Phil Douglass, and I’m really excited to reconnect with Phil all these years later to talk about life and ministry, on this special episode of Youth Culture Matters.
On the night before his death, Jesus prayed what’s now become known as his high priestly prayer. As he prayed the will of the Father for his disciples in all times and all places, he said, “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is the truth.” For the follower of Jesus, our place is to be in, but not of the world. In today’s world, one place where our counter-cultural presence has been compromised is in the area of sex and marriage. We increasingly and willingly choose beliefs and behaviors that go with flow of the culture. What do young evangelical Christians believe about sex and marriage? And how can we guide them into God’s good and beautiful plan for their sexuality? Stick with us as we talk to Dr. David Ayers about his new book, Beyond the Revolution: Sex and the Single Evangelical, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Way back in 1678, John Bunyan wrote the classic book, The Pilgrim’s Progress. The allegory brings to life the difficulties followers of Jesus face in navigating the challenges of living to God’s glory in this broken world. Even though the story is almost three hundred and fifty years old, Bunyan’s young protagonist, Christian, is not unlike our children and teens today. How can we equip our children and teens to navigate the unique set of pressures, dilemmas, challenges, choices, and expectations they face in today’s youth culture? Are there ways to facilitate the development of Christian wisdom and skills in cultural discernment that will serve them well for the rest of their lives? Join as we chat with two youth workers about a new resource from CPYU designed to help kids navigate today’s culture to the glory of God, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Welcome to Youth Culture Matters, a podcast from the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding. We’ve taken a short break from recording new episodes, so today we want to go back into our archives to highlight a timely conversation. Today's episode is a look back at a discussion with Peter Lynas that aims to help us better understanding the transgender issues rapidly taking shape in today's culture. Listen in to a replay of Episode 83, titled "Understanding Transgender in a Changing Culture" with Peter Lynas. This episode was originally released on May 13, 2019.
One of the most frequent concerns I hear from youth workers regarding the influence of today’s youth culture, are concerns related to the growing involvement of kids and families in youth sports. These days families are spending more time and more money on youth sports, sometimes pulling kids out of opportunities for spiritual growth. Even those of us who don’t play, but who watch college and pro sports, can easily develop idolatrous habits? What is it that’s driving our obsessions with sports? Can we engage with sport in healthy ways that bring glory to God? And how can we best minister to kids and families in our sports-obsessed world? Stick with us as we talk about integrating faith into the world of sport, with Dr. Tim Sceggel, a college athletic director, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
You might remember Kanye West’s 2007 chart-topping single, “Stronger.” In the song West quotes the famous line from Fredrich Nietzsche, “that which does not kill us makes us stronger.” According to the Bible, that’s true. But in today’s world, we are told that the emerging generations increasingly believe the opposite, that what doesn’t kill you makes you weaker. Are our kids losing their ability to do hard things and endure difficulty? Are we coddling and protecting them out of healthy growth and development? And, what can we do to reverse the tide and begin to facilitate spiritual growth that leads to a life marked by resilience? Stay with us as I chat with my friend Marv Penner about resilience and how to foster it in our kids, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
On the day I became a father, everything changed. And then, on the day almost eight years ago when I became a grandfather, everything changed again. When I became a father, I earnestly prayed for my kids as I knew they were growing up in a world markedly different from the world that I grew up in. Now, as a grandfather, my prayers have increased as the challenges of growing up have ramped up even more. I am convinced that for kids growing up in today’s world, the role grandparents can and must play is more than necessary. And one of the greatest roles we can play is that of being a prayer champion for our grandkids. Youth workers and parents, listen in today as we talk with our friend Tony Souder about ways that you can resource grandparents to pray for their grandkids, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
People have always had questions, doubts, and objections to the Christian faith. Kids growing up in today’s youth culture are no exception. As they marinate in a cultural soup that encourages them to rely on their own intuition rather than biblical authority, the challenges to embracing a lifetime of following Jesus are very real. And I fear that the nurture taking place in our homes, churches, and youth groups all too often remains shallow, leaving kids to simply embrace the cultural narrative, rather than engaging with solid biblical answers to their questions. One of the best resources to remedy this is Rebecca McLaughlin’s new book, 10 Questions Every Teen Should Ask and Answer About Christianity. Stay with us as we chat with Rebecca about helping our kids find life-giving answers to their toughest questions, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
I recently went back and read through the first book I wrote way back in 1988, Ministry To Families With Teenagers. I had written these words: “Moral and faith development are influenced first and foremost by the family. Inevitably, those clumsy 12-year-olds in the middle school youth group blossom into mature adults who are strikingly like their parents.” I believed that then, and I believe it even more now. In recent years, sociologist Dr. Christian Smith has served to provide youth workers and parents with practical research-based suggestions that affirm this reality and which, when heeded, foster greater effectiveness in our parenting and youth ministries. And that’s what Christian Smith will be sharing as we talk to him about his new book, Handing Down The Faith, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
The great theologian J.I. Packer once said, “If I were the devil, one of my first aims would be to stop folk from digging into the Bible. How? Well, I would try to distract all clergy from preaching and teaching the Bible?” As I read Packer’s words, I got to thinking about youth workers. Our primary calling is to lead kids to faithfully follow Jesus, a task that requires us first and foremost to know and teach the Bible. Sadly, the rising tide of biblical illiteracy and spiritual wandering among our kids is evidence that we should be doing everything in our power to effectively teach the Bible and theology. And it’s for that reason that today, we’re making make a big announcement to our youth worker friends. Stick with us to hear all about it, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Check out the new podcast at cpyu.org/twiym
Artificial intelligence is everywhere. Its managing our social media feeds, the devices in our homes, our online shopping, the way we get our news. . . really, the way we live each and every day. It’s influencing all of us, including our children and teens, who are destined to live with more and more artificial intelligence as the years pass. In his new book, The Age of AI, Jason Thacker helps us see Artificial Intelligence’s impact on our bodies, sexuality, work, warfare, economics, medicine, parenting, and privacy. Join us as we talk to Jason Thacker about how parents and kids can navigate the age of AI to the glory of God in ways that don’t compromise our human dignity, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
The sexual revolution of the 1960s was about anything and everything in opposition to a biblical sexual ethic. A response from the church was necessary, as the cultural narrative was undoing God’s order and design for his good gift of sex. Many of us responded with what’s known now as the purity movement as we ministered to kids in the 1980s and 90s. While the purity movement and its advocates were well-intentioned, we are now able to look back and evaluate the effectiveness of the movement and its message. To move forward in our ministry to kids, we need to reckon with our mistakes and change course where needed. That’s what we’re discussing as we chat with Rachel Joy Welcher about her new book, Talking Back To Purity Culture: Rediscovering Faithful Christian Sexuality, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
If you’ve ever studied or even just dabbled in the social sciences, you’ve probably heard the German word Zeitgeist. Translated into English, the term Zeitgeist means the spirit of the times. To know the zeitgeist is to know the widely-held beliefs that shape behaviors. As Christians, we want to stay in touch with the times as we seek to understand what the apostle Paul referred to in another way, as the course of this world. What are some of the main beliefs that are shaping the behaviors of young and old alike in today’s world? And, how can we begin to teach kids to believe and behave to the glory of God? Stay tuned as we chat with our friend Sean McDowell about these questions and his new book, Chasing Love, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Yogi Berra is not only known for having one of the greatest baseball names ever, but for uttering some amazingly creative and funny things. After experiencing the cultural upheaval of the last twelve months, I was reminded of what Berra said after watching his teammates Micky Mantle and Roger Maris hit back to back home runs: It’s déjà vu all over again!” For those of us who came of age during the late 1960s and early 70s, the last few months seem strangely familiar. What’s the same? What’s different? And are there lessons we learned fifty years ago that can help us understand and respond to our current times? Stick with us as we seek answers to these questions in an enlightening conversation with a pair of astute culture watchers, Steve Garber and Steve Turner, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Frederick Douglas once said, “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” And that famous philosopher, Dr. Suess once gave this directive for a flourishing life: “Fill your house with stacks of books, in all the crannies and all the nooks.” One of the greatest gifts God has given to us is the ability to read. But in today’s world, constraints on our time and our increased focus on screens has crowded out reading for most of us and for most of our kids. We need to recover a love for reading, as good reading will shape and form us in good ways. It’s because we believe this to be true that we’re chatting with author Karen Swallow Prior about the power of good books to shape our lives, our kids, our families, and our youth ministries, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
For many if not most of us, Superheroes played a significant role in our childhood. It was Adam West’s TV portrayal of Batman that I remember from my elementary school years. Since then, Superheroes, comic books, and an almost endless stream of superhero films have played a significant role in pop culture, not just for kids, but for adults as well. Because we have been made to love stories, we are drawn into the tales of these mythical characters. Why is that? And how can we leverage these cultural artifacts in our ministries with kids? Today, we have fun with the lively and winsome trio from the Thanos to Theos podcast, about Superheroes, comic books, movies, theology, and our kids, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
One of main developmental tasks of the adolescent stage is the journey to forming one’s identity. In today’s world, some of the most compelling, dangerous, misdirected cultural messages are leading kids down wrong paths as they look for answers to the question, Who am I? Dr. Carl Trueman has written a great new book that helps us understand and address these issues. We love chatting with Carl about his practical, hope-filled, and theologically informed cultural observations. Today is no exception as Duffy Robbins and I learn from Carl and his new book, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution, on this enlightening episode of Youth Culture Matters.
As Christian parents and youth workers, our greatest desire for our kids should be to see them come to know and serve Jesus Christ in every nook and cranny of their lives. For those of us committed to this path for our kids it is discouraging when kids grow up to serve the cultural script for life rather than going deeper in their faith. I’ve always wondered if part of the issue is that our desire to lead them to Jesus, even though well-intentioned, isn’t informed and directed by good theology. Today, we invite you to dig more deeply into the value of theology for parenting and youth ministry, as we chat with my friend from Ligonier Ministries, Dr. Steve Nichols, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Abuse makes it’s ugly presence felt in all kinds of ways and places. Fortunately, the curtain if being pulled back to expose the secretive and destructive world of abuse in our culture. Alarmingly, there has been a secretive world of abuse in the church. And, it’s a good thing that this is being exposed as well. What forms does power take? How is power abused, particularly in the church? And, how should we respond to abuses of power? Stick with us as we shed light on the dark world of abuse as we converse with Dr. Diane Langberg about her new new book, Redeeming Power: Understanding Authority and Abuse in the Church, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
When I was engaged in full-time local church youth ministry, it was obvious to me that my greatest youth ministry asset was my volunteers. They were nothing short of awesome. One of the mistakes we make in today’s youth ministry world is believing that the best youth workers are those who do it full-time with large budgets and lots of kids. That’s just not true. Here at CPYU, we believe that part-time youth workers, volunteers, and bi-vocational youth workers are essential and effective. That’s why we’re focusing today’s conversation on answering some of the unique youth ministry questions being asked by those who aren’t full-timers. Stick with us as bi-vocational youth worker Jordan Martin picks the brains of veteran trainers Duffy Robbins and Marv Penner, on this episode of youth culture matters.
On my shelf sits a Bible concordance that was given to me as a Christmas gift by my parents back when I was twenty years old and getting ready to embark on a lifetime of youth ministry. I recently opened it up and saw the words of Proverbs 19:20 that my mom had written inside the front cover. “Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom for the future.” That imperative has served me well over the years, reminding me of my need to always be listening and learning. For those of us in youth ministry, it’s important that we remain teachable, listening to wisdom and advice of those who have gone before us, loving Jesus and ministering to kids. Ron Belsterling is one of those wise voice in our youth ministry world. Stick with us as we talk to Ron about his new book, A Defense of Youth Ministry, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
On the night before his crucifixion, Jesus prayed for his disciples in all times and all places, that we would be in, but not of the world. He knew that in our sinfulness, we would be prone to forsaking our duty to be a counter-cultural presence in the world, by allowing the culture to establish it’s presence in the church. In today’s world, the culture infiltrating the church through what’s called progressive Christianity. What is progressive Christianity? And why are people, especially young people, drawn to it? And, how can we as parents and youth workers point our kids to embracing and living the truths of historic Christianity? We talk to Alisa Childers about her own story, progressive Christianity, and her new book, Another Gospel? A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth In Response to Progressive Christianity, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Recent research tells us that about half of our eleven to twenty-one year old girls regularly alter their photos to enhance their appearance online in order to find acceptance. Researchers also tell us that our girls are much more likely to experience anxiety and depression than their male peers. What are cultural forces that are shaping and even mis-shaping girls in today’s world? Why are more and more of our girls struggling to figure out who they are and how to live in the world? And what can parents and youth workers do to guide girls through the earthquake of adolescence and into an adulthood where they flourish? Stay tuned as we chat with physician, counselor, and author Dr. Leonard Sax about his new book, Girls on the Edge, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Full episode notes here:
https://cpyu.org/resource/episode-116-girls-over-the-brink-with-dr-leonard-sax/
I once heard someone say that judging from how Christians choose to live these days, the ten commandments God gave to Moses should be relabeled as the 10 suggestions. That’s certainly justified when it comes to the fourth commandment which tells us to remember and keep a Sabbath. Who does that anymore? Our kids have no idea what is means to Sabbath. The frantic pace of life in today’s world has combined with other trends to undo a commitment to Sabbath-keeping. Sadly, we’re coming undone as a result, and we realize we’re weary. What is Sabbath? Why is sabbath important? And how can we rediscover Sabbath-keeping so that we can once again find rest in the midst of our busy lives? We’re chatting with A.J. Swoboda about our Sabbath dilemma, and his book, Subversive Sabbath, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Have you seen the comical T-Shirt based on the 1985 movie Back To The Future? It depicts the absent-minded Doc instructing young Marty McFly, “Whatever you do Marty, don’t go to 2020!” This has been a very strange year. All of us have had multiple challenges to navigate. In the midst of it all, youth culture marches on as does our responsibility to know what’s happening in the culture so that we might bring the light of God’s Word to offer needed correctives to the course of this world. What are the current youth culture trends we need to be aware of? Stick with us as I chat with four culture-watching youth workers about what they’ve seen trending in youth culture over this last summer, along with how to shape biblically-sound ministry responses, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Welcome toYouth Culture Matters, a podcast from the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding. We’re taking a short break from recording new episodes, so for the next few weeks of summer we’ll be highlighting episodes from our archive. Today's episode is a discussion about intergenerational prayer and the "Pray For Me" campaign. Listen in to a replay of Episode 50: "Intergenerational Ministry Through Prayer" with Tony Souder. The original episode has been edited to begin today's version at the onset of our interview with Tony. The full episode was originally released on December 22, 2017.
Welcome to Youth Culture Matters, a podcast from the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding. We’re taking a short break from recording new episodes, so for the next few weeks of summer we’ll be highlighting episodes from our archive. Today's episode is an encouraging conversation with Pastor Scotty Smith. Listen in to a replay of Episode 29: "Prayer, God's Story, and Preaching the Gospel to Yourself" with Scotty Smith. The original episode has been edited to begin today's version at the onset of our interview with Scotty. The full episode was originally released on February 1, 2017.
Welcome to Youth Culture Matters, a podcast from the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding. We’re taking a short break from recording new episodes, so for the next few weeks of summer we’ll be highlighting episodes from our archive. Today's episode is a look back at a discussion with Dr. Virginia Ward on the topic of racial inequality and youth ministry. Listen in to a replay of Episode 13: "Race, Youth Ministry, and The Church" with Dr. Virginia Ward. This episode was originally released on July 14, 2016.
Welcome to Youth Culture Matters, a podcast from the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding. We’re taking a short break from recording new episodes, so for the next few weeks of summer we’ll be highlighting episodes from our archive. Today’s episode begins with some fun banter about baseball, appropriate with the 2020 season about to get underway, and concludes with a very helpful conversation with James K. A. Smith and his book You Are What You Love. Listen in to a replay of Episode 24: “Liturgies, Our Loves and our Habits” with James K. A. Smith. This episode was originally released on November 21, 2016.
Earlier this week I read this short and gut-wrenching Facebook post from a friend: Today she would have turned 20. All that we wonder and all the ache that we feel melding into one vast teardrop. It’s saltiness stinging the souls and staining the pages of the lives of those she left behind. My friends teenage daughter took her own life a few years ago. I’ve been reminded as well that life in our tumultuous and uncertain times is contributing to a rise in the suicide rate. I want to invite you to listen in on a timely conversation with Dr. Karen Mason, author of the book Preventing Suicide: A Handbook For Pastors, Chaplain, and Pastoral Counselors, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
I wonder how history will remember the first half of 2020? We would all agree that so far, one of the biggest stories centers on the Coronavirus pandemic, and our culture’s efforts to reckon major changes to everyday life. One aspect of our retreat from physical presence has been a movement into engaging with others in digital space, for everything from church, to government meetings, to business appointments, to medical check-ups, to education. Today, we want to look at the impact of the coronavirus on education and learning. What is the good, the bad, and ugly when it comes to the shift from the classroom, to the screen? Stick with us as we chat with our friend, Professor Duffy Robbins and three of his college students about their pandemic educational experience, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
If all goes as planned, our nation should continue to open up over the coming weeks and months. We’ve been removed from being physically present at our jobs, our schools, our churches, and our familiar social settings. We all are longing to return to a more normal coronavirus-free life. One big question mark remains regarding schooling when the summer is over and the fall begins, particularly for incoming college freshman and other returning college students. In an effort to gain some sense of what we need to be prepared for regarding higher education, we chat with the president of Geneva College, Dr. Calvin Troup, and a team of Geneva College administrators, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
I’m guessing that for all of us, these last few weeks have been filled with the hopeful expectation that we will soon be coming out of our quarantines and getting back to life as normal. For those of us in youth ministry, we can’t wait to once again meet face to face with our kids. As we get ready to head back, we can’t forget the many lessons we’ve learned about ourselves and our ministries during the pandemic. When we return to ministry, perhaps there are old ministry elements we should jettison, and new ministry strategies we should enlist. Stick with us as we chat with Mike McGarry about how a biblical theology of youth ministry can help us get back at it with a new youth ministry normal that focuses on leading students to a deepened faith in Jesus Christ.
We’re all looking forward to the day when the stay at home order is lifted and the country is opened again. The Coronavirus pandemic has changed everything in our lives, including the way that we do youth ministry. As the pandemic has unfolded, more and more youth workers are dialoguing on what youth ministry will look like when this is all over. What changes should we make? And what changes should we avoid? Hopefully, our adjustments will reflect an increased focus on teaching the Bible and deep discipleship, while getting rid of ministry add-ons that really don’t matter. Join us for a lively and challenging roundtable conversation about post-pandemic youth ministry, as I chat with my friends Doug Franklin, Cameron Cole, Tony Souder, and John Perritt, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
The Coronavirus quarantine has changed just about everything in our lives. That’s certainly true for our kids as well. While they have already been spending several hours a day engaged with their smartphones, the stay-at-home order and school shut-downs have given them more time to fill with their eyes on their screens. One of the dangers is that this gives them more time to find pornography, and more time for pornography to find them. What can parents do to engage in constructive conversations about God’s design for His good gift of sexuality, and the dangers of pornography’s expression of broken sexuality? Stick with us as Jason Soucinek and I engage in a conversation with the author of the book Surfing for God, Michael John Cusick, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Over the years I’ve learned that difficulty and suffering serve us in positive ways when they peel away the layers of distraction that keep us from thinking about the things that really matter. Suffering and difficulty are great teachers. Dr. Carl Trueman believes that our current pandemic is doing us a favor by offering us a window into realizing that very few of us have been prepared well to face our own mortality. How can families, youth groups, and churches equip young and old alike to grapple with that gnawing inevitable reality that we all work so hard to avoid? Stick with us for an encouraging, practical, and yes. . . winsome conversation with Carl Trueman and Duffy Robbins about the opportunity we now have to learn how to live in the shadow of our mortality, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
As we navigate the unfolding realities of the COVID-19 epidemic, many are raising legitimate concerns about how well our kids and their families are dealing with the associated fears and anxieties. Mental health experts are developing models regarding mental health curves once this crisis is over. Youth workers and parents are called and positioned to work together to guide kids through this crisis with knowledge of the truths of the Gospel and the hope that is ours in Christ. Join us as we chat with counselor Julie Lowe, about seizing this opportunity to lead our kids to mental and spiritual flourishing over the coming days and weeks, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
All of us find ourselves navigating some difficult and trying times. The current global health crisis has led to lots of soul-searching as we think about an uncertain future. No doubt, our anxiety levels are high. For the Christian, understanding and handling anxiety has to happen from the perspective of the biblical narrative as opposed to the cultural narrative. Youth worker and parents have been given unprecedented opportunity to address anxiety with our children and teens. After all, they’re worried. Dr. Ed Welch is a valuable resource to us all as we think about and address anxiety from a biblical perspective. Stick with us for this very practical, helpful, and timely discussion with Ed Welch, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
We would agree that the past few weeks have been like none we’ve ever experienced before. The Coronavirus pandemic is changing everything about how we live. And while the coronavirus is a problem, it has also created huge youth ministry opportunities that we can’t miss. The fact that our kids are living in fear, anxiety, and uncertainty means that we have an unprecedented opportunity to point them to the grace, mercy, and peace of our burden-bearing Savior, Jesus Christ. Stick with us as I engage in a timely and practical discussion with a group of very thoughtful youth workers, as we strategize on how to best navigate this landscape filled with spiritual hunger, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
As youth workers, it is our high calling and high privilege to teach, speak, and preach God’s word to our students. With the Psalmist, we know that God’s Word is a lamp for the feet of our students and a light on their path as they navigate a difficult and confusing world. As teachers, speakers, and preachers who share God’s word from up front, in small groups, and in our one on one conversations with kids, we need to be responsible in the way we handle and communicate the bible. What practices are necessary to good preparation to teach God’s Word? And what do we need to know about our students and their cultures in order to lead them well? Join us as we talk to Matthew Kim, about teaching, speaking, and preaching best practices, on this very practical episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Whether you find yourself out in public, or in the privacy of your own home, chances are that when you are in the presence of others, many of them have their eyes focused on their smartphone screens. Our lives are so focused on our phones that we are seeing the breakdown of relationships, attention spans, and critical thinking. What would happen if we locked our phones away for an entire week? College professor Donna Freitas recently conducted an experiment where she had her students untether for seven days. Join us for a lively and eye-opening conversation with Donna about what she and her students learned about our dependence on smartphones and what happens when we shut down, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Find full notes here: https://cpyu.org/resource/episode-98-no-phones-for-a-week-with-donna-freitas/
These days, I’m hearing fewer and fewer pastors, school-teachers, and youth workers praising parents for doing a great job with their kids. And more and more I’m reading research that laments the loss of absolutes, the lack of discipline, and increase in entitlement, and the decline in mental health among our children and teens. One of the clear causal factors feeding these trends is a decline in effective parenting. But there is hope. Christian parents can break out of the cultural flow and reassert their authority in ways that will lead kids to healthy spiritual, physical, and emotional growth. Join as we chat with one of the most insightful voices guiding us into an understanding of what it means to parent well, Dr. Leonard Sax, as we chat with him about his best-selling book, The Collapse of Parenting, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Kids and adults alike have been hammered with the idea that we are to seize the day. Sadly, how we understand and live out carpe diem is that we live in the moment, with little regard for the past and not much thought at all about the future. Our homes and youth ministries should be places where this notion is challenged, as we endeavor to become and to raise people who live in the now in light of our future eternal hope, while treasuring the rich spiritual history of the past. One of the greatest Christian thinkers and cultural analysts of our time, Dr. Os Guinness, joins us to talk about how to live rightly, discern the times, and redeem the day, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Because all of us have been created by God and given the good gift of our gender and sexuality, we all live out what can be called our personal sex story. How we choose to live out our gender and sexuality hinges on what larger narrative we choose for our lives. In today’s world, the culture tells us that we should live within a narrative focused on self-fulfillment and individual choice. But the creator of sex invites us to find true freedom in the story He has written for us. Christopher Yuan calls this Holy Sexuality. Join us as we chat with Christopher Yuan about finding our identity in Christ and not our sexuality, as we talk about his book Holy Sexuality and the Gospel, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
If there’s been a rising chorus of lament over young people in the church, it’s been the rate at which young people are graduating from high school and leaving the church. For several years now, research projects have identified this post high school exodus as a growing concern. But in their recently released book, David Kinnaman and Mark Matlock share research that helps us understand why those who stay, decide to stay. What are the youth ministry practices that build resilient disciples of Jesus Christ? What can we do to turn tide on this discouraging trend? We’ll talk to our friend Mark Matlock about the new book, Faith for Exiles, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Christian parents and youth workers over the years, it’s that they want the best for their kids. One area where many of us have struggled to teach God’s best is in the area of God’s grand and glorious gift of sex and sexuality. That struggle has played out in the church in a variety of ways, including the fact that for our evangelical teens and young adults, sex outside of marriage has become increasingly morally acceptable. What is the extent of premarital sexual activity among our unmarried young people in the church? And, how can we respond to these current trends in ways that effectively teach kids to both glorify God and experience sexual flourishing? We’ll tackle these and other matters as we chat with sociologist and researcher Dr. David Ayers, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Do you remember the old 1981 song from the band Loverboy? "Everybody’s working for the weekend" is how the familiar chorus goes. If you think about it, that chorus really captures how we’ve come to think about and engage in work. In today’s world, work is functionally seen as drudgery, or even as an unpleasant activity that’s necessary for no other purpose than to fund our leisure activities. But that is not what work is intended to be. In the larger Grand Story of the bible, our work matters. And if we fail to understand and teach a rich theology of calling, vocation, and work, we shortchange our kids. How can we recover a proper understanding of work? And who must youth workers become if we hope to disciple kids into doing all things to the glory of God? Stick with us as we talk about this largely neglected area of discipleship, along with a helpful new youth ministry resource we can use to prepare kids for vocational flourishing, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
If you’ve been watching NFL games this fall, you’ve no doubt noticed the amount of attention being paid to hits on defenseless players, helmet-to-helmet tackles, and dangerous blows to the head. It seems like a growing number of fines and suspensions are being dished out. This is all part of our growing knowledge regarding the dangers of sub-concussive impacts and concussions. Thanks to the work of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, awareness is growing regarding our need to reduce blows to the head, particularly at the level of youth sports. In fact, the Concussion Legacy Foundation recently released a PSA challenging parents to put off tackle football until the age of 14. Since we need to steward the health of our children and teens, we must learn what we can about concussions and the degenerative brain disease known as CTE. We’ll talk about the work of the Concussion Legacy Foundation with Chief Impact Officer Tyler Mayland, and get a view from the sideline with Athletic Trainer Sheila Mueller, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
In recent weeks, the news cycle has been filled with conversations about forgiveness. These conversations were started when the 18 year old brother of Botham Jean forgave the woman who killed his brother, convicted policewoman Amber Guyger and embraced her in the courtroom. What is forgiveness? And how and when should we forgive? Here in our local community, we continually see and hear stories of how our Amish neighbors choose and keep choosing to forgive. There’s much that we can learn from our Amish brothers and sisters that we need to be embracing in our own lives, and teaching our kids. Stick with us as we chat with our friends Jonas Beiler and Joel Kime about forgiveness, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
If you attended church this week, you no doubt sang. If you are running a youth group, you most likely get your students singing. And maybe your time at home or in the car is time spent listening to what is called worship music. In recent years, there have been mounting debates about what music is the best worship music. Are the new songs too shallow? Are the old hymns irrelevant and out of date? Does music teach and us and form us as followers of Christ? Stay tuned for a thought-provoking conversation about the power of music, along with an introduction to a new way of thinking about worship and spiritual formation, with musician Kevin Twit from Indelible Grace, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
The summer of 2019 has come to an end. If you’re like most, you were able to take some time off and enjoy a vacation. But youth culture didn’t take a break over the summer. What are some of the summer youth culture trends we should be aware of, track , and respond to? Do any of these developments offer us insights into our kids, what they believe, and how they behave? Stick with us as we look at what youth culture did over summer vacation, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
When it comes to our calling to love God and love neighbor, one of the most heated discussions taking place in the culture at large and in the church these days is how to fulfill this calling in response to the LGBTQ issue. If you’re like me, you wonder about how to navigate these unfolding realities in our homes, our youth groups, and our relationships. And, as with all issues, we run the risk of listening more to the Spirit of the times than we listen to the Word of God. What does it mean to remain faithful to God’s will and way regarding sexuality and gender? One voice addressing these questions is Rosaria Butterfield, a lesbian activist who experienced a radical and unexpected conversion to Christianity that turned her life upside down. Join me as I chat with Rosaria Butterfield about her conversion, along with how to understand, address, and navigate issues of sexuality and gender, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Since the advent of YouTube, I’ve met several teenagers who are engaging in self-promotion in order to develop their celebrity-presence and build a growing following. In recent months, there’s been growing conversation about the potential pitfalls related to pastors and youth workers who self-promote and pursue celebrity status. What is self-promotion and is it something that a Christian leader should pursue? Does self-promotion derail us from the pursuit of practices that are good, true, right, and honorable? And how does pride play into our tendency to seek the stage and spotlight in order to build a following? We’ll be conversing about self-promotion with our friends Mark Matlock and Derry Prenkert, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
When was the last time that you pondered, if ever, the architecture and layout of your church building or youth room? And, does architecture and layout even matter? Should our spaces be purely utilitarian in nature? Or, should they serve an even greater purpose? Winston Churchill once said, “First we shape our buildings, and then our buildings shape us.” The fact is that space does speak. And space can shape us in ways that lead to our spiritual flourishing, or space can undermine our spiritual growth and development. Dr. Bill McAlpine has studied and written on the power of sacred space. Stay with us as Marv Penner and Duffy Robbins join me for an eye-opening conversation with Bill McApline about our churches and youth rooms on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Insecurity is a painful reality that all human beings struggle with. In today’s social media saturated world, the ever-present insecurities gnawing away at our teens are amplified. According to author and youth worker John Perritt, there is a healthy and greater fear that can drown out this lesser fear that we call insecurity. It is by living in the fear of the Lord that insecurity can be defeated. In fact, the pain of our insecurities is there to point us to Jesus. We’ll be talking with John Perritt about his new book, Insecure: Fighting our Lesser Fears with a Greater One, and how we can lead ourselves and our kids into finding security in Christ, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
It wasn’t until the late 1960s and early 1970s that the term Transgender was first coined and used. In today’s world, the word sits front and center on our collective cultural consciousness as more and more people are referring to themselves as transgender, and as transgender activism intensifies. The reality is, more and more gender dysphoric kids are showing up in our youth groups. For those of us doing ministry in the church, we should be thinking about how to minister with grace, truth, and compassion to those who identify as transgender. Peter Lynas is approaching the issue in this way as he helps the Christian community in the U.K. think through the theological, pastoral, and legal implications of ministry to the transgendered. Stay with us as Peter guides us through the difficult issues related to what it means to love and care for the transgendered, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
In her book, American Girls, Nancy Jo Sales writes these sobering words regarding what it’s like to grow up as a girl in today’s youth culture: “The constant seeking of likes and attention on social media seems for many girls to feel like being a contestant in a never-ending beauty pageant in which they forever performing to be please the judges.” Navigating life in our appearance-obsessed world is dangerous business for girls and boys, young and old alike. What are the messages our girls are hearing regarding their identity? How do these messages undermine their flourishing? And what can the home and church do to change the destructive trajectory our girls are on? We’ll be talking about these questions and more with writer Heather Zieger, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Full episode notes with links can be found here.
Where have all the good men gone? We’re hearing more and more young women lament the lack of mature Godly men. One says, “The guys I dated were more like the kids I babysat than the dads who drove me home.” Research and observation increasingly point to the fact that it is taking longer and longer for our boys to mature into responsible, Godly manhood. What are the factors that contribute to this reality? Are our current youth ministry and parenting strategies working to remedy the situation? And what can we do in our churches and homes to help prepare our boys to become Godly men and leaders? We’ll be talking with youth pastor Chris Walker about what he’s discovered in his research and ministry about how to disciple our boys into maturity, on this practical and informative episode, of Youth Culture Matters.
A recent headline from the Barna Group reads, “Almost half of practicing Christian millennials say evangelism is wrong.” The Barna group has been conducting research on the faith-sharing experiences and expectations of Christians and non-Christians alike. And it seems that many millennials now believe that it’s wrong to share their faith. Join us as we dig into the data, talk through the implications, and think forward about the implications for the church, as we talk with Barna’s David Kinnaman, on this episode of youth culture matters.
If you’re active on social media, you know that not a day goes by without someone posting an article or news story which sparks sometimes heated disagreement and discussion over one of the many issues related to life and sexuality. Discussions center on topics like abortion, euthanasia, gender, and marriage. The reality is that even in the church disagreements and divides are on the rise. How can we build a strong biblical foundation that serves us well as we seek to respond according to a Christian world and life view? Do world views even matter? And what’s at stake in these conversations with our kids? We’ll be looking to find answers to the hard questions about life and sexuality as we chat with Nancy Pearcey, author of the book Love Thy Body, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Our youth sports culture is broken. That was the headline for a recent op-ed piece in the Port Huron Michigan Times Herald. Written by a highly-respected high school wrestling coach, the article has gone viral, drawing accolades from educators, coaches, parents, and youth workers. Even though we all live in this sports-worshiping North American culture, we are seeing clear signs that our obsessions and pushiness are not serving kids, families, communities, and the culture at large well at all. What damage are we doing to our kids as they get involved in youth sports? And what can we do to change the youth sports culture in ways that builds kids up, rather than tearing kids down? We’ll be tackling these questions and more as we talk to the article’s author, Coach Brandon Day, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
The Scriptures tell us with great clarity that all human beings have been made by God, in the image of God, and for a relationship with God. But the reality of life in our post-fall world has left everything broken, including all human beings. This brokenness touches us all deeply, but in a variety of different ways. This includes the many types of physical and cognitive disabilities in our world. This means that our churches and youth groups must be places sensitive to the unique needs of those among us who are disabled. How can we best minister to the disabled, from birth through old age? How can we create welcoming, safe spaces that foster spiritual growth and development among the disabled? Stay with us as we learn about ministry to and with the disabled as we converse with Ashley Belknap, from a ministry called Engaging Disability With the Gospel, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Before he ascended into heaven, Jesus issued what is now known as the Great Commission. He commanded his followers in all times and all places to go into the world and make disciples. That task follows our efforts to communicate the good news of the Gospel. Do our youth ministry efforts reflect a commitment to obedience to this command of Christ? What does it mean to do evangelism and discipleship with the emerging generations? How can we fuel our passions and abilities at evangelism and discipleship? We’ll talk about these issues and more with our friend, Dare 2 Share’s Greg Stier, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Four years ago, the band Twenty-One Pilots released a hit song focusing on the pressures of adulthood and a yearning to return back to the relatively easy years of childhood. Title Stressed Out, the song went to number one on the mainstream music charts. But judging from what we’re hearing from researchers, parents, youth workers, educators, and kids themselves, stress and anxiety is increasingly common among our children and teens. What is anxiety? How is it manifesting itself in the lives of our kids? What are its causes? And how does the Gospel speak to this new epidemic of anxiety among our kids? We’ll be discussing strategies for navigating the epidemic of youth anxiety on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Plato once said that “music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” While you might argue with the particulars of Plato’s words, you have to agree that music has power. And there’s no question that Scripture has influenced music since the first ever song was penned. Poet, author, and rock music critic Steve Turner knows this to be the case. And in his new book, “Turn, Turn Turn: Popular Songs and Music Inspired By The Bible,” Steve Turner takes an in-depth look at the lyrics and cultural context of 100 of the most popular songs ever written, and how those songs were influenced by the Bible. Stay with us as we talk music and the Bible in this eye-opening and informative episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Every now and then, a film comes along that offers a helpful, realistic, and compelling peek into the world of contemporary adolescence. The recent film, Eighth Grade, is a movie follows the last week of middle school before thirteen-year-old Kayla graduates and moves on to high school. It’s a good one that covers all kinds of issues including identity, family, social media, friendships, and sexuality. We recently sat with a group of youth workers to view and discuss the film. Does Eighth Grade accurately capture what its like to be a kid in today’s world? Are there issues the film raises that we need to be addressing in our youth ministries and in our homes? And, how can a youth worker use Eighth Grade as a ministry tool? We host a round table discussion with three local church youth workers on these questions and more, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Over the course of the last few years, youth workers and parents have been increasingly lamenting the exodus of kids from the church once they graduate from high school and launch into the next phase of life. A growing volume of research is offering ideas on why this is happening, and solutions designed to reverse this trend. Why is it that our kids are leaving the church in droves after they grow up? Have we come to a clear understanding of the reasons? And what steps can we take to prepare kids for a lifetime of spiritual growth and following Christ? We’ll chat with John Nielson about what he’s discovered about why youth stay in church when they grow up, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
We live in a marketing saturated world. When we engage with an average of 4,000 to 10,000 marketing messages a day, we become unaware of both the presence of marketing in our lives, and the power of marketing to shape our beliefs and behaviors. And for our vulnerable kids who are in the midst of growth and change, marketing is an especially powerful force. What would it look like to disciple our kids into thinking consciously, critically and Christianly about the thousands of marketing messages they encounter over the course of a day? Can we shape the way they engage with advertising now, in ways that will train them to be wise, shrewd, and marketing-savvy for the rest of their lives? We’ll be talking about some practical ministry tips that parents and youth workers can use to help kids manage marketing, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Youth ministry has always needed to adapt and adjust to changes in the mainstream culture. With the advent of the metoo movement and our growing knowledge of the nature and extent of sexual abuse, youth workers must be thinking about how to best engage with students in ways that lead to healthy relationship building. Is it ever proper to give a student a hug? What about car rides, lunches, or having one-on-one meetings with kids? What are the borders and boundaries we need to enlist to insure that none of us or our volunteers cross lines that would thrill the enemy, undermine ministries, or do harm to the kids who have been entrusted to our care? Our good friend Marv Penner joins us to offer wisdom and to help us answer the question, “To hug or not to hug? How Do we love kids well in our metoo culture? . . . on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Thomas Chisholm wrote the classic hymn, Great is Thy Faithfulness, as a testimony to God’s enduring love. The hymn calls to mind the words of the prophet Jeremiah in Lamentations 3: "I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” How does one have hope like this? And how can parents and youth leaders nurture children and teens in ways that result in great hope? Our friends Cameron and Lauren Cole have experienced firsthand the kind of tragedy that leads to a downcast soul. But in the midst of that, God gifted them with great hope. We’ll be talking with the Cole’s about Cameron’s new book, “Therefore I Have Hope: 12 Truths That Comfort, Sustain, and Redeem Tragedy”, along with the importance of communicating these truths in our homes and youth ministries, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
It seems that you can’t watch the news or go online these days without encountering stories related to matters of gender and sexual identity. The conversations on these matters are progressing into unmarked territory that can leave parents and youth workers confused, and even paralyzed in terms of how to respond. In recent weeks, a new study has emerged that has opened the door for conversations about what’s being called rapid onset gender dysphoria that’s becoming more and more prevalent in the teen population. We’ll be talking about our need for knowledge, careful posturing, and a distinctively Christian approach to issues regarding gender and sexuality, on this edition of Youth Culture Matters.
Summer’s over and a new youth ministry season is here. If you’re a youth worker, your youth group schedule is ramping up and you’ve no doubt been planning. . . or should be planning. . . your teaching and ministry schedule for the coming school year. So let me ask you, have you done your youth ministry planning? What goals, objectives, and priorities have guided your planning? What do you hope to see happen in the lives of your students and their families this year? Effective ministry requires a combination of faithful prayer and careful planning. Stick with us as we talk to four youth workers who share how they have incorporated prayer and planning into their plans for this year, on this episode of youth culture matters.
It’s that time of year when the fall sports season is heating up, everywhere from the pre-school soccer fields to the NFL gridiron. Our sports-obsessed culture will be in full gear as we do everything from playing to spectating. If all of a Christian’s life is to be an act of worship, how can we engage in our playing, sports-parenting, and spectating to the glory of God? How do we push back on a culture that encourages us to idolize sport, winning, and sports stars? And how can we shift our priorities so that youth sports don’t eclipse the necessary task of nurturing the faith of our children and teens? We’ll be talking with John Perritt, author of a new book on youth sports, about these important issues, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
What did you learn about sex and how did you learn about it when you were growing up? Christian parents, with assistance from youth leaders and the church, are given the responsibility to bring up their children in the nurture and instruction of the Lord. This includes talking about God’s order and design for sexuality.
And because we live in a hyper-sexualized world that’s providing its own narrative on gender and sexuality, taking on this responsibility to instruct our kids about God’s design is non-negotiable. It’s especially important that we correct the erroneous narrative the culture is throwing at our daughters. What should we be teaching them about sex and sexuality? How can we communicate the biblical narrative on this good gift from God? Stick with us as we chat with Tim Geiger about a letter on sex and sexuality that he’s written to his teenage daughter, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Somewhere along the way, many of us came to believe that if you are a follower of Jesus, you are promised a happy and carefree life. But when you read the Scriptures, you see that to follow Jesus means that you are also called to take up your cross. For most of us, it doesn’t take long to figure out that living life in a broken and fallen world means that you will encounter suffering and hardship. And, for the Christian living in this broken world, the Scriptures tell us to be prepared for additional difficulty and persecution because of our faith. What is suffering? What are the benefits of suffering? How are we to navigate a life filled with suffering? And how can we as parents and youth workers rewrite the narrative for kids so that they are prepared to live with suffering? We’ll talk about these questions and more with Dave Ripper, co-author of a new book, “The Fellowship of the Suffering: How Hardship Shapes Us for Ministry and Mission”, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
The poet John Donne once wrote that “no man is an island.” Donne was stating a basic truth about life. . . that is that human beings tend to do things not so well when we are isolated from others. We need community to thrive. That’s certainly what the Scriptures teach from Genesis to Revelation. If we’re in youth ministry, community is vital to our flourishing both personally and in ministry. Youth workers who have run the youth ministry race effectively for a long time are always networked and working with other youth workers. While we’ve encountered countless effective youth ministry networks globally, one that stands out is the long-standing youth network in western Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh area. What makes an effective youth ministry network? How can we get ourselves networked? And what can we do together than makes us all more effective? We’ll be talking to longtime networker Travis Deans about these questions and more, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
I was a twenty-one year-old college student when I first heard the term anorexia nervosa. I scratched my head for a moment, and then asked, “What’s that?” Yes, eating disorders and disordered eating were present in our culture forty years ago. But they were largely unknown and misunderstood. Today, the pressure to be thin and perfect is an ever-present part of our lives. Consequently, virtually all of our young middle school students are familiar with the names of these eating disorders. Many struggle with disordered eating themselves. As people who care for and love kids, what do we need to know about eating disorders and disordered eating? How can we recognize, prevent, and respond to the cultural pressures and the resulting health issues? Youth workers Susie Broms and Nick Mance join me to ask questions and learn about the epidemic of eating disorders from counselor Julie Lowe, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
One of the most controversial and often discussed Netflix series of all time is 13 Reasons Why. When season 2 of the series was released two weeks ago, our curious kids began binge-watching, just like they did last year with the release of season 1. Because of the shows controversial content and concerns about the influence on children and teens, 13 Reasons Why has been a hot topic for discussion and even disagreement among parents, counselors, teachers, youth workers, and media critics. Should we be watching 13 Reasons Why? How about our kids? Should we be letting them watch the show? What are the takeaways for parents and youth workers? How should we be talking with our kids about the show and its content? We’ll be talking about 13 Reasons Why Season 2, these questions, and a whole lot more with a round table of friends who have watched, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
With the culture changing at breakneck speed, we need to know the culture so that we can contextualize the unchanging Good news of the Gospel in ways that can be heard by a changing world. As a result, we talk a lot about the need for relevance in our churches and youth ministries. Is it possible that our commitment to relevance can lead us to focus too much on forms, with the result that we forfeit our knowledge of the Gospel? And, can we become so committed to relevance that we find ourselves falling into theological compromise and relativism? These are important questions for those who minister in today’s world. We’ll be discussing relevance, relativism, and a whole lot more with veteran youth ministry experts Dr. Duffy Robbins and Dr. Marv Penner on this episode, of Youth Culture Matters.
You can argue that if there is one band that’s been significant and enduring over the last thirty-plus years, it would be Ireland’s U2. Their story, their music, and their message has vaulted them to this place, making them one of the most beloved rock and roll bands of all time. What is it about U2 that makes them so provocative and compelling? How has the Christian faith played into the ethos of the band? And how should we be interpreting and processing the band’s music? Belfast native, pastor, and music critic Steve Stockman has written about U2 in his book, “Walk On.” Stay with us for a fascinating conversation with Steve about U2 on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
One way our culture has changed is the growing openness to new beliefs and behaviors related to sexuality, sexual orientation, and gender. Because we minister and parent on this changing landscape, we find ourselves engaged in all kinds of conversations with young people who express different beliefs and practices. As Christians work to be faithful to the Scriptures, we will encounter a variety of interpretations of the passages dealing with sex, sexuality and gender. How are we to look at and interpret these passages? What should we believe regarding God's order and design? And what posture should we assume as we engage with those from the LGBTQ community? We'll be chatting with author and theologian Preston Sprinkle about these questions and others, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Research and experience point way too often to the fact that our youth ministries and churches are failing at equipping kids to leave our youth groups with a deep, significant, and lasting faith. Too many kids graduate from high school and into the next phase of life seemingly pushing the pause or stop button on their Christian faith. Consequently, they aren’t ready to faithfully navigate the difficulties they are bound to face in life. How can we begin to take kids deeper into the Gospel? What are the steps we can take to promote spiritual maturity in our students? What are some of the key pillars of effective deep youth ministry? One youth worker has devoted his life to these matters after experiencing his own difficult adolescence, and the sudden death of his own three-year-old son. We’ll hear his story, discover how the truths of the Gospel carried him through the darkness of that time, and look to learn more about doing deep youth ministry, on this episode of youth culture matters.
As parents and youth workers, we are eager to see our kids come to faith in Christ, and to grow in maturity in Christ. Research and experience are pointing to the fact that some of the greatest strides kids make in their faith happen in the camp setting. What happens to kids when they go to a Christian camp? How has Christian camping changed over the course of the last few years? And what can parents and youth workers do to encourage a positive camping experience that yields real life change in the kids they know and love? With summertime fast approaching, you’ll want to listen in as we talk about the benefits and blessings of Christian camping with three camping experts, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
When youth workers ask me about the qualities they should seek to develop in their lives and ministries, there are three that I’m always sure to mention: humility, teachability, and cooperation. Pride kills ministry. Without a determination to learn we get horribly stale. And if we aren’t working with others we forfeit the great benefits of ministering together as part of the body of Christ. How can we intentionally position ourselves to serve Christ, kids, and families most effectively? What does it look like to be a part of a ministry team where all generations learn from each other? And what are the benefits of doing youth ministry in this way? We’ll talk to a multi-generational team of youth workers who are committed to carrying the youth ministry baton together, on this episode of youth culture matters.
Whenever Valentine’s Day rolls around our culture is prompted to think about romance, love, and sex. It’s no fluke that the latest installment in the Fifty Shades of Gray film series was released just a few days before Valentines Day. As followers of the one who created romance, love, and sex, we need to follow Christ by understanding and experiencing romance, love and sex in ways that bring honor and glory to God, rather than in ways that are broken and sinful expressions of sex and sexuality. This means that we have to consciously guide our kids through the minefield of pornography that litters today’s cultural landscape. What should we make of the Fifty Shades phenomenon? What does the interest in the films teach us about what to say and how to say it in our conversations with kids, young adults, and even parents? We’re having a conversation about cultural sexuality and biblical sexuality, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
We don’t like to talk about it, but we must. The spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being of our kids hangs in the balance. That’s why we need to be thinking about and strategizing for how to best push back and minister to kids in the midst of the growing epidemic of teen suicide. What are the signs? What are the myths? How can youth workers and parents intervene in a moment of crisis? Join us for a practical and hope-filled conversation with Dr. Marv Penner about teens and suicide, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Over the course of Walt Mueller's years of youth ministry, he's developed some wonderful friendships with a variety of youth ministry peers. Some of the most significant relationships have resulted in sometimes fun, sometimes serious, and always profitable conversation about their personal lives and ministry matters. They don't always agree, but they always work to sharpen one another. All of us need these kind of relationships where iron sharpens iron as we love each other and serve together. We invite you to listen in on one of these conversations among youth ministry friends, Walt Mueller, Duffy Robbins, Marv Penner, and Chap Clark... on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
One of the biggest mistakes we make in youth ministry is assuming that we are the ones primarily responsible for the spiritual nurture of teenagers. A second and related mistake is making the assumption that as youth workers, we can actually do a better job of nurturing kids than their clueless parents. Sure, parents might sometimes be not well-equipped to nurture their children in the faith, but they are still called to be the ones primarily responsible for the nurture of their children and teens. How can youth workers properly support and help parents as they fulfill this high calling? Are there steps we can take to be the kind of youth workers parents need? We'll be talking about how youth workers can help parents lead and disciple their teens, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Prayer is essential to the Christian life. As followers of Jesus, we must make the same request as one of His early disciples: Lord, teach us to pray. Once we learn how to pray, what should we be praying for? In today's incredibly confusing world, one of our primary prayers subjects must be our children and teens. What would happen if as individuals and churches we would begin to engage in daily prayer for each and every young person in our congregation? We'll be talking to Tony Souder about the Pray For Me campaign and how we can build our churches into communities that pray for children and teens, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Where are we to find our identity? Our current and powerful cultural narrative is convincing children, teens, and adults alike that we are to create, maintain, and find our identity in what we look like on social media. Consequently, we pour our time and energy into practices and habits that destroy us. It’s feeding the epidemics of anxiety, depression, and disordered eating. The path to hope, healing, and fullness is found in a different narrative, the biblical narrative, which leads us to find redemption and identity in Jesus Christ. How can we help our kids hear and follow this life-giving message? Stay with us as we talk about helping kids find their identity in Christ in a world of snaps and selfies with Kristen Hatton, author of the book Facetime. . . on this episode of youth culture matters.
Unless you’ve been asleep, you know that the last few weeks have been flooded with news stories about a growing number of political and celebrity figures and allegations regarding sexual abuse and assault. What’s now known as the Weinstein Effect was front and center again this week with the firing of NBC Today Show Host, Matt Lauer. Should we be shocked? Should we be surprised? We believe that this cultural moment provides us with the opportunity to look inward, to talk to ourselves, and to talk to our kids about a host of issues from a biblical perspective. What are those issues? And, how should we talk about them? We’ll be talking about how to capitalize on these teachable moments and more, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Drug and alcohol abuse is nothing new to youth culture. Sadly, it's been a part of the teenage experience for a long time. While anti-drug efforts have yielded a decline in the use of some drugs, the usage number on way too many drugs are on the rise. And not a day goes by when we don't read another sobering statistic or sad story related to the abuse of opioids or heroin. Today, kids are engaging with drugs and alcohol for a host of reasons. What is it like to work with a young person who is addicted? How can parents handle and navigate the horror of watching a son or daughter spiral down into the grip of drug and alcohol addiction? And what should we do as youth workers when these things visit our families? Stick with us as we hear a compelling first-person story of heartbreak and hope from our good friend Allen Jackson, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Youth workers and pastors are busy people. With the pace of life getting faster, we get busier and then have to prioritize the tasks of ministry. Sometimes we let certain tasks slip. In recent years, more and more of us have dropped the important task of study and preparation time. Some have even gone so far as to purchase, download, cut and paste, or even plagiarize talks and sermons prepared by others. This increasingly accepted practice can not only raise ethical concerns, but by moving us out of study and preparation, it can stunt our spiritual growth, lead to passionless-teaching, and eventually filter down to stunt the spiritual growth of our kids. Duffy Robbins and Walt Mueller have a spirited and important conversation with their friend Scott Gibson, author of Should We Use Someone Else's Sermon? about these issues and more on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Because we live as broken people with other broken people in a horribly broken world, we all face the temptation to take certain friendships over the line into the unhealthy world of emotional affairs. Once there, our tendency is to justify and downplay the seriousness of these relationships as no big deal. But even though emotional affairs might never lead to a sexual affair, they do cross a line. Emotional affairs are one of the most deadly obstacles facing us in life and ministry. They destroy marriages, families, ministries. and lives. They're especially prevalent in the church and in youth ministries. We'll be talking to Harvest USA's Ellen Dykas about the cautions, causes, and prevention of emotional affairs on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Were you ever bullied? Or, were you ever a bully? In today's world, bullying has reached epidemic proportions. Social media has created a landscape where bullying is now a 24/7 reality that for some, never ends. What can we do to build resilience in the bullied, and stop the bullies? This episode is a practical, gospel-centered conversation on bullying and what we can do about it, with counselor Julie Lowe.
We live in a broken world that is desperately groaning and longing to be fixed. As Christians we realize that the pain and suffering of life will exist until the day when Jesus ushers in the New Heaven and the New Earth. Until that day when things will finally be restored to the way they're supposed to be, we will experience pain and suffering in our lives. The cultural narrative works to convince us of a different perspective, that pain should be avoided at all costs and that we should only pursue pleasure. But God invites us into the suffering of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Those Christians who have experienced great suffering would say that their suffering led to deep spiritual growth. We'll be hearing one of those stories today as we talk to Russ Ramsey about his encounter with sickness and death on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
When it comes to dating and relationships, the rules have changed. The cultural narrative on dating, love, sex, and marriage has eclipsed the biblical narrative on relationships. Consequently, our kids oftentimes pursue a relationship path that is dangerous and destructive, and they don't even know it. How can we point them to an understanding and practice of dating that leads to their flourishing? What should we tell them about pursuing healthy relationships? There is a lot at stake, and the way we answer these questions will potentially shape or mis-shape our kids for the rest of their lives. Author and counselor Debra Fileta joins the podcast to discuss these issues and more.
It's been over fifty years since media theorist Marshall McLuhan said that "First we shape our tools, and then our tools shape us." McLuhan had push back as folks wondered at the time if what he was saying was true. But time has proven McLuhan's theory to be correct. Now that we've hit the ten year anniversary of the launch of the iPhone, we're beginning to see how much our smartphones are shaping and changing our lives. How do our devices shape our beliefs and behaviors? What do they reflect about what's most important in our lives? And how can we use these magnificent tools to the glory of God, rather than in ways that are destructive? We'll be talking to Tony Reinke, author of the new book "12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You," about this and much more, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
When I started out in youth ministry, there were two time-related realities that some seasoned youth workers shared with me. First, it takes three years to establish yourself in a new youth ministry setting. And second, the average youth minister stays in a youth ministry position for eighteen months. That math doesn’t speak well for youth ministry longevity and effectiveness. Fortunately, more and more youth workers are committing themselves to serving Christ through long-term youth ministry that allows them to build solid relationships with kids and parents. What are the secrets to longevity in youth ministry? And what practices and disciplines will equip us to minister for the long haul? We’ll be talking about longevity in youth ministry with long-time youth worker Mike Flavin, as well as his colleague Ted Jordan, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Late last year, Time Magazine ran a cover story on the current epidemic of anxiety among America’s adolescents. The story reports on what all of us who work with kids already know: that the pressures on today’s teenagers are so great that they are trying to navigate their lives while, as one teen says, "feeling like they are climbing Mount Everest in high heels." What is anxiety? What is feeding the anxiety epidemic? How does anxiety manifest itself in kids? And how can we provide Gospel-centered hope and healing for our anxious kids. We’ll be talking about children, teens and anxiety with Doctor Phil Monroe, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
If you spend any time at all on social media, you know just how important the "likes" are. Getting "likes" and positive feedback on your posts in money in the bank. It's a sign of social media success. But does the pursuit of online attention and a growing number of followers cause us to compromise ourselves? Researcher Donna Freitas has found that our engagement with technology has led to what she calls the Happiness Effect. What this means is that we are very easily driven to appear perfect at any cost, including our ability to be vulnerable, honest and in community. We're talking to Donna Freitas about her book "The Happiness Effect" and a whole lot more on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
The recently released Netflix series "13 Reasons Why" is getting a ton of attention from kids, parents, teachers and counselors. The show has sparked conversations about all sorts of adolescent issues, including suicide. But the show has also ignited controversy, as experts are divided over whether or not "13 Reasons Why" is motivating teenagers toward positive or negative behaviors. One thing is for sure: this is NOT a show to ignore. Our kids ARE watching it, they ARE thinking and talking about it, and they ARE allowing "13 Reasons Why" to shape their lives. We'll talk about these things and appropriate ways to respond, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Some would have us believe that if we find parenting difficult, we must not be following the right plan. They might also say that parenting well always results in Godly children. If you're like most parents, believing these lies can result in a heavy dose of guilt and shame. Because we live in a broken world as broken parents with broken kids, life is never easy. What we need is a heavy dose of realistic theology and good sense to help us navigate the difficult journey of parenting in ways that help us understand that there is no such thing as a perfect parent. Our friend Leslie Leyland Fields has lived this journey. Listen in as she talks to us about her book "Parenting Is Your Highest Calling: And 8 Other Myths That Trap Us in Worry and Guilt" and a whole lot more.
Walt and Jason begin the podcast discussing news related to Richard Simmons and fame, tanning bed dangers, sexual abuse prevention, drug use vs. smartphone use, Converse, and how many germs iPhones have.
It's as if the landscape of our culture has changed overnight. The issue of transgenderism has moved front and center in our culture, our school, our churches, our youth groups, and in many of our homes. It's safe to say that this new gender landscape is one that we must understand, respond to and navigate. But as parents, how can we do so? What names do we use when addressing transgendered kids? And how do we handle the complex web of logistical issues including bathrooms and sleeping arrangements? We'll start the difficult process of tackling these questions and more, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters as we invite Ellen Dykas and Dan Wilson of Harvest USA to join the conversation.
Anybody who has ever worked as youth minister or youth ministry volunteer owes a debt of gratitude to Wayne Rice. One of the co-founders of Youth Specialities, Wayne has worked to equip and resource youth workers for almost fifty years. Over the course of that time he’s experienced a lot, rethought how we do youth ministry, and is now working to resource grandparents in their efforts to lead their grandchildren to Jesus. We’re thrilled to be chatting with our friend and hero, Wayne Rice, about youth ministry, grand-parenting, and a whole lot more, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
To open the podcast Walt and Jason discuss youth culture trends related to a new friendship app called Yellow, e-cigarettes and dripping, sex ed and love, deadly teenage driving mistakes, apps to help track teen drivers and teens, Carson Daly and 'TRL.'
Studies say up to 65-80 percent of people who grow up in the church drop out of church when they become college-aged. It's not intentional. It just happens. But why is this happening? And what can we do as parents, grandparents, pastors, and youth workers to be sure our kids get plugged into a campus fellowship group and church when they arrive on the college campus? We’ll be talking to Sherri Nee, the co-founder of the College Church Connection service, about steps to take to make it easy to find Christian community right away.
To open the podcast Walt and Jason discuss youth culture trends related to texting, biohacking, Tinder, terms for pregnant mothers, Metallica and the effects of pornography and the proper age for kids to get their own cell phones.
Walt and Jason begin the podcast with a discussion about gun violence in movies, body image and photo-editing, Russell Wilson ans Ciara, sports specialization, Millennials in the workplace, and heavy alcohol use and brain development.
Research reveals the alarming fact that far too many of our boys and girls are being victimized by sexual abuse. It’s our belief that loosened sexual standards and the growing pervasiveness of pornography will only lead to a rise in sexual absue. And, whether you know it or not, the abusers and the abused are living in our midst. Sexual abuse is not benign. It is traumatizing. Consequently, it requires intervention, deep care, and healing. The journey to hope and healing is difficult and long, but it is a journey that can lead to redemption. We’ll be talking to world-class diver Denise Gater about her own story of abuse and redemption on this episode.
In recent years, researchers have sounded the warning that narcissism is on the rise in our culture, particularly among the emerging generations. If this is true, the tendency towards following self rather than following God will thwart our spiritual growth and development. Where does this focus on self come from? How is it being manifested in our lives? And what can we do to lead ourselves and our kids into a lifestyle of allegiance to God and service to others, when the world encourages us to look out for number one? We’ll be talking about the tendency towards too much focus on me, myself and I, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Walt and Jason begin the podcast with a discussion about a new college course, social media replacing drugs, social media and violence, the cost of raising a child, shortening sports broadcasts because of the shortening attention spans of Millennials, and the epidemic of stress among kids.
In the Gospel of Luke we read about a time when one of the the disciples came to Jesus and said, "Lord, teach us to pray." In a day and age where distractions are many and times of concentrated silence are disappearing, we'd do well to voice this same request. Here at CPYU, our prayer lives have been greatly enhanced through several books of written prayers, including books written by Scotty Smith. We're engaging with Scotty Smith in a lively and entertaining conversation about faith, culture, prayer and a whole lot more in this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
Walt and Jason start the podcast off with a discussion about online pornography, new leadership at MTV, the 'American Dream', Pac Sun partnering with Budweiser, teen behavior across generations, and the Monitoring the Future Survey.
For those of us who lived through it, Beatlemania and the turbulence of the 1960s were watershed times in the history of popular culture. There had been nothing like it before, and there hasn't been anything like it since. Music journalist Steve Turner's's life in London gave him a front row seat and insider's look at cultural change that is fascinating. His insights are helpful to us as we think about the role pop culture plays in our lives. We'll be talking to Steve Turner about the intersection of faith and culture and his brand new book, Beatles '66: The Revolutionary Year, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.
This episode of Youth Culture Matters is sponsored by the Ministry to Emerging Generations Doctor of Ministry program at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Learn more at www.gcts.edu/emerginggenerations.
In recent years, more and more parents and youth workers have become legitimately concerned about what happens to their high school graduates once they head off to college. Among the many challenges students face is the diminishing of Christian faith. It seems that what they once embraced, is weakened and at times forgotten. Mike Gaffney discusses with us how we can encourage and support faith development so that it stands firm during the university years.
Walt and Jason start the podcast off with a discussion about New Year's resolutions and youth culture trends related to the rise in STDs, parental media use, the "backpack challenge," virgins, and dating.
Our children and teens are like sponges, created to learn. Because of where they're at developmentally, they are especially impressionable and vulnerable. One of the most effective molders of young hearts and minds in the culture. As Christian parents and youth workers, our job is to nurture them in the Christian faith so that they will grow up to be lovers and doers of the truth of Christ. In this episode, our friend Dr. Terry Linhart will help us learn about effective nurture and instruction.
We also begin the podcast with some fun Christmas movie trivia, as well as discussions about fruitcake and youth culture news including the use of laptops, concussions, technical virginity, teen suicide and cyberbullying, as well as distracted driving.
What is our culture telling us about sex and sexuality? Is the culture pointing us and our kids to a kind of sexual flourishing that reflects God's will and way for our sexuality? And what does it mean to have a biblical understanding of sexuality? In this episode, we're talking to college professor and author Dale Kuehne about his book "Sex and the iWorld," the current sexual mood on campus, how to have conversations with students about sexuality and a whole lot more.
Walt and Jason open the podcast with a discussion about holidays, porn and sex ed, college loan money and spending, TIME's most influential teens, CoverGirl's cover boy, shoplifting and the phenomenon of drunkorexia.
Walt and Jason start the podcast off with a discussion about taking a trip to Mars, as well as youth culture news and trends related to the Chicago Cubs, energy drinks, new technological advancements, football and brain injuries, cyber dating abuse and media recommendations for kids. Then we chat with Jamie Smith about our cultural liturgies and his new book, "You Are What You Love," and what that means for students, parents, and youth workers.
Puberty. Adolescence. Sadly, those are words that sometimes strike fear in the heart of parents. But should it be that way? Taking the time to understand the realities of puberty and adolescence in today's world goes a long way in preparing us to parent, lead, and minister to teenagers in today's rapidly changing world. We talk with our friend Crystal Kirgiss about puberty, adolescence, and a whole lot more on this episode of Youth Culture Matters. Our opening segment takes a look at trends and news in the world of youth culture including the physical activity of adolescents, a 9-year-old who graduated high school, social media and the teen brain, an after-school Satan club, talking with your kids about drugs and alcohol and bottle flipping.
This episode begins with Walt and Jason discussing youth culture news related to education outside of schools, name pronunciation, technology, virtual reality headsets, a new music platform and generational differences in finances. Then former Major League Baseball player and 3 time World Series Champion, Jeremy Affeldt, joins the podcast. He discusses being a professional ball player in a sports obsessed culture as well as the pressures we place on our young kids to perform athletically. He also shares his heart about helping those in our communities who are hurting, specifically those dealing with hunger and sexual trafficking issues, and how we can empower youth to make a difference.
Walt and Jason open the podcast discussing youth culture news related to playing in the dirt, new words in the dictionary, teens and food insecurities, and a new app to combat bullying. Then during the interview segment our friend Rick Lawrence, the Executive Editor of Group Magazine joins us. Rick is a strong advocate for creative teaching methods. As the times change and youth culture morphs into new shapes and forms, parents and youth workers must consider how to best engage kids in conversations and learning opportunities about the Christian faith. While the message remains unchanged, our methods must be flexible. Join us as we pick Rick's brain and talk about today's youth culture.
When you were a teenager did you want to be seen and perceived as cool? In today's youth culture, the concept of cool is what drives fads, trends, and purchases. In fact, marketers are all about capturing, mass-producing, and selling cool. But can cool become a hindrance to spiritual growth? Can it become an idol that consumes our lives? Walt and Jason take a look at these questions and more in this "Pumpkin Spice" episode.
Walt and Jason discuss the latest in youth culture including stories about negativity in pop culture, college and social media, TV and Snapchat, and 'The Shame List.' For the 2nd and 3rd segments of this podcast, Sean McDowell joins Walt and Jason discuss issues of faith, culture, worldview and apologetics. As a professor at Biola University and also a part-time high school teacher, Sean also helps us know what we can do as parents and youth workers to help prepare our kids for college and to thrive in their faith once they arrive on campus.
Walt and Jason discuss the latest in youth culture including stories about parental shaming on social media, Pokemon Go, texting while driving, Elizabeth Smart, magazine covers and more. For the 2nd and 3rd segments of this podcast, Walt and Jason discuss the devastating effects of pornography and what it does to our brains, our relationships, and even our marriages. They close by looking at both preventive and redemptive steps we can take in dealing with issues related to pornography, both in the lives of our students, as well as our own lives.
Walt and Jason discuss news related to celebrity endorsements, exposure to drugs and alcohol, cellphones and concerts, the Pope, the mindset of college freshmen and burping in school. Then Kara Twining and Barry Ferguson join the podcast to discuss the world of education and the changes they've seen working in various education fields over the last 20-30 years. Kara has worked as a middle school teacher as well as a high school guidance counselor, while Barry has taught middle school as well as serving for the last couple decades as a elementary school principal.
Walt and Jason discuss news related to selfies, YouTube celebrities, sexuality, reading, stories, weak handshakes and more. Then Dr. Marv Penner joins the podcast to talk about self-injury, self-mutilation, cutting, and what parents and youth workers can do to understand this behavior and move kids into healing. He takes a look at how the understanding of self-harm has changed over the last few decades and shares the insights he has gained over the years of counseling students who practice various forms of self-injury.
Walt and Jason discuss the latest in youth culture including stories about a new dating app for teens, Miss Teen USA, children, teens and resiliency, Draymond Green and naughty photos, Pokemon Go and trampoline parks. The rest of the podcast focuses on CPYU's most popular resource, "How to Use Your Head to Guard Your Heart: A 3(D) Guide to Making Responsible Media Choices." Walt talks about how the resource came about and provides a brief overview of the 3(D) steps and the role media discernment should play in student's lives. In the final segment, Walt uses the 3(D) review approach to mindfully critique the song and music video by popular artist Fergie called "M.I.L.F. $."
Walt and Jason have some fun looking back down memory lane and their athletic accomplishments but also take the time to reflect on people in their lives who greatly influenced their spiritual development. They then turn the conversation to speak with Dan Dupee, author of a new book titled "It's Not Too Late: The Essential Part You Play in Shaping Your Teen's Faith." Dan is also the former president and current Chairman of the Coalition for Christian Outreach. Dan discusses some of the surprise findings reported in his book and the role parents can have in the spiritual development of their children, even when their teenagers are getting older and parents may think they're "too late."
Walt and Jason speak with Dr. Virginia Ward, Director of Leadership and Mentored Ministry Initiatives, Youth and Family and Ministry Leadership Studies, for Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary - Boston, also called the Center for Urban Ministerial Education (CUME). Dr. Ward discusses what it was like growing up as an African American female, what systemic racism looks like, what we can do in the world of youth ministry and The Church to build relationships between urban and suburban communities, the Black Lives Matter movement, the O.J. Simpson documentary and much more.
Walt and Jason discuss the latest news in youth culture, including pre-marital sex and divorce rates, vegan teenagers, youth broadcasting crimes on social media and more. Then Dr. Diane Langberg joins the podcast to talk about trauma being the mission field of the 21st century and the role of suffering. Walt and Dr. Langberg also discuss her new book titled Suffering and the Heart of God: How Trauma Destroys and Christ Restores. They also discuss how church leaders must guard themselves from abusing their power.
Walt and Jason forgo the normal youth culture news section to dive right into a conversation about transgender issues. Chap Clark of Fuller Theological Seminary and Duffy Robbins of Eastern University join the conversation to discuss what it looks like for The Church, and youth ministry in particular, to address issues related to gender and gender identity. What approach should we take when thinking about these topics? What do we do when we have a transgender student in our ministry? These questions and more are addressed throughout this podcast episode.
Walt and Jason discuss the latest news in youth culture, including legalized marijuana, sleep problems, cultural morality, social media and anxiousness, the spending habits of Millennials and more. Then veteran youth workers Jodi Chung of West Houston Chinese Church and Danny Kwon of Young Sang Presbyterian Church join the podcast to talk about cross-cultural youth ministry with Asian students. Danny and Jodi help inform us of cultural issues such as academic pressure, the role of shame, ministry to Asian parents, language barriers, the value of family and issues related to identity that are unique to Asian students.
Walt and Jason discuss the latest news in youth culture, including pornography, concussion recovery, a look at teenagers 50 years ago, fentanyl and cultural lies. Then Dr. Dennis Hollinger, President of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and author of The Meaning of Sex: Christian Ethics and the Moral Life joins the podcast to talk about Christian ethics are how a Christian worldview should help inform the Church's response to current cultural hot topics such as homosexual marriage, sexual identity and transgender issues.
Walt and Jason discuss the latest news in youth culture, such as video game research, texting while driving, double standards regarding sex, monkey selfies and more. Then Amy Flavin joins the podcast to talk about the digital playground our teenagers grow up in today and how that plays a role in their identity formation. Amy brings insights from her counseling practice, her doctoral research and her 30+ years in youth ministry alongside her husband Mike.
Walt and Jason discuss the latest news in youth culture, such as Nordstrom using Snapchat, "The Curse of Being Cool," social media, moral values and more. Then Greg and Rebecca Sparks talk about their journey through the contemporary Christian music scene, leading people in worship, and connecting with others through local community ministry.
Walt and Jason discuss the latest news in youth culture, such new definitions surrounding gender identity, the death of Prince, substance abuse, masculinity and school shootings, suicide rates, generational parenting differences and more. Then Jason interviews Walt about the work CPYU is doing through the Digital Kids Initiative. Walt shares some of the blessings and curses this new digital frontier has brought and then discusses some best practices we can all use as we interact through social media.
Walt and Jason discuss the latest news in youth culture, such as Tommy John surgeries among young athletes, today's freshman class and protesting, rat studies and the teenage brain, raising the smoking age and more. Then Rich Van Pelt joins the podcast to talk about the what to do when crisis hits and how to help teens in crisis. Walt and Rich briefly look back at the Columbine massacre and Rich shares lessons that were gleaned from that tragic event.
Walt and Jason discuss news related to co-sleeping, millennials and anxiety, body image, gender identity, Snapchat, water-less toilets and more. Then youth ministry veteran Duffy Robbins joins the podcast to talk about the markers of adolescent foolishness and how to develop wisdom in teenagers.
Walt and Jason discuss news related to caffeine, pornography, The Beatles, smartphone addiction, 'The Most Interesting Man in the World' and more. Then Byron Borger of Hearts and Minds books joins the podcast to talk about reading to the glory of God and the future of books. Then Byron runs through a long list of books that he highly recommends for our audience.
Walt and Jason discuss news related to sexting, selfies, performance enhancing substances, teens and driving and more. Then Dr. Marv Penner joins the podcast to talk about the challenge of church kids and what we can do as parents and youth workers to encourage church kids to grow and embody a vibrant faith in Jesus Christ.
In this premiere episode of Youth Culture Matters - A CPYU Podcast, Walt and Jason discuss substance abuse, youth sports and concussions, sexual violence and coercion, as well as "Five Non-Negotiables When It Comes to Talking to Kids About Sexuality."