My Epic Journey

Some have been asking why we are tackling the subject of Sex and Purity and this year’s EPIC High School CHILL.  These stats will show why:

Perhaps what is MORE alarming is the fact that church stats mirror the secular world.

It is time for that to change!

This weekend, be praying for our High School ministry as we venture into understanding God’s view on sex and how we, in a sex-saturated society, remain pure.

The CHILL is a three day, winter retreat, geared toward taking students out of the element and into God’s!

Anna and I watched a piece on Sexting on the Today show this morning.  As a youth pastor, I am amazed at how many times I run into this.  Porn has gone from printed material, TV screen, internet and now cell phones.

As a parent, please read the Today show article by clicking here: Teens and Cell Phones

Pay careful attention to the end of the article where they give practical ways to monitor your teens cell phone usage.

For a better look at the survey taken go to The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

NOTE:  This year’s High School Winter Retreat will be on Purity.  Please get your student signed up.

Also, a Parent Forum (P.A.T.H.) is scheduled for January 18th from 3:00-5:00 pm at Grace Point.  This month’s topic, Unraveling the Internet.  Parents–DON’T miss this event.

Mark D. Regnerus argues in his book, Forbidden Fruit: Sex and Religion in the Lives of American Teenagers, that churches are not much more than “social control units.”  What he means by that is, the church is designed to bend adolescent (for that matter any age group) behavior away from the norm and “helps prevent them” from sinning.  He states that this done by “enmeshing [adolescents] in a religious personal network and community.”

My thought is this, Is this really our goal?  Are we just trying to curb teenage behavior by putting them in a setting that is socially religious?  Or should our goal be more personal and deep?

I would argue that our goal should be that our teenagers’ behavior is a direct reflection on their view of God not of the church.  Perhaps this is why so many students leave the church after high school because their view of church has changed.  If they had a proper view of God I think the stats would be different.

As a youth pastor I am then challenged to create, not a social control unit, but a place where students meet, wrestle, and commune with a real, knowable God.