Walt Mueller is the preeminent authority on youth culture in evangelical circles. His books, articles and seminars have been helping to equip youth workers for years. I tip my hat to this humble veteran youth worker and research specialist. He has honorably and gracefully engaged generations of youth culture research novices (like me) - who have sparred with him from different philosophical and theological corners of the dialogue ring. In the end, I find myself returning to the wisdom I find in his words - words that are grounded, well-articulated and holistically missional.As a result, I have selected his book, Youth Culture 101 as a text for one of my classes. I am developing this blog-based study guide for the youth workers studying on this subject at Railton School for Youth Worker Training. I have created these questions to invite these new sparring partners to enter the ring to wrestle through how we can reclaim children and youth for Christ in a media-saturated culture.
This ring welcomes others (both Christian and non-Christian) who might be interested in engaging with the questions outlined throughout this guide.
This isn't intended to be an 'official' study guide of the book - just merely an attempt to help focus readers on identifying the gems that emerge from this text. If you think that there are other questions that might be pertinent to this chapter, email me and let me know.
Chapter One: Good News: There's a Teenager in Your Life
Question 1.
Paul David Tripp states that “It is time for us to reject the wholesale cynicism of our culture regarding adolescence. Rather than years of undirected and unproductive struggle, these are years of unprecedented opportunity…” (p.12) Walt Mueller later states that, “Our widespread cultural cynicism regarding teenagers and these exciting years of their lives in unjustified and must cease.” (p.14)
In what ways can youth workers help the church provide an alternative to the deterministic cynicism that Tripp speaks of when referring to our culture’s stereotypical views regarding adolescence?
Question 2.
The relationship between parent and teenager seems to be increasingly strained. Factors cited include an increase in divorce, busyness of individual schedules and media consumption patterns that fill personal space and time. Mueller presents statistical evidence that advice from Moms and especially Dads is significantly being fulfilled by friends, schools, churches, media, advertising, coaches, etc. (p.15f)
What role do youth workers play in addressing this trend? Is it best to simply focus on working with the teen – standing in the gap of the unfulfilled need? Or is it the responsibility of the youth worker to also work with parents? If so, why would this be?
Question 3.
Walt Mueller states, “Believe it or not, to assume you’ve somehow made kids immune to the influence of culture just by shielding them from culture might just produce the opposite effect. In other words, by not preparing them to engage the culture with minds and hearts saturated by a biblical world- and life view, we actually make them more vulnerable to the negative cultural forces they face both now and for the rest of their lives. Both we (parents and youth workers) and our kids need to be wise to the Scriptures and streetwise about our culture… When it comes to teenagers and their culture, what we don’t know (or don’t want to know or refuse to know) can hurt them.” (p.19)
Do you agree or disagree? Does the desire to protect our kids from culture weaken or strengthen our teenagers?
Question 4.
Walt Mueller speaks about the profound need that teenagers have for relationship with God. He quotes Alistair McGrath’s expansion on Blaise Pascal’s model of, “a God-shaped emptiness within us, which only God can fill. We may try to fill it in other ways and with other things. Yet one of the few certainties in life is that nothing in this world satisfies our longing for something that is ultimately beyond this world.” (p.19)
If this theological statement is true of all human beings – not just believers, in what way do we see this vacuum evidenced within even the most ungodly forms of cultural expression that interacts with teenagers?
4 comments:
Hey Steve - I got a "heads-up" today about your postings on Youth Culture 101. Thanks for the kind words, how you're using the book, and, and your work for Christ and kids. Hey. . . we're really interested in these discussion questions you're coming up with. Once you're done can we take your work and post it on our website, crediting you with writing an online discussion guide? Thanks for considering this.
Walt
Hi Walt,
Thanks so much for your encouragement. Sure, I'd be more than happy and honored to make this available.
If you want to tweek questions or add additional ones, I'd be more than happy to do this.
Best,
Steve
Hey Steve,
I am a 25 yr old youth pastor and I stumbled across your blog tonight and thought I would leave you a comment. In fact if I am able I will try and answer your questions quick before I have to get back to work.
1.> I would have to agree there is definitely an unfortunate cynicism which permeates the views of the church and adults in general when it comes to youth and youth culture. Much of this problem I believe is due to a lack of understanding, even a lack of desire to understand today’s youth and what they are going through. A second and equally troubling problem is how many churches have isolated their youth. Many churches I have experienced over the years have a church body and a Youth group, they are entirely separate. And what ultimately happens is that you create a division between the adults and the youth. Then in much the same way as high schools we create clicks, if you’re a youth you hang out with this crowd, if you’re an adult you hang out with this one. Then when a youth reaches adulthood we suddenly say "sorry you can't be in this group anymore." And then we're surprised when instead of joining the "adult" crowd (who hasn't wanted anything to do with them up until this point) they leave the church and find some other crowd to hang out with a crowd that accepts them for who they are.
2.> I believe the youth worker should never try and exclude the parents from what's going on in the youth group. For if you don't respect the youth's parents neither will they. That being said neither can a youth worker force a parent's involvement. They have to want to be involved. The fact that a youth has a less than perfect home life is also no excuse for a youth worker to encourage anything but for a youth to honor, respect and obey his or her parents. Obviously exceptions exist but this should be the rule.
3.> This is an issue I have lots of experience with and could go on and on about but I will try and keep it short and to the point. You should not lock the kid in the attic and throw away the key, neither do you expose them to everything and anything the world has to offer. Teach your children the good, and they will recognize the bad. Teach them to recognize Christ and they will recognize Satan even in sheep’s clothing. Teach them the truth and they will recognize the counterfeit. Now obviously as a youth leader you do not get to decide how your youth are raised, but you do have to privilege of speaking into their lives on a regular basis. Your job is not to be their parent, if they parent says no they can't go, don't take them anyway because you think it would be good for them, because the only lesson you taught the kid was that he or she doesn't have to listen and obey their parents.
4.> It is true that we all have a God shaped hole in our lives. Nothing but God can fill it, but that doesn't keep the Devil from trying to sell the world any and every puzzle piece but the one that fits. And honestly if you don't have Christ in your life, if you don't know the truth, there is no reason why you wouldn't try to grab every possible joy you can find in this world before it's over. Because you have nothing to look forward to.
Well hopefully some of my ranting made sense.
Before I leave though I would like to leave you with a thought. This comes from my own life as a youth as well as the experience gleaned from being a youth pastor.
The greatest failing I believe of youth ministries is that we fail to teach youth how to feed themselves. How I wish that I would have known how to feed myself before I left for college. Because though my youth pastor taught me and spoke into my life in such amazing ways. When I found myself away from home, away from my church, my youth group I realized that though I loved God with all my heart I didn't know how to feed myself spiritually. And many of the dark sin filled valleys I found myself in over the next several years were because I became weak and starved spiritually.
Well I got to go, God bless you and your ministry each and every day.
Hi Aaron,
Thanks so much for your comments - and for taking some time to dig into these questions.
It's a shame that there is such a divide between youth and adult ministry. Some refer to this as being a "homogeneous" approach to ministry (where those who are alike stick together in one group). This is a lot different to a "heterogeneous" approach to church life where people from different ages, cultures, etc. worship together, learn together, etc. Both approaches have strengths and weaknesses, but either approach requires that we tread carefully as we are dealing with real people who have real needs.
I would absolutely agree with you that one of our goals in youth work should be to teach our youth how to feed themselves. Dr. Bob Pierce, the founder of World Vision once said "Give a person a fish and they will grow hungry again. Teach a person to fish and they will never go hungry anymore." One could say this is moving from relief to development work...
I think in youth work, we face a similar challenge. If all that we do is provide relief-type discipleship, once our students go off to college or have left the community that has been nurturing them, they will quickly become spiritually malnourished. If we approach discipleship like development, then, as you suggest, we are teaching them to feed themselves. The process might be longer and messier, but in the end, cultivating a sense of 'spiritual self-efficacy' will help build a sustainability in our youth that is so desperately needed.
Blessings!
Steve
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