Archive for the ‘Parents and Youth Ministry’ Category
Why would mom do that for her son?
IMPORTANT UPDATE: Please note that this post was not intended in any way to slander this mom or condemn what she did for her son. That is not my place. I’m merely trying to use this story to discuss deeper issues–namely, that teens need the loving support of parents and adults–and I hope that it is an encouragement for you and your ministry and/or family.
Yesterday I posted about a mom who put a 98-inch screen in her son’s bedroom ceiling. It was actually one of my most popular posts yet–more than 180 people read it in one day!
My question is: Why would she do something like that?
I think most parents of teens are worried about them. Either they’re getting involved with the wrong crowds at school, or they’re not measuring up to any number of expectations. Christian parents are especially concerned about seeing their child grow up knowing the Lord, but they’re not always sure what to do about it.
And many of these parents have bought into a few myths about their teens.
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Youth Pastors Aren’t Replacement Parents
Why are youth pastors blamed for every bad thing any young person ever does in church?
And why do some parents put so much pressure on youth pastors to disciple their students, while taking little responsibility for their own kids’ spiritual lives?
These questions will probably continue to haunt us for a while, but it’s interesting to see study after study demonstrate just how influential parents can be (like this one, this one and this one).
Here’s the kicker. In spite of the incredible influence parents have on teens, they don’t use it. “The majority of children in America have less than 10 minutes of significant and meaningful conversation with their parents each week. If you remove the mother, you can measure this statistic in seconds.“ (It came from this article, although they did not mention a source.)
Youth pastors are not and cannot be replacement parents. In fact, instead of traditional “youth ministry stuff,” we might find that some of our time is best spent helping parents be better spiritual leaders in their own homes. What do you think?
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