When you’re working with a teen who’s struggling, that young person you love can seem like your adversary. Especially when he or she attacks your faith or takes on a combative mindset toward you, the tendency can be to fight fire with fire. Before you load up your arsenal of strong lectures and extreme measures, [...]
For teens with tender hearts toward the Lord, sometimes going to a camp, conference, or youth rally can be an exciting experience. Often, they hear well-spoken, energetic speakers that are passionate about serving the Lord, in an atmosphere conducive to making commitments for Christ. Especially if some friends are making changes and promises to God, [...]
I remember well hearing a high school teacher plead for understanding when she failed to have our projects graded by the time she had promised us, her students. Her request seemed fair, her excuse reasonable: She had been ill and dealing with sick kids, to boot. Regardless of her reasons, some students faulted her, loudly [...]
Our student choir singing on the steps of the Richmond, IN city building today during the National Day of Prayer celebration.
One of the reasons today’s young people struggle with depression more than previous generations has to do with the media, but not in the way you might think. Sure, there are those who get bummed out when they don’t get many “Likes” or comments on their Facebook posts, but there’s another, more sobering source of [...]
While Part 1 on this topic was more philosophical, dealing with how we think about the topic of homosexuality, Part 2 will be devoted to practical application. As a Christian parent, you can prepare your teen, so when situations come up, they can respond in a thoughtful, compassionate way. Treating People Indiscriminately In keeping with [...]
Unless you have your head in the sand, you realize that the greatest sin, according to our culture, is intolerance. Christians are often charged with this “crime,” particularly as it relates to homosexuality. Immersed in the hotbed of a liberal culture, teens will be especially affected by this issue, and they need to be carefully [...]
It’s amazing to me how often adults — and even church-going adults — completely ignore the fact that Scripture actually gives us instructions about how to handle interpersonal conflicts. Still, even church leaders can fall prey to the temptation to angrily or publicly air their frustrations, gossip about others, or demonstrate passive-aggressive behavior toward someone [...]
Most adults can probably look back to a time when they truly believed their fathers (always) knew best, and were infinitely smarter and stronger than everyone else’s dad. Eventually, though, we’ve all become disillusioned, to some extent, with the reality of our imperfect parents. So will our kids. Sure, it’s an ego boost for us [...]
Whether they’re facing the loss of a friend or family member, disappointment in school, social frustrations, or changes of any kind, teens need moral support from the trusted adults in their lives. So often we give them what they don’t need or what won’t help them, but that’s the topic of another post. In their [...]
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