Youth Culture Matters - A CPYU Podcast
185 episodes - English - Latest episode: 17 days ago - ★★★★ - 68 ratingsA 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.
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Episodes
Episode 135: "A Look Back at Episode 83 - Understanding Transgender in a Changing Culture"
August 18, 2021 17:20 - 51 minutes - 47.5 MBWelcome 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" wit...
Episode 134: "Integration of Faith and Sport" with Tim Sceggel
July 15, 2021 20:06 - 1 hour - 58.8 MBOne 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 spor...
Episode 133: "Anxiety, Stress, and Fostering Resilience" with Marv Penner
June 29, 2021 13:45 - 1 hour - 58.5 MBYou 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 grow...
Episode 132: "Grandparents and Prayer" with Tony Souder
June 17, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 56.3 MBOn 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 mu...
Episode 131: "Asking Hard Questions" with Rebecca McLaughlin
June 05, 2021 19:12 - 48 minutes - 44.7 MBPeople 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 narra...
Episode 130: "Keeping and Handing Down The Faith" with Christian Smith
May 20, 2021 18:12 - 1 hour - 55 MBI 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 worker...
Episode 129 - Introducing the Word in Youth Ministry podcast!
May 10, 2021 13:50 - 1 hour - 59.6 MBThe 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 a...
Episode 128: "What Should We Know About Artificial Intelligence?" with Jason Thacker
April 28, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 55.2 MBArtificial 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, medicin...
Episode 127: "Purity Culture, Modesty, and a Better View of Biblical Sexuality" with Rachel Joy Welcher
April 12, 2021 19:21 - 54 minutes - 50.1 MBThe 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 ...
Episode 126: "Love. Sometimes Culture Gets It Right, Sometimes Culture Gets It Wrong" with Sean McDowell
March 25, 2021 18:38 - 51 minutes - 47.3 MBIf 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 o...
Episode 125: "Lessons from the Past, Wisdom for the Future" with Steve Garber and Steve Turner
March 10, 2021 15:57 - 1 hour - 70.3 MBYogi 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 ...
Episode 124 - "Read Well, Think Well, Become Better Christians" with Karen Swallow Prior
February 24, 2021 19:33 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBFrederick 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 re...
Episode 123: "Comic Books, Superheroes, Youth Ministry, and Theology" with the Thanos To Theos Podcast
February 10, 2021 20:42 - 1 hour - 74.9 MBFor 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 c...
Episode 122: "Expressive Individualism, Social Imaginary, Deathworks, and More" with Carl Trueman
January 22, 2021 17:47 - 1 hour - 68.8 MBOne 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 exce...
Episode 121: "The Value of Theology for Parenting and Youth Ministry" with Stephen Nichols
January 07, 2021 20:48 - 59 minutes - 54.7 MBAs 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 theolo...
Episode 120: "Redeeming Power" with Dr. Diane Langberg
December 20, 2020 23:31 - 1 hour - 60 MBAbuse 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 ...
Episode 119: "Encouragement for Bi-Vocational Youth Leaders" with Jordan Martin
December 01, 2020 19:52 - 1 hour - 68.1 MBWhen 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. Tha...
Episode 118: "Effective Youth Ministry" with Ron Belsterling
November 17, 2020 16:55 - 1 hour - 61.7 MBOn 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 th...
Episode 117: "Another Gospel?" with Alisa Childers
November 05, 2020 18:50 - 1 hour - 57.6 MBOn 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 you...
Episode 116: "Girls Over The Brink?" with Dr. Leonard Sax
October 19, 2020 18:47 - 1 hour - 60.3 MBRecent 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...
Episode 115: "Sabbath" with A.J. Swoboda
October 06, 2020 15:24 - 1 hour - 58 MBI 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 ...
Episode 114: "Youth Culture Trends Of Summer 2020" A Youthworker Round Table Discussion
September 17, 2020 14:16 - 1 hour - 72.3 MBHave 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...
Episode 113: "A Look Back at Episode 50 with Tony Souder"
August 24, 2020 13:30 - 42 minutes - 39.1 MBWelcome 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 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 ...
Episode 112: "A Look Back at Episode 29 with Scotty Smith"
August 12, 2020 12:00 - 55 minutes - 50.8 MBWelcome 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...
Episode 111: "A Look Back at Episode 13 with Dr. Virginia Ward"
August 04, 2020 19:51 - 1 hour - 56.3 MBWelcome 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...
Episode 110: "A Look Back at Episode 24 with James K. A. Smith"
July 23, 2020 18:20 - 1 hour - 73.8 MBWelcome 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: “Lit...
Episode 109: "Suicide Prevention" with Karen Mason
July 01, 2020 18:14 - 1 hour - 55.6 MBEarlier 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 yo...
Episode 108: "Online Higher Education" with Duffy Robbins and 3 Grove City College Students
June 10, 2020 18:06 - 1 hour - 56 MBI 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 co...
Episode 107: "What Will College Look Like in the Fall?" with Geneva College Leadership
June 02, 2020 16:07 - 1 hour - 56.4 MBIf 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 ...
Episode 106: "A Post-Pandemic Theology of Youth Ministry" with Mike McGarry
May 19, 2020 15:35 - 1 hour - 66.5 MBI’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 je...
Episode 105: "Is Youth Ministry Programming Dead?" A Roundtable Discussion With Youth Workers
May 07, 2020 16:32 - 1 hour - 67.5 MBWe’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...
Episode 104: "Pornography Use During the Pandemic" with Michael Cusick
April 27, 2020 13:00 - 53 minutes - 48.9 MBThe 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 conversati...
Episode 103: "Living in the Shadow of our Mortality" with Carl Trueman
April 20, 2020 19:04 - 1 hour - 61.9 MBOver 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 g...
Episode 102: "Mental Health for Families in Our Current Crisis" with Julie Lowe
April 02, 2020 19:46 - 1 hour - 59.3 MBAs 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 ...
Episode 101: "Turning to Christ with our Anxiety" with Ed Welch
March 24, 2020 17:43 - 54 minutes - 50.3 MBAll 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, the...
Episode 100: “What Should I Do Now? Youth Ministry in A Coronavirus World”
March 19, 2020 21:31 - 1 hour - 72.2 MBWe 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 e...
Episode 99: "Responsible Teaching of The Bible" with Matt Kim
March 05, 2020 11:00 - 52 minutes - 47.8 MBAs 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 practi...
Episode 98: "No Phones For A Week" with Donna Freitas
February 18, 2020 16:09 - 52 minutes - 48.2 MBWhether 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 untethe...
Episode 97: "Stop Letting Your Kids Make The Call" with Dr. Leonard Sax
January 28, 2020 14:57 - 1 hour - 60 MBThese 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...
Episode 96: "Seizing the Day, Generationalism and More" with Os Guinness
January 14, 2020 13:00 - 32 minutes - 29.7 MBKids 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 gr...
Episode 95: "Your Sexuality Is Not Who You Are" with Christopher Yuan
December 24, 2019 16:36 - 1 hour - 67.5 MBBecause 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 Y...
Episode 94: "Building Resilient Disciples" with Mark Matlock
December 11, 2019 20:00 - 1 hour - 61.1 MBIf 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...
Episode 93: "Christian Teens and Sexual Practices" with David Ayers
November 21, 2019 20:16 - 54 minutes - 49.7 MBIf 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 prema...
Episode 92: "Recovering a Proper Understanding of Work" with Luke Bobo
November 07, 2019 19:39 - 50 minutes - 46.7 MBDo 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 matter...
Episode 91: "Concussions and Youth Sports" with Tyler Maland and Sheila Mueller
October 22, 2019 15:21 - 54 minutes - 50.3 MBIf 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 t...
Episode 90: "Radical Forgiveness" with Jonas Beiler and Joel Kime
October 11, 2019 16:40 - 58 minutes - 53.3 MBIn 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...
Episode 89: "Beyond 7-11 Songs: Raising the Bar on Youth Group Worship"
September 27, 2019 14:56 - 1 hour - 65.8 MBIf 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 c...
Episode 88: What Youth Culture Did On Summer Vacation
September 11, 2019 15:40 - 1 hour - 61.1 MBThe 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.
Episode 87: "Navigating LGBTQ Issues" with Rosaria Butterfield
August 01, 2019 16:42 - 1 hour - 57.7 MBWhen 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 ...
Episode 86: "Self Promotion in Youth Ministry" with Mark Matlock and Derry Prenkert
July 12, 2019 15:54 - 1 hour - 67.7 MBSince 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, ri...