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 85: "Designing Our Youth Rooms with Intentionality" with Bill McAlpine
June 18, 2019 19:26 - 1 hour - 62.8 MBWhen was the last time that you pondered, if ever, the architecture and layout of your church building or youth room? And, does architecture and layout even matter? Should our spaces be purely utilitarian in nature? Or, should they serve an even greater purpose? Winston Churchill once said, “First we shape our buildings, and then our buildings shape us.” The fact is that space does speak. And space can shape us in ways that lead to our spiritual flourishing, or space can undermine our spirit...
Episode 84: "Insecurity" with John Perritt
May 30, 2019 18:50 - 1 hour - 55.3 MBInsecurity is a painful reality that all human beings struggle with. In today’s social media saturated world, the ever-present insecurities gnawing away at our teens are amplified. According to author and youth worker John Perritt, there is a healthy and greater fear that can drown out this lesser fear that we call insecurity. It is by living in the fear of the Lord that insecurity can be defeated. In fact, the pain of our insecurities is there to point us to Jesus. We’ll be talking with Joh...
Episode 83: "Understanding Transgender in a Changing Culture" with Peter Lynas
May 13, 2019 19:21 - 51 minutes - 70.5 MBIt wasn’t until the late 1960s and early 1970s that the term Transgender was first coined and used. In today’s world, the word sits front and center on our collective cultural consciousness as more and more people are referring to themselves as transgender, and as transgender activism intensifies. The reality is, more and more gender dysphoric kids are showing up in our youth groups. For those of us doing ministry in the church, we should be thinking about how to minister with grace, truth, ...
Episode 82: "Girls, Worldviews, and Contradictions" with Heather Zeiger
May 02, 2019 17:17 - 1 hour - 92.8 MBIn her book, American Girls, Nancy Jo Sales writes these sobering words regarding what it’s like to grow up as a girl in today’s youth culture: “The constant seeking of likes and attention on social media seems for many girls to feel like being a contestant in a never-ending beauty pageant in which they forever performing to be please the judges.” Navigating life in our appearance-obsessed world is dangerous business for girls and boys, young and old alike. What are the messages our girls ar...
Episode 81: "Where Have All The Good Men Gone?" with Chris Walker
April 18, 2019 18:40 - 1 hour - 110 MBWhere have all the good men gone? We’re hearing more and more young women lament the lack of mature Godly men. One says, “The guys I dated were more like the kids I babysat than the dads who drove me home.” Research and observation increasingly point to the fact that it is taking longer and longer for our boys to mature into responsible, Godly manhood. What are the factors that contribute to this reality? Are our current youth ministry and parenting strategies working to remedy the situation...
Episode 80: "Millennials, Evangelism and Faith Formation" with David Kinnaman
March 25, 2019 15:55 - 49 minutes - 45.6 MBA recent headline from the Barna Group reads, “Almost half of practicing Christian millennials say evangelism is wrong.” The Barna group has been conducting research on the faith-sharing experiences and expectations of Christians and non-Christians alike. And it seems that many millennials now believe that it’s wrong to share their faith. Join us as we dig into the data, talk through the implications, and think forward about the implications for the church, as we talk with Barna’s David Kinn...
Episode 79: "Life, Sexuality, and a Christian Worldview" with Nancy Pearcey
March 07, 2019 18:28 - 1 hour - 59.6 MBIf you’re active on social media, you know that not a day goes by without someone posting an article or news story which sparks sometimes heated disagreement and discussion over one of the many issues related to life and sexuality. Discussions center on topics like abortion, euthanasia, gender, and marriage. The reality is that even in the church disagreements and divides are on the rise. How can we build a strong biblical foundation that serves us well as we seek to respond according to a C...
Episode 78: "Changing Youth Sports" with Brandon Day
February 21, 2019 16:53 - 52 minutes - 48 MBOur youth sports culture is broken. That was the headline for a recent op-ed piece in the Port Huron Michigan Times Herald. Written by a highly-respected high school wrestling coach, the article has gone viral, drawing accolades from educators, coaches, parents, and youth workers. Even though we all live in this sports-worshiping North American culture, we are seeing clear signs that our obsessions and pushiness are not serving kids, families, communities, and the culture at large well at al...
Episode 77: "Engaging Disability in Youth Ministry and Beyond" with Ashley Belknap
February 06, 2019 19:01 - 1 hour - 66.6 MBThe Scriptures tell us with great clarity that all human beings have been made by God, in the image of God, and for a relationship with God. But the reality of life in our post-fall world has left everything broken, including all human beings. This brokenness touches us all deeply, but in a variety of different ways. This includes the many types of physical and cognitive disabilities in our world. This means that our churches and youth groups must be places sensitive to the unique needs of t...
Episode 76: "Evangelism - Gospelizing Your Youth Ministry" with Greg Stier
January 25, 2019 19:45 - 56 minutes - 51.3 MBBefore he ascended into heaven, Jesus issued what is now known as the Great Commission. He commanded his followers in all times and all places to go into the world and make disciples. That task follows our efforts to communicate the good news of the Gospel. Do our youth ministry efforts reflect a commitment to obedience to this command of Christ? What does it mean to do evangelism and discipleship with the emerging generations? How can we fuel our passions and abilities at evangelism and dis...
Episode 75: "Stressed Out" a Conversation about Anxiety with Walt Mueller
January 15, 2019 17:00 - 59 minutes - 54.7 MBFour years ago, the band Twenty-One Pilots released a hit song focusing on the pressures of adulthood and a yearning to return back to the relatively easy years of childhood. Title Stressed Out, the song went to number one on the mainstream music charts. But judging from what we’re hearing from researchers, parents, youth workers, educators, and kids themselves, stress and anxiety is increasingly common among our children and teens. What is anxiety? How is it manifesting itself in the lives ...
Episode 74: "Scripture and Popular Music" with Steve Turner
January 04, 2019 17:52 - 1 hour - 58.8 MBPlato once said that “music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” While you might argue with the particulars of Plato’s words, you have to agree that music has power. And there’s no question that Scripture has influenced music since the first ever song was penned. Poet, author, and rock music critic Steve Turner knows this to be the case. And in his new book, “Turn, Turn Turn: Popular Songs and Music Inspired By The Bible,” Steve ...
Episode 73: "Eighth Grade" Film: A Youthworker Round Table Discussion
December 18, 2018 18:25 - 1 hour - 58 MBEvery now and then, a film comes along that offers a helpful, realistic, and compelling peek into the world of contemporary adolescence. The recent film, Eighth Grade, is a movie follows the last week of middle school before thirteen-year-old Kayla graduates and moves on to high school. It’s a good one that covers all kinds of issues including identity, family, social media, friendships, and sexuality. We recently sat with a group of youth workers to view and discuss the film. Does Eighth G...
Episode 72: "Why Youth Stay in Church When They Grow Up" with Jon Nielson
November 28, 2018 12:00 - 48 minutes - 44.8 MBOver the course of the last few years, youth workers and parents have been increasingly lamenting the exodus of kids from the church once they graduate from high school and launch into the next phase of life. A growing volume of research is offering ideas on why this is happening, and solutions designed to reverse this trend. Why is it that our kids are leaving the church in droves after they grow up? Have we come to a clear understanding of the reasons? And what steps can we take to prepare...
Episode 71: "Navigating Advertising and Marketing" with Walt Mueller
November 15, 2018 12:00 - 46 minutes - 42.8 MBWe live in a marketing saturated world. When we engage with an average of 4,000 to 10,000 marketing messages a day, we become unaware of both the presence of marketing in our lives, and the power of marketing to shape our beliefs and behaviors. And for our vulnerable kids who are in the midst of growth and change, marketing is an especially powerful force. What would it look like to disciple our kids into thinking consciously, critically and Christianly about the thousands of marketing messa...
Episode 70: "Loving Kids Well in our #metoo Culture" with Marv Penner
November 02, 2018 17:23 - 1 hour - 70.8 MBYouth ministry has always needed to adapt and adjust to changes in the mainstream culture. With the advent of the metoo movement and our growing knowledge of the nature and extent of sexual abuse, youth workers must be thinking about how to best engage with students in ways that lead to healthy relationship building. Is it ever proper to give a student a hug? What about car rides, lunches, or having one-on-one meetings with kids? What are the borders and boundaries we need to enlist to insur...
Episode 69: "Hope" with Cameron and Lauren Cole
October 24, 2018 15:44 - 1 hour - 55.1 MBThomas Chisholm wrote the classic hymn, Great is Thy Faithfulness, as a testimony to God’s enduring love. The hymn calls to mind the words of the prophet Jeremiah in Lamentations 3: "I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithf...
Episode 68: "Rapid-Onset Gender Dysphoria" with Walt Mueller and Jason Soucinek
October 04, 2018 19:32 - 1 hour - 75.8 MBIt seems that you can’t watch the news or go online these days without encountering stories related to matters of gender and sexual identity. The conversations on these matters are progressing into unmarked territory that can leave parents and youth workers confused, and even paralyzed in terms of how to respond. In recent weeks, a new study has emerged that has opened the door for conversations about what’s being called rapid onset gender dysphoria that’s becoming more and more prevalent in...
Episode 67: "Effective Ministry Planning" with Erickson, Kauffman, Trunfio, and Yi
September 11, 2018 15:50 - 1 hour - 68.9 MBSummer’s over and a new youth ministry season is here. If you’re a youth worker, your youth group schedule is ramping up and you’ve no doubt been planning. . . or should be planning. . . your teaching and ministry schedule for the coming school year. So let me ask you, have you done your youth ministry planning? What goals, objectives, and priorities have guided your planning? What do you hope to see happen in the lives of your students and their families this year? Effective ministry requir...
Episode 66: "Youth, Sports, and Ministry" with John Perritt
August 17, 2018 17:57 - 1 hour - 70.4 MBIt’s that time of year when the fall sports season is heating up, everywhere from the pre-school soccer fields to the NFL gridiron. Our sports-obsessed culture will be in full gear as we do everything from playing to spectating. If all of a Christian’s life is to be an act of worship, how can we engage in our playing, sports-parenting, and spectating to the glory of God? How do we push back on a culture that encourages us to idolize sport, winning, and sports stars? And how can we shift our ...
Episode 65: "Teaching Daughters About Sex and Sexuality" with Tim Geiger
August 02, 2018 13:20 - 58 minutes - 53.8 MBWhat did you learn about sex and how did you learn about it when you were growing up? Christian parents, with assistance from youth leaders and the church, are given the responsibility to bring up their children in the nurture and instruction of the Lord. This includes talking about God’s order and design for sexuality. And because we live in a hyper-sexualized world that’s providing its own narrative on gender and sexuality, taking on this responsibility to instruct our kids about God’s de...
Episode 64: "Suffering" with Dave Ripper
July 20, 2018 15:15 - 1 hour - 66.7 MBSomewhere along the way, many of us came to believe that if you are a follower of Jesus, you are promised a happy and carefree life. But when you read the Scriptures, you see that to follow Jesus means that you are also called to take up your cross. For most of us, it doesn’t take long to figure out that living life in a broken and fallen world means that you will encounter suffering and hardship. And, for the Christian living in this broken world, the Scriptures tell us to be prepared for a...
Episode 63: "Youth Ministry Networking" with Travis Deans
July 06, 2018 18:45 - 1 hour - 56.1 MBThe poet John Donne once wrote that “no man is an island.” Donne was stating a basic truth about life. . . that is that human beings tend to do things not so well when we are isolated from others. We need community to thrive. That’s certainly what the Scriptures teach from Genesis to Revelation. If we’re in youth ministry, community is vital to our flourishing both personally and in ministry. Youth workers who have run the youth ministry race effectively for a long time are always networked ...
Episode 62: "Disordered Eating" with Susie Broms, Nick Mance, and Julie Lowe
June 18, 2018 13:05 - 1 hour - 62.5 MBI was a twenty-one year-old college student when I first heard the term anorexia nervosa. I scratched my head for a moment, and then asked, “What’s that?” Yes, eating disorders and disordered eating were present in our culture forty years ago. But they were largely unknown and misunderstood. Today, the pressure to be thin and perfect is an ever-present part of our lives. Consequently, virtually all of our young middle school students are familiar with the names of these eating disorders. Ma...
Episode 61: "'13 Reasons Why' Season 2" A Round Table Discussion
May 31, 2018 02:10 - 1 hour - 71.9 MBOne of the most controversial and often discussed Netflix series of all time is 13 Reasons Why. When season 2 of the series was released two weeks ago, our curious kids began binge-watching, just like they did last year with the release of season 1. Because of the shows controversial content and concerns about the influence on children and teens, 13 Reasons Why has been a hot topic for discussion and even disagreement among parents, counselors, teachers, youth workers, and media critics. Sho...
Episode 60: "Sacrificing Truth on the Altar of Relevance?" with Duffy Robbins and Marv Penner
May 14, 2018 17:19 - 1 hour - 55.8 MBWith the culture changing at breakneck speed, we need to know the culture so that we can contextualize the unchanging Good news of the Gospel in ways that can be heard by a changing world. As a result, we talk a lot about the need for relevance in our churches and youth ministries. Is it possible that our commitment to relevance can lead us to focus too much on forms, with the result that we forfeit our knowledge of the Gospel? And, can we become so committed to relevance that we find oursel...
Episode 59: "U2 and the Preach Jockey" with Steve Stockman
May 03, 2018 15:15 - 1 hour - 58.9 MBYou can argue that if there is one band that’s been significant and enduring over the last thirty-plus years, it would be Ireland’s U2. Their story, their music, and their message has vaulted them to this place, making them one of the most beloved rock and roll bands of all time. What is it about U2 that makes them so provocative and compelling? How has the Christian faith played into the ethos of the band? And how should we be interpreting and processing the band’s music? Belfast native, pa...
Episode 58: "Posture, Theology, Sexuality and The Church" with Preston Sprinkle
April 10, 2018 16:46 - 50 minutes - 46.3 MBOne way our culture has changed is the growing openness to new beliefs and behaviors related to sexuality, sexual orientation, and gender. Because we minister and parent on this changing landscape, we find ourselves engaged in all kinds of conversations with young people who express different beliefs and practices. As Christians work to be faithful to the Scriptures, we will encounter a variety of interpretations of the passages dealing with sex, sexuality and gender. How are we to look at a...
Episode 57: "Deep Youth Ministry" with Cameron Cole, Mike McGarry, and Kevin Yi
March 29, 2018 16:11 - 1 hour - 73.6 MBResearch and experience point way too often to the fact that our youth ministries and churches are failing at equipping kids to leave our youth groups with a deep, significant, and lasting faith. Too many kids graduate from high school and into the next phase of life seemingly pushing the pause or stop button on their Christian faith. Consequently, they aren’t ready to faithfully navigate the difficulties they are bound to face in life. How can we begin to take kids deeper into the Gospel? W...
Episode 56: "The Benefits and Blessings of Christian Camping" with Rob Ribbe, Greg Anderson, and Andy Needham
March 20, 2018 15:09 - 1 hour - 66.3 MBAs parents and youth workers, we are eager to see our kids come to faith in Christ, and to grow in maturity in Christ. Research and experience are pointing to the fact that some of the greatest strides kids make in their faith happen in the camp setting. What happens to kids when they go to a Christian camp? How has Christian camping changed over the course of the last few years? And what can parents and youth workers do to encourage a positive camping experience that yields real life change...
Episode 55: "Mentoring The Next Generations of Youth Workers" with Marv Penner, Sid Koop and Sarah Stanley
March 07, 2018 02:53 - 1 hour - 61.6 MBWhen youth workers ask me about the qualities they should seek to develop in their lives and ministries, there are three that I’m always sure to mention: humility, teachability, and cooperation. Pride kills ministry. Without a determination to learn we get horribly stale. And if we aren’t working with others we forfeit the great benefits of ministering together as part of the body of Christ. How can we intentionally position ourselves to serve Christ, kids, and families most effectively? Wha...
Episode 54: "A Fifty Shades Conversation" with Jodi Chung and Jessica Greaser
February 14, 2018 21:48 - 1 hour - 64.1 MBWhenever Valentine’s Day rolls around our culture is prompted to think about romance, love, and sex. It’s no fluke that the latest installment in the Fifty Shades of Gray film series was released just a few days before Valentines Day. As followers of the one who created romance, love, and sex, we need to follow Christ by understanding and experiencing romance, love and sex in ways that bring honor and glory to God, rather than in ways that are broken and sinful expressions of sex and sexuali...
Episode 53: "Suicide Intervention" with Dr. Marv Penner
February 09, 2018 17:55 - 1 hour - 59 MBWe don’t like to talk about it, but we must. The spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being of our kids hangs in the balance. That’s why we need to be thinking about and strategizing for how to best push back and minister to kids in the midst of the growing epidemic of teen suicide. What are the signs? What are the myths? How can youth workers and parents intervene in a moment of crisis? Join us for a practical and hope-filled conversation with Dr. Marv Penner about teens and suicide, on ...
Episode 52: "A Youth Ministry Conversation" with Walt Mueller, Duffy Robbins, Marv Penner, and Chap Clark
January 23, 2018 19:14 - 1 hour - 72.9 MBOver the course of Walt Mueller's years of youth ministry, he's developed some wonderful friendships with a variety of youth ministry peers. Some of the most significant relationships have resulted in sometimes fun, sometimes serious, and always profitable conversation about their personal lives and ministry matters. They don't always agree, but they always work to sharpen one another. All of us need these kind of relationships where iron sharpens iron as we love each other and serve togethe...
Episode 51: "Supporting Parents" with Walt Mueller
January 05, 2018 16:18 - 54 minutes - 50.1 MBOne of the biggest mistakes we make in youth ministry is assuming that we are the ones primarily responsible for the spiritual nurture of teenagers. A second and related mistake is making the assumption that as youth workers, we can actually do a better job of nurturing kids than their clueless parents. Sure, parents might sometimes be not well-equipped to nurture their children in the faith, but they are still called to be the ones primarily responsible for the nurture of their children and...
Episode 50: "Intergenerational Ministry through Prayer" with Tony Souder
December 22, 2017 18:27 - 1 hour - 55.2 MBPrayer is essential to the Christian life. As followers of Jesus, we must make the same request as one of His early disciples: Lord, teach us to pray. Once we learn how to pray, what should we be praying for? In today's incredibly confusing world, one of our primary prayers subjects must be our children and teens. What would happen if as individuals and churches we would begin to engage in daily prayer for each and every young person in our congregation? We'll be talking to Tony Souder about...
Episode 49: "Identity in Christ in the Midst of Snaps and Selfies" with Kristen Hatton
December 13, 2017 14:50 - 1 hour - 66.7 MBWhere are we to find our identity? Our current and powerful cultural narrative is convincing children, teens, and adults alike that we are to create, maintain, and find our identity in what we look like on social media. Consequently, we pour our time and energy into practices and habits that destroy us. It’s feeding the epidemics of anxiety, depression, and disordered eating. The path to hope, healing, and fullness is found in a different narrative, the biblical narrative, which leads us to ...
Episode 48: "The Weinstein Effect, Matt Lauer, and Teachable Moments" with Walt Mueller and Jason Soucinek
December 01, 2017 19:08 - 1 hour - 58.6 MBUnless you’ve been asleep, you know that the last few weeks have been flooded with news stories about a growing number of political and celebrity figures and allegations regarding sexual abuse and assault. What’s now known as the Weinstein Effect was front and center again this week with the firing of NBC Today Show Host, Matt Lauer. Should we be shocked? Should we be surprised? We believe that this cultural moment provides us with the opportunity to look inward, to talk to ourselves, and to...
Episode 47: "The Opioid Epidemic and Parenting Addicts" with Allen Jackson
November 15, 2017 02:59 - 1 hour - 66.9 MBDrug and alcohol abuse is nothing new to youth culture. Sadly, it's been a part of the teenage experience for a long time. While anti-drug efforts have yielded a decline in the use of some drugs, the usage number on way too many drugs are on the rise. And not a day goes by when we don't read another sobering statistic or sad story related to the abuse of opioids or heroin. Today, kids are engaging with drugs and alcohol for a host of reasons. What is it like to work with a young person who i...
Episode 46: "Should We Use Someone Else's Talk Or Sermon?" with Scott Gibson
October 31, 2017 18:40 - 55 minutes - 50.8 MBYouth workers and pastors are busy people. With the pace of life getting faster, we get busier and then have to prioritize the tasks of ministry. Sometimes we let certain tasks slip. In recent years, more and more of us have dropped the important task of study and preparation time. Some have even gone so far as to purchase, download, cut and paste, or even plagiarize talks and sermons prepared by others. This increasingly accepted practice can not only raise ethical concerns, but by moving u...
Episode 45: "Emotional Affairs," with Ellen Dykas
October 17, 2017 17:59 - 59 minutes - 54.7 MBBecause we live as broken people with other broken people in a horribly broken world, we all face the temptation to take certain friendships over the line into the unhealthy world of emotional affairs. Once there, our tendency is to justify and downplay the seriousness of these relationships as no big deal. But even though emotional affairs might never lead to a sexual affair, they do cross a line. Emotional affairs are one of the most deadly obstacles facing us in life and ministry. They de...
Episode 44: "Bullying" with Julie Lowe
October 05, 2017 20:25 - 57 minutes - 52.8 MBWere you ever bullied? Or, were you ever a bully? In today's world, bullying has reached epidemic proportions. Social media has created a landscape where bullying is now a 24/7 reality that for some, never ends. What can we do to build resilience in the bullied, and stop the bullies? This episode is a practical, gospel-centered conversation on bullying and what we can do about it, with counselor Julie Lowe.
Episode 43: "Struck with Affliction" with Russ Ramsey
August 30, 2017 18:15 - 58 minutes - 53.5 MBWe live in a broken world that is desperately groaning and longing to be fixed. As Christians we realize that the pain and suffering of life will exist until the day when Jesus ushers in the New Heaven and the New Earth. Until that day when things will finally be restored to the way they're supposed to be, we will experience pain and suffering in our lives. The cultural narrative works to convince us of a different perspective, that pain should be avoided at all costs and that we should only...
Episode 42: "Dating and Relationships" with Debra Fileta
August 11, 2017 17:40 - 1 hour - 62.8 MBWhen it comes to dating and relationships, the rules have changed. The cultural narrative on dating, love, sex, and marriage has eclipsed the biblical narrative on relationships. Consequently, our kids oftentimes pursue a relationship path that is dangerous and destructive, and they don't even know it. How can we point them to an understanding and practice of dating that leads to their flourishing? What should we tell them about pursuing healthy relationships? There is a lot at stake, and th...
Episode 41: "How Is Your Phone Changing You?" with Tony Reinke
July 19, 2017 17:00 - 1 hour - 66.5 MBIt's been over fifty years since media theorist Marshall McLuhan said that "First we shape our tools, and then our tools shape us." McLuhan had push back as folks wondered at the time if what he was saying was true. But time has proven McLuhan's theory to be correct. Now that we've hit the ten year anniversary of the launch of the iPhone, we're beginning to see how much our smartphones are shaping and changing our lives. How do our devices shape our beliefs and behaviors? What do they reflec...
Episode 40: "Longevity in Youth Ministry" with Mike Flavin and Ted Jordan
July 07, 2017 16:54 - 1 hour - 65 MBWhen I started out in youth ministry, there were two time-related realities that some seasoned youth workers shared with me. First, it takes three years to establish yourself in a new youth ministry setting. And second, the average youth minister stays in a youth ministry position for eighteen months. That math doesn’t speak well for youth ministry longevity and effectiveness. Fortunately, more and more youth workers are committing themselves to serving Christ through long-term youth ministr...
Episode 39: "Anxiety" with Dr. Phil Monroe
June 15, 2017 14:48 - 57 minutes - 52.3 MBLate last year, Time Magazine ran a cover story on the current epidemic of anxiety among America’s adolescents. The story reports on what all of us who work with kids already know: that the pressures on today’s teenagers are so great that they are trying to navigate their lives while, as one teen says, "feeling like they are climbing Mount Everest in high heels." What is anxiety? What is feeding the anxiety epidemic? How does anxiety manifest itself in kids? And how can we provide Gospel-cen...
Episode 38: "Is Right and Wrong Right Or Wrong?" with Duffy Robbins and Marv Penner
May 26, 2017 16:43A Christian culture observer once said this about the changes taking place in our world: “As result of the postmodern turn, the only sin, is to believe in sin.” If we look around with any sort of discernment, we see that in many ways this is true. The challenges to Christian ethics and a biblical worldview are strong. Our kids are taught to be tolerant, accepting, non-judgemental, and authentic. But in an effort to jettison the kind of legalism that should be jettisoned, are we losing our ab...
Episode 37: "Social Media and Happiness" with Donna Freitas
May 16, 2017 16:40 - 1 hour - 58.5 MBIf you spend any time at all on social media, you know just how important the "likes" are. Getting "likes" and positive feedback on your posts in money in the bank. It's a sign of social media success. But does the pursuit of online attention and a growing number of followers cause us to compromise ourselves? Researcher Donna Freitas has found that our engagement with technology has led to what she calls the Happiness Effect. What this means is that we are very easily driven to appear perfec...
Episode 36: "'13 Reasons Why': A Discussion" with Amy Flavin and Kara Twining
April 28, 2017 21:56 - 1 hour - 64.4 MBThe recently released Netflix series "13 Reasons Why" is getting a ton of attention from kids, parents, teachers and counselors. The show has sparked conversations about all sorts of adolescent issues, including suicide. But the show has also ignited controversy, as experts are divided over whether or not "13 Reasons Why" is motivating teenagers toward positive or negative behaviors. One thing is for sure: this is NOT a show to ignore. Our kids ARE watching it, they ARE thinking and talking ...