https://ubcentral.org/2009/02/19/understanding-todays-youth/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=understanding-todays-youth News From The United Brethren in Christ Church Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:35:07 +0000 hourly 1 https://ubcentral.org/2009/02/19/understanding-todays-youth/comment-page-1/#comment-59 Sat, 28 Feb 2009 03:16:57 +0000 http://ubcentral.org/?p=344#comment-59 Thanks, Roger.
I agree that for young people, relationships with authentic, caring, mature adults are the #1 way to help youth grow spiritually. I would emphasize that not only must an adult be non-judgmental and caring, but also living out their convictions (I suspect this is what you mean by “authentic”). The men in my life who impacted me the most as a youth were those who lived out their Christian convictions with integrity and passion(like you, Roger). Their Godly fire made me want to be like them.
I also thoroughly agree that today’s teens challenge orthodoxy at times but that doesn’t mean they won’t embrace it. I have found that many times they are seeking to create new avenues for the expression and experience of life with Jesus because the cultural dynamics around them have shifted from what we adults knew.
Differences in language and metaphors are being created by the next generation in order for them to fully understand, embrace, and proclaim the Gospel in their world. We must strive to listen to these young saints as they work out their salvation “with fear and trembling”, because if we do, we may begin to understand where they are coming from and recognize that their theology is often just as solid and at times, even more biblical than our own.

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