A friend posted this on Facebook yesterday..
Posted by adminAug 6
“shame on youth pastor’s who refuse to preach against sexual sin. GROW A PAIR AND PREACH THE WORD OF GOD.”
Which made me laugh at first, but then I got to thinking… how do we help young people understand the value of sexual purity? Here’s my reply to his post…
grow a pair of what Paul? … u r so funny
grow a pair & sexual sin in the same sentence… I’m chuckling inside.
I think some are afraid to teach about the dangers of sexual sin, because they get so confused about what is sin and what is simply socially questionable. There will be some that will blast you for saying “grow a pair” as if that is immoral in itself.
Yet they don’t think through the fact that Jesus was so socially unacceptable to some religious people that they literally crucified Him.
We won’t help young people abstain from sexual sin by shouting in anger about the evil of sexual immorality – we learned that from my generation.
We won’t help young people abstain from sexual sin by lying about the effectiveness of condoms, having abstinence or purity rings, challenging them to make emotional pledges, and otherwise basically ignoring the entire subject – we learned that from your generation.
So what will prove effective? – I’m praying that moms and dads who stick together, encourage open conversation, teach freedom, and remind their students that while all things are permissible – not all things are expedient will prove effective.
What do you think Paul? If you were serving as a youth pastor type guy – what would you teach about sexual sin? I don’t think that teaching that the Bible forbids it will do much to curb it. I would teach that the law forbids premarital sex, but I think stopping there may increase sexual immorality instead of decreasing it. So what else do we do? I have thoughts, but I think a dialog would be positive to you, I, and others. So – what do you think? I’m going to post this to my blog as well and see what response I get.
I’m famous!!!
I THINK IT PRETTY SIMPLE MYSELF, IF YOU RAISE A GENERATION OF PEOPLE WHO “FEAR A HOLY GOD” AND WHO ARE YEARNING FOR THE “HEART OF GOD”, THEN THERE WOULD BE NO MAGIC PLAY BOOK NEEDED TO FIGHT THIS BATTLE. IF OUR CHURCHES WOULD QUIT FIGHTING OVER STUPID STUFF LIKE “MUSIC” AND IS IT TRADITIONAL OR CONTEMPORARY AND TEACH THIS GENERATION THAT OUR MIGHTY, HOLY, PERFECT GOD TRANCENDS ALL THAT CRAP, THEN WE MIGHT HAVE OURSELVES A GENERATION RISE UP FROM THE ASHES OF TRADITIONALISTS AND SAY “I WANT WHAT GOD WANTS!” THEN THIS ISSUE AMONG OUR TEENS WILL SEEM SMALL AGAINST THE ISSUE OF WHERE IS GOD GUNNA BUILD ALL THE MANSIONS IN HEAVEN, BECAUSE WE WILL HAVE US A TEEN GENERATION REACHING PEOPLE FOR CHRIST! LUV THIS TOPIC
Brandy… why are you SCREAMING? Just kidding…
Do you think that not fighting over music will really make a big difference? I’m not saying we should fight over music – of course that’s silly. But what does it take to raise a generation of people who “FEAR A HOLY GOD?”
I’m sorry Brandy if you think I am being a smart a– I promise I don’t mean it that way at all. I want to raise a generation that has the utmost respect and reverence for The One and Only Holy God, but I’m not sure just how to do that. I certainly want to raise four kids who have a reverence for God and a heart for Jesus… but I don’t think it is as simple as just saying it.
I think there is some value in thinking through how to teach this one specific topic, because once we know the proper way to teach this subject… we could teach every other subject with the same heart and theory. I know it isn’t a theory, but you get what I am saying… I hope.
I don’t think screaming to my kids that sex outside of marriage is a sin against God will help them abstain at all… the screaming about sin and righteousness certainly didn’t work for me.
On the other hand asking them to sign a pledge card or wear a promise ring – didn’t work for others. In fact – statistically signing a pledge card or wearing a promise ring – increases the likelihood that the student has premarital sex.
So what is the best thing to teach? I say we are painfully honest. I plan to teach my children that sexual sin won’t end their life or keep them from going to heaven, but it may hinder their future marital sex. I plan to teach them that pregnancy is always a possibility, and that STD’s are real.. I also plan to teach them that all things are lawful, but some things are not best.
I would love some more wisdom on this topic. I think it is worth thinking through.
I THINK WE CAN ONLY RAISE A GENERATION TO “FEAR A HOLY GOD”, IF THE GENERATION THAT IS DOING THE TEACHING “FEARS A HOLY GOD”. IN MY EXPERIENCE AS A TEEN, MOST OF THE PEOPLE WHO TALKED ABOUT THIS ISSUE WERE NOT LIVING WHAT THEY WERE PREACHING. ACTIONS TEACH BETTER THAN WORDS. MY GENERATION WERE TOLD “DON’T SMOKE” WHILE EVERBODY SMOKED A CIGARETTE. BTW I ALWAYS TYPE IN CAPS, BECAUSE I AM NOT A CONFORMIST! LOL LOL AND YES I AGREE THAT WE NEED TO BE PAINFULLY HONEST. AND I DON NOT THINK THAT YOU ARE A SMART A MOST OF THE TIME! LOL LOL