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What Went Wrong With MTV?
by Adam McLane Posted in Adolescent DevelopmentYouth Worker DevelopmentBy Adam McLane All through my adolescence no organization was cooler than MTV. They literally defined what was cool for my generation, as Frontline documented in The Merchants of Cool, MTV wasn't just lucky to hit a specific trend at a specific time for 20 plus years. My jaw dropped as I learned that MTV's programming hits were the results of intense and prolonged ethnographic study of their target audience.
Mary Christmas: Reaching Out To Teen Moms
by Ginger Sinsabaugh MacDonald Posted in Adolescent DevelopmentArticlesProgrammingYouth Worker DevelopmentBy Ginger Sinsbaugh MacDonald Okay. We’ve heard the story a zillion times. Even those of us who are Chreasters (those who only show up for church on Christmas and Easter) know the story about the pregnant teen named Mary. She and her fiancé Joe didn’t have reservations at the Red Roof Inn…Read More
Boys To Men: Finding Masculine Identity In Today’s Culture
by Charlie Eldred Posted in Adolescent DevelopmentArticlesYouth Worker DevelopmentBy Charlie Eldred Little boys, we are told, are made of "snips and snails and puppy dog tails." However, no recipe exists to explain what makes a man, much less how to turn puppy dog tails into a big dog. Each year, boys enter junior high hoping to exit as young…Read More
By The Bathroom Mirror: Teenage Girls & Identity
by Melissa Brown Posted in Adolescent DevelopmentArticlesIt’s an age old question passed from one generation of men to the next: Why do girls always need to go to the bathroom together? As I female, I can confidently answer that we do this just to annoy you. Well, that’s the not real reason. We really do it…Read More
Love Gives, Lust Takes: A Recount Of A Romantic Reunion Gone Wrong
by Shellie R. Warren Posted in Adolescent DevelopmentArticlesYouth Worker DevelopmentBy Shellie R. Warren I was deeply in love with him or in the very least I lusted after him strongly. Lust can lead us blindly into what we think is love. I was so blinded that I could not see my way out of the highly dysfunctional relationship that I was in or out of the tragic night that will forever remain in my mental rolodex of regrets.
Making Sense Of Suicide
by Jeff Greathouse Posted in Adolescent DevelopmentArticlesAdviceYouth Worker DevelopmentBy Jeff Greathouse Suicide is an issue that as youth workers and church members tend to put on the back burner. There’s this notion that if we do not talk suicide, it will simply disappear. Unfortunately, it’s not done enough and students that are struggling and carrying a burden that is…Read More
Sex On The Rooftops
by Peggikaye Eagler Posted in Adolescent DevelopmentArticlesAdviceYouth Worker DevelopmentBy Peggikaye Eagler A woman and a man, totally and completely in love, walking together along the beach, hand in hand, it’s obvious to anyone who is observing them that they have recently been married. Honeymooners, in love with the world at their feet. The sun reflects off their rings and…Read More
How Far Is Too Far?
by Carl Fuglein Posted in Adolescent DevelopmentArticlesYouth Worker DevelopmentBy Carl Fuglein Do you remember the first time you rode a roller coaster? What emotions went through your mind? Maybe fear and excitement. As you got onto the ride, your heart started pumping faster and faster. The seatbelt was fastened and the bar was lowered. The ride started and you realized that you were committed…Read More
The Power Of A Mentor
by Ben Kraker Posted in Adolescent DevelopmentArticlesYouth Worker DevelopmentBy Ben Kraker I am the product of good mentoring. When I was in high school, LoriJo Schepers was one of my mentors. She helped me start an outreach ministry on my high school campus. She provided powerful and effective resources. She was an encourager and a good listener. LoriJo saw something in me and decided I was worth her investment of time, money, and even the occasional rebuking.
Youth Ministry in an Age of Delayed Adulthood
Posted in Adolescent DevelopmentAdolescence is lasting longer than ever before—which means adulthood is delayed longer than ever before. In the midst of this change, youth workers can't use outdated ministry models and expect to achieve the same results. We need new philosophies and methods to minister to the expanding adolescent population.
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