Avoiding Evil

{Posted By My Lovely Wife}

So there I was, watching TV, when all of a sudden, an amazing blog post topic popped into my head. Coincidence? I think not. I shared this with Pressed and he said that I should use his blog to post this awesome idea, and voila, here is the post!

We all know the story of Cinderella and Prince Charming, right? Cinderelly goes to the ball, dressed in a gorgeous gown, eager to dance the night away. Unfortunately, as the story goes, she must return home before midnight because the wonderful gifts that her fairy-godmother gave her will return to normal. She rushes out, after dancing with the handsome prince, losing her shoe at the same time. Prince Charming then searches the entire kingdom, looking for this beautiful maiden, trying the shoe on every female living in the area. He finally finds Cinderella and they live happily ever after. This very story caused me to compare this story to everyday life.

In relationships, we date different people with different personalities, all in search of that lifetime kind of love. We only find this love when we are truly seeking God’s will. Just like Prince Charming, we travel the world, searching near and far for that one person to spend our lives with. We try the glass slipper on every person we decide to date, wishing and hoping that person is who we’ve been looking for. Each time we do this, in real life, a small piece of our heart gets taken from us. Just as when Prince Charming searched the kingdom and lost so much time trying to find his bride, so we lose some of what should be given to our husband or wife.

Does this mean we shouldn’t date? I don’t think so. I do believe, however, that when we date, we should always be careful not to be too quick to assume that the person we’re dating is the one that we will spend the rest of our lives with. Enjoy dating, get to know one another, and have fun! Dating should be relaxed and carefree, especially at the beginning.

My friend Megan, after I decided to write this post, shared a story with me. There was once an old heart and a young heart and they were discussing their own conditions. The young heart was shiny and new and he informed the old heart that he was the best because he was unblemished and pure. Nothing had happened to him, no heart-ache or pain, he was completely perfect. The old heart, however, had many patches and tears all over. He was bruised and worn and dirty. The young heart continued to ridicule the old heart for being so misshapen and raggedy. The old heart then spoke up, “I do have many tears and I am very worn. There are patches all over me from all kinds of terrible sorrows. I must say, though, that all of these scars and bruises prove how much I’ve been loved. Sure, there have been bad times and heartbreaks, but there have also been wonderful times and I know, for sure, that even through everything, I’ve been loved.”

Heartbreaks will come. Sadness is all around us. Don’t forget to take the time to be loved and to show love. Make sure the hearts of those around you, though worn and dirty, are patched up with love from you! Just as Prince Charming found his Cinderella, so we should seek God, our One-True-Love and He will lead us to blessings abundant!

Kendall

Session 4 - Richard Ross

Richard discussed a new survey done to help Youth ministers better understand the religious lives of teenagers. This is by far the most extensive study done to date.

“The NSYR (The National Study of Youth and Religion) is one of the most extensive and detailed national research study on the religious and spiritual lives of U.S. teenagers to date, providing a depth of knowledge and understanding about the religious lives of U.S. adolescents that was simply not available previously.”

The Lilly Endowment Inc. granted an award to conduct a national research study of U.S. adolescent religion, which brought about NSYR. They used a telephone survey of 3,370 teen-parent pairs from around the U.S. who were chosen at random. In each case a 30 minute survey was conducted with one parent and a 52 minute survey was conducted with a teenager randomly chosen from each household. To follow up they conducted 267 personal interviews out of the 3,370 respondents.

Richard shared with us 6 of the top findings in regards to teenagers and religion. Each finding I list below will state what “conventional wisdom” says and then show what the survey reveals:

I. Conventional Wisdom: Teenagers typically rebel against their parents and other adults in their lives and thus reject the faith of those adults.

NSYR: The lives and faith of most teenagers closely reflect the lives, faith, culture, and institutional settings of the adult world they inhabit. They are only superficially distinct from or rebellious to the adult world. By the time they reach their twenties, most teenagers will be almost identical to their parents in terms of faith and religious practice.

II. Conventional Wisdom: Teenagers reared in Christian homes and the church have a pretty fair understanding of their religious beliefs.

NSYR: The vast majority of teenagers are incredibly inarticulate about faith and practices, and its meaning or place in their lives. They find it almost impossible to put basic beliefs into words.

III. Conventional Wisdom: Church teenagers are aware that their faith and religious practices have been shaped by their homes and churches.

NSYR: Teenagers are profoundly individualistic and they believe they have developed their faith and practices almost entirely on heir own. They do not say that their religious upbringing influences them because they do not really believe anything influences them.

IV. Conventional Wisdom: Church families recognize the value of church life for children and therefore make it a high priority in terms of family schedules.

NSYR: The church operates in a social-structurally weak position, competing for time, energy and attention, and often losing against other more dominant demands and commitments, particularly against school, television, and other media. Parents think community organization is more crucial to the success of their teen than church.

V. Conventional Wisdom: Teenagers in the church are no different than teenagers out in the community.

NSYR: Despite weaknesses and lack of importance, religious practice does indeed make a clear significant difference across all standard measurable outcomes in adolescents’ lives. It clearly makes an observable difference in the quality of teen’s lives, at-risk behaviors, and positive practices. Statistically teens in church are different, unfortunately parents are more concerned about their teens being in community events as seen by the previous finding.

VI. Conventional Wisdom: Teenagers are getting good teaching at home.

NSYR: American teens are eminently teachable and desperately need teaching. When it comes to a number of things (school, sports, health), there is direct instruction; but when it comes to things of the faith, parents have failed to teach clearly.

Primary Source: Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers by Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton.

SBC Stats and Implications: Transforming Student Ministry: Research Calling for Change by Richard Ross