"The goal of all of this is to root our children's identity in the existence and glory of God. We want them to understand that they were made by him, that they belong to him, and that they are called to live for his glory. We are called by God to do theology, that is, to live our lives with a moment-by-moment consciousness of God. He is the reality that gives sense and shape to every other fact we discuss and consider".-Paul Tripp (p 55)
6 comments:
Nate,
I havent read this book yet though I have heard very encouraging things about it. It would be interesting to compare what this book says to the DeVires book a few posts ago.
We know that the years of adolscents is a difficult one at best, full of many trials. This is an age group often overlooked by the church. They are often viewed as the future church rather than the present church.
I would be concered about some of the things in there and that they come from a more nouthetic point, but that's me.
Joe
Paul Tripp is a nouthetic counselor in Philadelphia. He also teaches in the Practical Theology department at Westminster Seminary in the same city.
This one is more directed towards parents, but I think that it would be useful for all who work with youth. (As you and I both do.)
How does it deal with issues teens may face or are dealing with? I'm thinking more of sexual adn physical abuse. What about the teen that leads an unrepentent life? Does it take past experiences into account?
All of these issues seem to be ignored by the church and teens seem to be viewed wrongly by the church. Does it give advice to parents how to appreciate teens or to groom them for future use?
I do like CCEF on most stuff, personally I am a big fan of Ed Welch. I haven't read much of Tripp however.
I think that, at least in the Reformed circles I've run in, it's generally assumed that drug and sex abuse won't be a problem. The idea being that the kids will have been brought up better. It's a tad foolish, of course, to think that kids won't be tempted, but there ya go. Most Reformed churches around here are too busy treating singleness as a disease, and doing everything in their power to cure the kids by setting up meat markets, er, conferences for them to attend.
Regardless, I do find the way many churches treat teens as some sort of freakish alien group to be amusing. Times change, yeah, but it's not as though nobody's ever been a teen before.
Heh... I perhaps over-caricatured Dutch Reformed churches. (Which I've spent the majority of my life attending, and love dearly.) Yeah, there are lots of kids who go in with less-than-noble purposes, but there are also some amazingly solid kids present as well. A goodish number of the conferences are actually worthwhile, it's not their fault that some within the church view them as a meat market.
I think, though, that a lot of the problems present in young people would diminish if parents followed the advice in the quote Nate put up. Like all things involving sanctification, it's easier said than done, but certainly worth pursuing.
Droll Flood,
My point in asking about the abused/exasperated/neglected teens is that they are often taught, at least is my understanding, to more or less forget about the past and strive for future glory. I agree with this, but I do feel that the past is a crucial element to look at when dealing with teens both on a theraputic side and more importantly ministry side.
Post a Comment