Youth Culture Matters - A CPYU Podcast

Drug and alcohol abuse is nothing new to youth culture. Sadly, it's been a part of the teenage experience for a long time. While anti-drug efforts have yielded a decline in the use of some drugs, the usage number on way too many drugs are on the rise. And not a day goes by when we don't read another sobering statistic or sad story related to the abuse of opioids or heroin. Today, kids are engaging with drugs and alcohol for a host of reasons. What is it like to work with a young person who is addicted? How can parents handle and navigate the horror of watching a son or daughter spiral down into the grip of drug and alcohol addiction? And what should we do as youth workers when these things visit our families? Stick with us as we hear a compelling first-person story of heartbreak and hope from our good friend Allen Jackson, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.

Youth workers and pastors are busy people. With the pace of life getting faster, we get busier and then have to prioritize the tasks of ministry. Sometimes we let certain tasks slip. In recent years, more and more of us have dropped the important task of study and preparation time. Some have even gone so far as to purchase, download, cut and paste, or even plagiarize talks and sermons prepared by others. This increasingly accepted practice can not only raise ethical concerns, but by moving us out of study and preparation, it can stunt our spiritual growth, lead to passionless-teaching, and eventually filter down to stunt the spiritual growth of our kids. Duffy Robbins and Walt Mueller have a spirited and important conversation with their friend Scott Gibson, author of Should We Use Someone Else's Sermon? about these issues and more on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.

Because we live as broken people with other broken people in a horribly broken world, we all face the temptation to take certain friendships over the line into the unhealthy world of emotional affairs. Once there, our tendency is to justify and downplay the seriousness of these relationships as no big deal. But even though emotional affairs might never lead to a sexual affair, they do cross a line. Emotional affairs are one of the most deadly obstacles facing us in life and ministry. They destroy marriages, families, ministries. and lives. They're especially prevalent in the church and in youth ministries. We'll be talking to Harvest USA's Ellen Dykas about the cautions, causes, and prevention of emotional affairs on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.

Were you ever bullied? Or, were you ever a bully? In today's world, bullying has reached epidemic proportions. Social media has created a landscape where bullying is now a 24/7 reality that for some, never ends. What can we do to build resilience in the bullied, and stop the bullies? This episode is a practical, gospel-centered conversation on bullying and what we can do about it, with counselor Julie Lowe.

We live in a broken world that is desperately groaning and longing to be fixed. As Christians we realize that the pain and suffering of life will exist until the day when Jesus ushers in the New Heaven and the New Earth. Until that day when things will finally be restored to the way they're supposed to be, we will experience pain and suffering in our lives. The cultural narrative works to convince us of a different perspective, that pain should be avoided at all costs and that we should only pursue pleasure. But God invites us into the suffering of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Those Christians who have experienced great suffering would say that their suffering led to deep spiritual growth. We'll be hearing one of those stories today as we talk to Russ Ramsey about his encounter with sickness and death on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.

When it comes to dating and relationships, the rules have changed. The cultural narrative on dating, love, sex, and marriage has eclipsed the biblical narrative on relationships. Consequently, our kids oftentimes pursue a relationship path that is dangerous and destructive, and they don't even know it. How can we point them to an understanding and practice of dating that leads to their flourishing? What should we tell them about pursuing healthy relationships? There is a lot at stake, and the way we answer these questions will potentially shape or mis-shape our kids for the rest of their lives. Author and counselor Debra Fileta joins the podcast to discuss these issues and more.

It's been over fifty years since media theorist Marshall McLuhan said that "First we shape our tools, and then our tools shape us." McLuhan had push back as folks wondered at the time if what he was saying was true. But time has proven McLuhan's theory to be correct. Now that we've hit the ten year anniversary of the launch of the iPhone, we're beginning to see how much our smartphones are shaping and changing our lives. How do our devices shape our beliefs and behaviors? What do they reflect about what's most important in our lives? And how can we use these magnificent tools to the glory of God, rather than in ways that are destructive? We'll be talking to Tony Reinke, author of the new book "12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You," about this and much more, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.

When I started out in youth ministry, there were two time-related realities that some seasoned youth workers shared with me. First, it takes three years to establish yourself in a new youth ministry setting. And second, the average youth minister stays in a youth ministry position for eighteen months. That math doesn’t speak well for youth ministry longevity and effectiveness. Fortunately, more and more youth workers are committing themselves to serving Christ through long-term youth ministry that allows them to build solid relationships with kids and parents. What are the secrets to longevity in youth ministry? And what practices and disciplines will equip us to minister for the long haul? We’ll be talking about longevity in youth ministry with long-time youth worker Mike Flavin, as well as his colleague Ted Jordan, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.

Late last year, Time Magazine ran a cover story on the current epidemic of anxiety among America’s adolescents. The story reports on what all of us who work with kids already know: that the pressures on today’s teenagers are so great that they are trying to navigate their lives while, as one teen says, "feeling like they are climbing Mount Everest in high heels." What is anxiety? What is feeding the anxiety epidemic? How does anxiety manifest itself in kids? And how can we provide Gospel-centered hope and healing for our anxious kids. We’ll be talking about children, teens and anxiety with Doctor Phil Monroe, on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.

If you spend any time at all on social media, you know just how important the "likes" are. Getting "likes" and positive feedback on your posts in money in the bank. It's a sign of social media success. But does the pursuit of online attention and a growing number of followers cause us to compromise ourselves? Researcher Donna Freitas has found that our engagement with technology has led to what she calls the Happiness Effect. What this means is that we are very easily driven to appear perfect at any cost, including our ability to be vulnerable, honest and in community. We're talking to Donna Freitas about her book "The Happiness Effect" and a whole lot more on this episode of Youth Culture Matters.