Author: scottjacobsen

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Rethinking Youth Ministry

RE: “Youth Survey: Teens Lose Faith in Droves” in MacLeans

I think it’s time to rethink youth ministry (if you are already doing so, this note may be irrelevant to you). After reading what Bibby has to say, I think that things here in Canada may not be improved much in the near future. I’ve also been reading Philip Jenkins on Histories of Lost Christianities, which is also very unsettling.

Someone once said that most who convert to Christianity do so around the age of 15 (I don’t know if that is only in modern times, or if that is over the whole history of the church, nor how we would know that). If that is the case, why is Youth Ministry so often handed to young men and women who are only a few years older? Is it not time for older Christians to drop the “retirement attitude” (“I did youth when my kids were young”) and get on with converting the next lost generation?

Has there been any objective research showing the success of the Youth Ministry industry (schools, curriculums, media and conferences) over the past few decades? Anecdotal evidence would suggest that Youth Ministry, as practised by a majority of churches, is a failure for the most part (I realise that there may be other reasons for the decline in membership, but this variable needs to be taken into consideration). Ten years ago the rage here was “Youth Driven Ministry” which was basically needs based. But does anyone know what they need?
“It’s a sin to bore a kid with Jesus!” Perhaps, but it definitely a sin to be bored by Jesus. Boredom won’t help youth find Jesus, but is anyone considering why they are bored, or whether our methods of reaching youth is part of the problem?
The Wittenberg Door
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My First Seniors Discount

This is the story of my first senior’s discount. I am 53. I don’t look a day over 52, I’m sure.

Today I wanted some adequate coffee, so I stopped by McDonald’s before my appointment.

“One large coffee, please.”

“Uh, are you 50-ish?”

“Yes, and then some.”

“Ok”

“Do I get a discount for that?”

“Yes! 51 cents instead of $1.25”

“Great. I bet you are uncomfortable asking people their age.”

“Yes, especially people without much hair. And I wouldn’t want anyone thinking I was 50”

“No, I would have said at least 58.”

(Okay, that last line is a fib; but a darn good one.)

The Wittenberg Door
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Apologetics Reading List

Some Suggested Readings
Below are some suggesting books—it is incomplete and there are many more out there!

Advanced
Brown, C. Miracles and the Critical Mind.
Frame, J. M. Apologetics to the Glory of God: An Introduction.
Holmes, A. All Truth is God’s Truth.
Schaeffer, F. Escape from Reason.
Schaeffer, F. He Is There and He Is Not Silent.
Schaeffer, F. How Should We Then Live? The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture .
Schaeffer, F. The God Who is There. Van Til, C. The Defence of the Faith.

Apologetic Methods
Bahnsen, G. Van Til’s Apologetic.
Boa, Ken and Bowen, R. Faith Has Its Reasons
Geisler, Norman. The Apologetics of Jesus: A Caring Approach to Dealing with Doubters

Atheism
Geisler, Norman. I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist.
McGrath, A. E. Dawkins God: Genes, Memes, and the Meaning of Life.
McGrath, A. E. Intellectuals Don’t Need God (And Other Modern Myths).

Bible Difficulties
Archer, G. Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties.
Carson, D. A. Love in Hard Places.
Carson, D. A. The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God.
Lewis, C. S. The Problem of Pain.
McDowell, J. Answers to Tough Questions.

Easier
Chapman, C. Christianity on Trial.
Chapman, C. The Case for Christianity.
McDowell, J. More than a Carpenter.
Zacharias, R. Can Man Live Without God?
Zacharias, R. Jesus Among Other Gods.

Emergent Church and Post-modern Culture
Carson, D. A. Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church.
Carson, D. A. The Gagging of God.
Groothuis, D. R. Defending Christianity Against the Challenges of Postmodernism .
Horton, M. Christless Christianity: The Alternative Gospel of the American Church.

Evidences
McDowell, J. Evidence that Demands a Verdict

General Apologetics
Chesterton, G. K. Orthodoxy.
Geisler, N. Christian Apologetics.
Geisler, N. Baker Encyclopaedia of Christian Apologetics.
Keller, T. The Reason for God.
Kreeft, P. Handbook of Christian Apologetics.
Lewis, C. S. (2007). Christian Reflections. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Lewis, C. S. (2006). God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and Ethics. Grand Rapids: Baker Books.
Lewis, C. S. Miracles.
Little, P. E. Know Why You Believe.
Martin, W. R. The Kingdom of the Cults.

History and Assumptions
Carroll, Vincent and Shiflett, David. (2002). Christianity on Trial: Arguments Against Anti-Religious Bigotry. San Francisco: Encounter Books.
Sampson, P. J. (2001). 6 Modern Myths About Christianity and Western Civilization. Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press.

Internet Sources
Kenneth Boa and Rob Bowman, Faith Has Its Reasons http://apologetics315.blogspot.com/2009/03/faith-has-its-reasons-by-ken-boa-rob.html
J. Gresham Machen, Christianity and Liberalism http://www.biblebelievers.com/machen/
Many free Christian books may be downloaded at http://www.ccel.org/
http://www.carm.org/
http://www.equip.org/
http://vintage.aomin.org/bbcaccm.html
http://www.probe.org
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/

“Must Have”
Lewis, C. S. Mere Christianity
Strobel, L. The Case for a Creator.
Strobel, L. The Case for Christ.
Sire, J. W. The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalogue.

Science and Evolution
Philip E. Johnson. The Wedge of Truth: Splitting the Foundation of Naturalism.
Philip E. Johnson. Darwin On Trial
Philip E. Johnson. Defeating Darwin by Opening Minds

The Wittenberg Door