Youth Development and the Church
A friend of mine asked me the following questions the other day and I thought it would be interesting to post here.
MY FRIEND:
"you're a religious person, right? what do you think it would take to prevent the younger generation from getting 'caught up'?"
MY RESPONSE:
from getting "caught up"? you're referring to getting caught up with with women, or caught up in "the game" or something else or both? i guess regardless, my answer is probably the same. since you mentioned religion, i'll use that medium to offer some insights.
part of my masters thesis research dealt with the black church and youth, particularly how the black church is failing our young people. the black church fails our young people because it has criminalized youth culture and not found a way to reach young people who have fallen off the path. the church does not have a message of redemption for the teenage, unwed mother, for the young gang member or drug pusher who would desperately like a better life, or for the young male or female struggling with his or her identity. the church does not speak in the idioms that youth use, does not not allow for an opportunity to grow and develop. a youth who is interested in music can't even practice in church anymore--the very institution that has cultivated most, if not all, of our musical geniuses.
the younger generation needs vehicles to express themselves and learn howto navigate themselves through their environments. right now, young people look to the entertainment industry, particularly MTV, BET, VH-1 and all other media conglomerates that are providing youth with [misguided] direction on how yo navigate through life.how can a parent compete with Def Jam, 106 & Park, MTV, reality TV and the like when it comes to raising their children today? it's an impossible task when you realize that parents can't really point their children to the youth pastor because that pastor is simply too out of touch and not speaking the language of today's youth and not allowing the young people to speak in their own language.
MY FRIEND:
"you're a religious person, right? what do you think it would take to prevent the younger generation from getting 'caught up'?"
MY RESPONSE:
from getting "caught up"? you're referring to getting caught up with with women, or caught up in "the game" or something else or both? i guess regardless, my answer is probably the same. since you mentioned religion, i'll use that medium to offer some insights.
part of my masters thesis research dealt with the black church and youth, particularly how the black church is failing our young people. the black church fails our young people because it has criminalized youth culture and not found a way to reach young people who have fallen off the path. the church does not have a message of redemption for the teenage, unwed mother, for the young gang member or drug pusher who would desperately like a better life, or for the young male or female struggling with his or her identity. the church does not speak in the idioms that youth use, does not not allow for an opportunity to grow and develop. a youth who is interested in music can't even practice in church anymore--the very institution that has cultivated most, if not all, of our musical geniuses.
the younger generation needs vehicles to express themselves and learn howto navigate themselves through their environments. right now, young people look to the entertainment industry, particularly MTV, BET, VH-1 and all other media conglomerates that are providing youth with [misguided] direction on how yo navigate through life.how can a parent compete with Def Jam, 106 & Park, MTV, reality TV and the like when it comes to raising their children today? it's an impossible task when you realize that parents can't really point their children to the youth pastor because that pastor is simply too out of touch and not speaking the language of today's youth and not allowing the young people to speak in their own language.
posted by Jimar at 9:42 AM
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