Let me first state that this ongoing series is one that I decided to start so that I can share what I have learned for myself when my own kids become teenagers.  If you learn something that is awesome…if you add something…that will be super awesome.

As a youth worker for the past 7 years I have been wanting to write myself thoughts about teenagers and our response/roll as parents.  So seeing how the web is just about permanent, I decided to put my thoughts down in electronic format.  I pray that I find these reminders to myself when my kids hit the teenage years :).

First things first…culture affects us all.  From young to old we are constantly hit with an ever changing culture.  From a parents perspective you can see it’s impacts in what our kids watch, eat, and even wear.  I have been consuming information on youth culture and parenting from day one of my involvement with student ministry.  I have avoided the ‘how to’s’ and focused more on the ‘why’s’ (it’s the engineer in me).

We first must consider that our kids are gifts from God.  Psalm 127:3-5 illustrates that kids are God’s best gifts to us.  God has given us such a precious gift that we as parents have a huge responsibility.  I think a lot of parents think that if they simply keep their kids shielded from culture they will be doing them a favor.  My experience has indicated that the kids who are immersed in culture and who have a strong Biblical world /life view fare the best.  They are forced to make decision and base their decision process on the foundational teachings of God’s word.  Now in order to gain a Biblical world/life view our kids have to see this modeled in our homes.  This is where parenting comes in.

As parents, we have so many things demanding our time.  The question I ask myself when I walk into my front door after a day of work is what can be more important than raising my kids in a Godly fashion?   It helps me put the following simple truth into perspective: If I don’t have time to raise my kids, our culture will be their parent and their worldview will not come close to being considered Biblical.

If you want a great resource as a parent to help you understand and gain perspective on Teenagers and Youth Culture I recommend checking out Walt Mueller’s website/books.