CHMN 301 – DB 3
The one aspect I find the most challenging in reaching todays “postmodern” teenagers is
how guarded and distant they can be due to technology. Often times I find myself in a
mentoring, discipling, or evangelistic relationship with a teenager. Every time we would
meet for discipleship I would initiate conversation and was met with shallow and distracted
answers. In this postmodern world our teenagers focus is split between various things such
as social media, friends, entertainment and it’s all attainable through one modem, their
cellphone. Maintaining conversation sometimes requires me asking that their phone be put
away.
There is no perfect parent. However, that are parents who use negative parenting styles, as
well as positive. A negative parenting style I have observed time after time is the “baton”
approach. While I am here for the students I minister I still believe that is a parent’s
responsibility to care and nurture for their children. While they are my students these
teenagers are their children and that role has such a lasting and important role, there should
be nothing you would not do for your kids. So why are so many parents letting others take
their role?
The “baton-style” as I am calling it has such a lasting negative impact on teenagers as well
as the people who have been placed “responsible” for the teenager, i.e. me. Because the
parent is taking such an absent role in their child’s life the teenager tends to develop a
misconstrued view of the role of a parent, this view is often projected on how they view God.
I can’t tell you how many times I have sat down with a student taking hours to explain the
depth of God’s love for us as a father. To them it would be more impactful if they considered
God as a really good friend or mentor, when those are missing the point completely. While
having mentors and others discipling your kids, parents need to understand that some of the
most important ministry happens at home.
