Are We Raising Conformists or Disciples
I was listening to the latest Podcast from the Internet Monk and he was discussing how a lot of youth ministers are evaluated (whether consciously or not) on how well members of the youth group behave (i.e., stay out of jail, don’t get pregnant, etc) rather than how well they turn out disciples of Christ, and how parenting and youth ministry have similar goals in developing the whole person.
I had to stop and think about that one for a bit. I was raised to be a conformist, for sure, and I was good at it. I still struggle with it, even at times when I know I should speak up. Do I really want my kids to just behave, or do I want them to think counterculturally, willing to question the group mentality? Certainly I want them to “behave,” but in that questioning, they may not always do things the way I want them to. What would that look like to instill in them a Christian identity where they may even question me, but their overall worldview is more like Christ?
If work with kids in any way, whether your own or not, you should really listen to the podcast.
