One of the great joys of working with teenagers in the local church is the opportunity to meet with them one-on-one or in small groups for discipleship purposes. It hasn’t always been easy to find the best books and other resources for this setting, however. Mike McGarry’s latest book Iconic: Being God’s Image in Your World provides just such a resource, and I’ve already been using it in my discipleship ministry to teenagers. I’ve even purchased the book for all the students in our ministry as our annual Christmas gift.
The book’s target audience of older high school students and young adults often see their identity, worth, and purpose as functions of performance, popularity, or personal achievement. Instead, Mike helps readers become grounded in their identity in the image of God.
Iconic is a useful tool for a student discipleship meeting, not just for the student to read, but to help the youth minister ask good questions, help the student apply truths to everyday life, and deepen conversation around identity, purpose, and mission. It has been a joy to work through this book with one of my students. As we’ve read and discussed, Iconic has raised important questions related to confusing issues in our culture, allowing for deeper heart issues to come to the surface.
Clear Biblical Truth That Challenges Cultural Norms
When you minister to students, it doesn’t take long to see and hear about the many false worldviews and identity crises in the world around them. The culture bombards our students with issues of identity, and they often struggle with how to wade through the various messages. We need to clearly articulate biblical truth—both proactively and in response to these topics—especially to help the young people in our lives stand strong against the messages of the culture.
In Iconic Mike offers a biblical theology of what it means to be in God’s image. He draws out the centrality of the gospel while covering issues such as sexuality, gender identity, performance, and status. As they read, teenagers and young adults will begin to better understand who they are and how they can live out their God-given identity as image-bearers for the glory of God.
Setting the tone for the book, Mike writes, “Every person bears the image of God. The ‘image of God’ is both what we are and what we do” (p.4). Our teenagers want to know whether we can trust what the Bible says about our identity. As I have worked through the book with my student, I have seen him grow in rejecting the world’s take on who we while gaining confidence in what God calls us to do. By God’s grace, these conversations will change our perspectives on personal identity decisions to better reflect our Maker and Savior as we live into the identity he has given us.
Identity as a Gift, Not a Performance
One of the questions my student asked as we read was, “How do I get away from the the temptation to identify myself with what I am good at?” Mike challenges the assumption many students hold: that what defines “me” is my looks, my family background, my achievements, or what people think of me. Instead, identity is rooted in imitation of our Savior Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
He writes, “Godliness and the fruit of the Spirit are anchored in what it means to be image-bearers. They are grounded in the nature of God, which is the very heart of what it means to us to bear God’s image” (p. 103). In short, our identity is secure in what Christ has already done for us. As we follow him in love, he makes us more like him (sanctification) by the work of his Spirit living in us. What sweeter words can we speak to a modern teenager?
Those shepherding the hearts of young people in a discipleship meeting can use this point to help students unpack the pressures they feel (grades, sports, social media, etc.). The book’s theme opens space for honest reflection from both students and leaders: Where am I feeling I must perform to earn acceptance?
The book gives language for moving from “I am what I do” to “I am who and what God says I am.” My own student has been able to work through some thought processes and heart issues as we’ve discussed the book together. The question I often asked after talking through a chapter was, what does it look like for you to rest in being God’s image-bearer this week—in school, at home, with friends?”
Iconic Relationships and Community
Research shows us that many teenagers today feel isolated, struggle with anxiety, or don’t have a healthy sense of purpose. Unfortunately, there aren’t many places to have healthy conversations about these difficult issues. Reading and discussing Iconic provided this kind of space. The book allowed my student and me to answer hard questions together and wrestle with how to express these beliefs to a confused world.
The sections that brought about one of our best discipleship conversations was the chapter on being image-bearers in community. Mike writes, “Living an iconic life isn’t just about you, individually. Being God’s image in your world is also about who Christians are, corporately, as the people of God.” (p. 38). Our students desire to know that they are seen and they are loved. This happens best through the community of the local church. As youth ministers, we strive to build this kind of community in our ministries—one in which growing followers of Jesus are being transformed into his image (2 Cor. 3:18, NIV).
I pray that you and your students will read Iconic: Being God’s Image in Your World, and that as you do, you’ll grow together in understanding how God has created us and how he gives us ultimate purpose and meaning through the work of his Son.
For more practical support for gospel-centered youth ministry, check out Rooted’s online video training series—featuring Iconic author Mike McGarry along with other voices from the Rooted community.
