Welcome to Rooted’s Top Ten, a curated reading list for youth ministers. Each month we find ten articles, and sometimes videos or podcasts, from various sources that we believe will encourage you in your ministry to teenagers and their families. Some give explicit instruction on gospel-centered ministry, while others are included because there is a message of common grace that is helpful to youth workers. (The opinions presented in these articles do not necessarily reflect the position of Rooted.) For more articles to share with the parents in your ministry, make sure to check out our Parent Top Ten, which runs every-other month.
If you find an article that could educate, equip, or encourage the Rooted community, please email the editor at chelsea@rootedministry.com.
Gospel-Centered
What I’d Tell My Rookie Self by Mike McGarry (Youth Pastor Theologian)
Youth ministry is pastoral ministry. It is theological work. There is dignity in serving as a youth pastor because God has called his Church to pass the faith from generation to generation. So, even if others don’t “get it,” then get over it and carry on… because you serve the Lord, not your own reputation.
The Spy Show That Taught Me About Ministry by Jane Anderson Grizzle (Mockingbird)
I believe I bring so much more to the team than I do. I think I am better than my fellow ministers, even if I measure that by organization or efficiency standards. I try so hard to be so good and my efforts inevitably end up making a much bigger problem that someone else has to solve, even if it is just my arrogance. Sometimes, on particularly involved craft days, that is a literal mess.
Partnering with Parents
Parenting and Discipleship for a New School Year by Lee St. John and Tim St. John (SOLA Network)
Let your kids hear how you process everything with God. Pray out loud often, at set times and spontaneously. Let them hear you quietly talk to God about your daily needs and his constant care throughout your day. Especially take time to explain the gospel to them, pray for their salvation, invite their questions, and show them how the gospel provides a purpose and framework for everyday life.
An Anxious Generation—of Parents by Carrie McKean (Christianity Today)
As my girls get older and their lives spin ever further outside my orbit into a world of disorder and chaos, I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night, heart pounding, feeling as if I’m standing on the edge of a precipice, clutching my daughters’ hands so they do not fall. In the rational light of day, I know there’s no way to contingency plan my way out of all the ways tragedy or hardship could visit our family. Yet in the deepest part of those nights, it seems I can’t stop trying. Two things can be true at the same time: These sleep-disrupting anxieties are real and profound, and, as Christians, we do not have to be consumed by them.
A Parent’s Guide to Talking with Kids about Technology by Andrew T. Walker and Christian Walker (Crossway)
Because we believe the home is central to the development of the next Christian generation, we call our sequence of conversational instruction “floors” that correspond to a home. Below you’ll see three “floors” of biblical truths and conversation starters. Instead of having strict age guidelines, we use “floors” to help guide you to determine where your child may best fit based on development, maturity, and age.
Youth Culture
Is Watching Porn a Sin? by Tim Challies (Challies)
I suspect the reason you Googled what you did today is that you are feeling a kind of nagging in your inner self that tells you that you should not be looking at porn. The conscience is not as trustworthy as the Bible but is still crucial, and we need to be very cautious about ignoring it or violating it. It’s a wise practice to follow that prompting straight to the Bible so you can better inform your conscience. And more often than not you’ll find that your conscience is quietly prompting you away from an action that would be sinful.
Why Did They Ghost Me? by John Beeson (The BeeHive)
Why did I neglect my responsibility as a godfather? It was not because of anything our friends had done. They weren’t rude; they didn’t say anything hurtful. We simply got busy. But it wasn’t just that we got busy; it was that we got busy, and I was ashamed. I was embarrassed at my failure. That shame, compounded by busyness led to my failure as a friend.
Put Social Media in Its Place, with Andy Crouch (Mere Fidelity Podcast)
The data is in. Social media has now been studied long enough that we are able to compile reliable data, not just anecdotal evidence, about its effects on the mental health of boys, girls, young men, and young women. Algorithms, video games, porn, and more affect boys and girls very differently. And as the results become clearer, it also becomes more clear what to do about it. Andy Crouch returns to Mere Fidelity to discuss the problems and the solutions with Matt, Alastair, and Derek.
Ministry Skills
When Former Students Reach Out: A Guide for Youth Leaders by Ronald Long (National Network of Youth Ministries)
As their former spiritual leader, it’s likely they reached out to you because they trust your guidance. When you were their spiritual leader, it was your job to point them to Jesus. It’s still the best thing you can do!
Is It a Waste of Time for Seminary Students (and Pastors) to Learn the Biblical Languages? by Michael J. Kruger (Canon Fodder)
And if the pastoral call is to be a minister of the Word, then there is a significant component of pastoral life that should be devoted to serious study of the biblical text—beyond just the preparation for that week’s sermon. Put differently, pastors should continue to be students. They need to be readers, thinkers, and theologians.
Rooted’s Two Most-Read of August
Three Reasons to Study Esther With Teenagers by Mac Harris
Esther points us beyond herself and invites us to look ahead to Jesus.
Four Encouragements to Offer Christian Students Entering College by Taylor Cain
Their weaknesses are given to them as a gift from God so that they would not look to themselves, but to the grace he has given them in Christ.
In Case You Missed It (Rooted’s August Honorable Mention)
‘It’s Complicated’: Intergenerational Integration in the Asian American Church by Dorothy Lau
When young people are connected and cared for by people of all ages in the church, they are anchored to the community.
