" Tip of the Month"

 

 IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE

 

I was conducting a Parenteen Seminar in the Houston area. Being in NASA country, I was thrilled to have an actual NASA team member in the crowd.  I strategically waited until the end of the seminar, when the need for authentic parental and adult engagement of the abandoned teenage culture was being discussed, to use the phrase, “It’s not rocket science.”

 

The laugh was cheap but the point clear.  In the midst of a society that tends to isolate kids from adults, God calls kingdom followers to a different path.

 

Most of us have probably read, sang, contemplated, and written this section of scripture. An examination of Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (the famous “Hear of Israel” passage) reveals truths that highlight the “different path” adults should take with teenagers. 

 

Adults, starting with parents, are commanded to be active participants in their childrens’ spiritual formation.   Several portions of the Deuteronomy 6 passage indicate parental and community involvement in a child’s spiritual formation. 

 

First, “Impress them on your children” is a phrase that indicates the parents’ responsibility and agreement to teach their children about the LORD.  

 

Second, the words “…talk … walk … lie down …get up…tie …write” are action verbs that indicate constant process. The phrase “on your forehead” indicates the LORD’s desire that, through formal teaching and the witness of right living in the lives of parents and the surrounding adult community, God’s ways remain “between the eyes” of children. [1]

 

So what level of responsibility does the overall community have in the process?  Historically in Israel, families carried out their formational responsibility in the context of the broad community.  Supplementing the education received in the home was an entire sequence of festivals and observances that provided instructional opportunities for the whole Israelite community. [2]

 

During the break at my Houston seminar, the NASA scientist and I discussed the various factors influencing the societal abandonment of young people by today’s adult culture.  As in so many conversations that I’ve had with youth workers across the country on this topic, our discussion kept coming back to the same conclusion—parents and other adults have to recapture the thoughtful and intentional engagement with teenagers described in Scripture.

 

I haven’t seen the NASA scientist in several months, but I am sure he’s taking his role as parent and adult community member seriously.  He and I—and countless others nationwide—have realized that it’s really not rocket science. 

 

Check out Dr. Fraze’s full article It’s Not Rocket Science: Theological Principles Behind Intergenerational Youth Ministry at www.fulleryouthinstitute.com.

 

1 Moshe Weinfeld, Deuteronomy 1-11, Vol. 5 of The Anchor Bible series (New York: Doubleday, 1991) 335.  See also, Constituting the Community:  Studies of the Polity of Ancient Israel in Honor of S. Dean McBride Jr., 277.

2 The Anchor Bible Dictionary, s.v. “Education (Israel).” 

 

                                                      

 

David Fraze, D.Min-Director of Student Ministries at Richland Hills Church of Christ in Fort Worth, Texas.

  

Visit our website to find out how we can serve your community!

 Past Tips of the Month are listed on the publication page of the website at:   www.parenteen.com 

 

For booking information, contact Lisa at:
info@parenteen.com

 

If you would like your name removed from the e-mail list, please click here and type unsubscribe in the subject line.  

 

 

I