Category Archives: For Emerging Adults

Guess Who Cares For Young Adults When They Move Back Home

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ADULTKIDS_BANNER

I came across this article, and wanted to share it with my readers.  Heather Krause is a statistician who works with nonprofit organizations.  As you read, here are a few thoughts.

1.  If you are making lunches for an emerging adult, you are not helping them, but discouraging their development (through hindering their personal autonomy).

2.  Although “moving out” is considered the pinnacle marker of adulthood, it is not adequate for establishing adulthood.  Assuming that proper boundaries are established, families can remain living together their entire lives.

3.  The author states that she doesn’t care about doing housework that her grown children should be doing.  I believe that this is due to the fact that many adults fail to redefine their lives when children move out.  After years of caring for children, an empty nest requires that the individual redefine their personal lives, their marriage, and their home.

Dr. G. David Boyd

 

Emerging Adults – In Defense of a New Human Life Phase

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Millennials have been called many names during their pursuit of adulthood including:  lazy, narcissistic, immature, and other words that I prefer not to type.  The purpose of this article is to explain why a new human life phase is beneficial to both Millennials and the rest of us.  Continue reading →

FACTCHECKER: DOES COLLEGE CAUSE YOUNG ADULTS TO LOSE THEIR FAITH?

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I recently came across an article that I wanted to share with my readers.

Parents do have a great fear that college will mark the end of their child’s faith.  However, here are a few points that I would like to make.

1.  Many parents blame college, but the adolescent actually left their faith many years before.

Adolescents leave the faith for a variety of reasons, and parents sometimes turn away from signs that their children no longer hold to the faith that they were taught as children (article).  I recommend a book on this subject by Drew Dyck, Generation:  Ex-Christian.

2.  Professors do not want to convert your children.

The recent film “God’s Not Dead” continues to paint the picture that professors desire to destroy Christians.  While some professors may be personally hostile towards a  specific religion, faculty  cannot discriminate against people of a specific religion, by grading their religious beliefs.

3.  Postmodernism allows diversity and a variety of religious beliefs and experiences on campus.

Christian Smith states, “The increase of relativism and the decline of strict scientism, which allows for discussion of faith and spiritual speculation, similar to what Paul experienced at the Aeropagus.”  Dr. Smith is talking about the decline of modernity, and the rise of post-modernity.  While some Christians have in the past been extremely out-spoken against postmodernism, it has made college campuses more accepting of faith and diversity.

Here is the article.  The author, Glenn T. Stanton is the director of family formation studies at Focus on the Family and the author of five books.

I hope that it is an encouragement to you as you parent.

 

Why Courtship is Fundamentally Flawed

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Lonely Woman on a Bench - Why Courtship is Fundamentally FlawedI find it amusing whenever a person starts talking about the “Right” or “Biblical” way to find a mate.  If you look through the pages of the Bible, several methods of getting a mate might get you in trouble these days.   Continue reading →

Recruiting a Team for Emerging Adult Ministry

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If you desire to minister to emerging adults in your church, I highly encourage you to create a team.  Teamwork makes your journey more fun, and allows you to accomplish more than if you are working alone.  While a good team can expand your reach and ministry; however, a bad team can exhaust you and hold you back from making a difference.

So if you recruiting people to minister to emerging adults, here are some essential qualities.

1.  Community Builders

ftflagler-washington-pictures-4376127-h[1]These are the people that everyone wants to be around.  There is just something contagious about who they are, and what they bring into a room.  I actively recruit several “life-of-the-party” people before launching any type of small group or community, because they will be the glue that makes new people stick.  These people are your front-line welcome the new guests.  You want your new guests to walk away saying, “Wow, I really liked the people we met.”

2.  Accepting

Look for teammates who readily accept others for who they are and where they are in life.   Some people breathe judgmental attitudes, while others regularly speak their mind.  While I do believe in the gift of discernment, sometimes people claim this spiritual gift because they simply want to speak their mind.  After being raised with a postmodern mindset, emerging adults will run from those who claim to have all the answers.

Emerging adults must be safe to express who they are, and where they are truly at in their faith journey without fear of becoming a spiritual project of someone else within the group.  I want teammates who are gifted at asking questions, rather than giving advice.  A wise team will fully accept others for who they are, and wait for God to do the work.

3.  Consistent

One consistent worker is worth – twenty part-timers.  Due to the constant changes in their lives,  emerging adults are looking for consistency.  Emerging adults want to know who is going to be at meetings before they show up.  When looking for workers, I ask those who were not otherwise involved in church ministry because I want my teammates fully devoted to our goal.  Availability is also important because your teammates must have enough margin to be available to your group outside of your weekly scheduled meeting.

4.  Intergenerational

Your team should include emerging adults.  If you have no emerging adults on your team, you are already communicating that they are not capable of leading or contributing to the ministry.  Emerging adults have great potential to give and lead within any ministry.

Your team should also include other generations who have traveled further down life’s road and can offer a different perspective.  However, older adults need to understand that emerging adults are looking to develop relationships that involve give-and-take rather than downward-focused.  As the team enters each week with an expectation of receiving, it will be amazing what God will do in their lives as they serve.

While you may be overwhelmed by starting a ministry to emerging adults, the beauty about starting a ministry is that you can pick your team.  Choose wisely.  Spend time praying over who God is calling you to invite into this exciting movement.

david in hat - blackDr. G. David Boyd is the Founder and Managing Director of EA Resources.  He is passionate about seeing Emerging Adults survive and thrive in our world and the church.

Christ and Keg Stands – An article on College Binge Drinking

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I came across this article that I wanted to share with my readers.  It is a great read for students who are making choices about drinking on campus, and for parents.

Here are my top three lines from the Article.

1.  If you think not drinking gets you closer to God, get a better reading of Scripture.

2.  If you think drinking gets you closer to relevance, get a better understanding of ministry.

3.  Even when there are intellectual objections to Christianity, these are often just cover for a debauched lifestyle.

I was going to say something about them, but the article says enough.  Enjoy!

Kevin DeYoung is senior pastor of University Reformed Church (RCA) in East Lansing, Michigan, near Michigan State University. He and his wife Trisha have six young children. You can follow him on Twitter.

 

A Guide for Setting Expectations on Emerging Adults in Your Church Community  

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Group of EAThank you for believing in emerging adults!  May God guide you as you seek to set expectations on emerging adults in your community.

Before you begin:

  • Include church leadership from the highest level.
  • Include emerging adults in the discussion (participation will cause ownership).
  • Educate participants on the current challenges and characteristics of emerging adults.
  • Hand out discussion questions before the meeting.

Discuss Questions:

  • What characteristics do we desire for our emerging adults to have?  How are we going to help them develop those characteristics?
  • Is it our goal to provide an extended “youth group” experience that will keep them interested in church?
  • How will we assimilate them into the adult population and activity of our community?
  • What are the needs of emerging adults in our community?  How are we specifically designed to meet any of those needs?
  • What roles do we desire for our emerging adults to have within our congregation?  How are we going to identity and create space for them within our community to help them fit those roles?
  • What kind of relationships are important for emerging adults?  What can we do to provide ways for these to be established?
  • What problems are emerging adults facing?  How can we empower them as they face these obstacles?

Before you leave:

  • What are some actions steps to take because of your discussion?  Who is taking responsibility for each step?
  • When will we meet again to check in about progress in this area of our ministry?
  • Are there any key players that were not able to attend, but need to brought into this discussion?

This is just the beginning of issues that need discussed by churches.  Add your thoughts or questions to the article by commenting below.

Dr. G. David Boyd is the Founder and Managing Director of EA Resources.  If he can help your community minister to emerging adults, you can contact him at gdavid@earesources.org.

 

Teen who Sued Her Parents is Back in Court.

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Teen who sued parents gets restraining order against boyfriendRachel Canning is back in the news again after filing a lawsuit against her boyfriend for choking her. Her boyfriend also filed a restraining order against Rachel, but both sides dropped their lawsuits in order to have a clear record for college.

Maybe her parents were wise when they asked her to break up with her boyfriend.  Her boyfriend was one area of disagreement between Rachel and her parents before she moved out and filed a lawsuit asking for money to support her lifestyle and future education.

It seems that the national attention was profitable for Rachel.  She landed a $56k scholarship to Western New England University based upon her merit.  I am sure that many readers are wondering what part of her merit does the school most admire?  Her ability to conjure lawsuits?  Her proclivity to excessive partying?  Her sense of entitlement?

I am definitely disappointed that if the money was based upon her time in the spotlight that an academic institution would use the situation for media attention – especially appearing to reward and support her values.

I am wondering whether Rachel will look at her parents and say, “Mom – Dad.  You were right.”

I am not holding my breath waiting for that to happen, and I doubt her parents are either.

Eating Disorders – Co-traveler on my Daughter’s Journey

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As a woman, you can either face your struggles by turning into them, or running away.  But as a mother when your children struggle, you face, feel, and are oppressed by the same pain; and yet cannot fix it.
Continue reading →