Monthly column for youth leaders
'I'm bored, forbid me to do something' read the T-shirt on one lad. The music in the background screamed the same message: 'Here we are now, entertain us'. Wherever you encounter teenage boys this will be the message. Very few things cause them to unhook from the computer or the playstation and even fewer things elicit any positive response. Glaciers move faster in the mornings and there are laboratory chimpanzees with a wider vocabulary.
Roger Fawcett
Perhaps this is being unfair to the adolescent male, if so let's view it as a worst-case scenario. Certainly, many youth leaders struggle with this age group more than any other. Last month we established that the Bible is still relevant for them and that constantly looking for opportunities to train and guide them biblically is a good strategy. Building on this is difficult. Perhaps it would be helpful to see it as missionary work. Rather than just landing by canoe in the middle of the unreached 'tribe' and starting to read the Bible very loud and slowly in English, a missionary might employ a slightly harder method for a better long-term gain.
