February Wisdom

Raising The Bar: Ministry to Youth in the New Millennium  
By: Alvin L. Reid

I know I'm a little past due in posting this month and for that I apologize.  But the recommendation for this month's reading fits perfectly into what I see this student ministry becoming.  We have some incredible students that love God and desire to make that known to their friends and this community.  This is my heart, to teach and guide all of our students into mature and knowledgeable Christian life. 

Raising the Bar is an encouraging and challenging book to students, youth workers, youth pastors.  Reid challenges us as workers to challenge the youth to step up into their faith and take it seriously.  He begins the book with an objective synopsis of this and coming generations, what they are capable of doing, and how young people have been critical forces in spiritual awakenings in the past.  Reid then urges the youth pastor and workers to led their youth in deep relationships with Christ, to quit playing games and treating them as children but pull them into spiritual maturity and growth.  One of the greatest statements in the book is a quote from a then-seventeen year old named Kristin when asked "What advice should I give those who work with youth?  Kristin said, 'Tell them we know how to be teenagers.  We want to them to show us how to be adults.'"  Such a statements rips into your heart causing us to ask "Are we teaching them to be adults or are we pampering them to remain children?" 

Reid is a professor of evangelism at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and travels the country yearly speaking at youth conferences, meetings, and retreats.  A father of 2, and personally seeing the result of his children, I fully endorse this book and his advice and encouragement.