"The comparison of adolescence to slavery has more relevance than revealed at first glance. While many in mainline Christianity have become aware, however incompletely, of the dangers of racism, few have become sensitized tot he dangers of viewing the institution of adolescence as natural to the life cycle. Our churches and youth risk naturalizing the situation and institution of adolescence - a thoroughly social and somewhat oppressive construct."
-David F. White
-I'm not sure if I agree. hmmm!
"The greatest mistake that youth pastors have made is to try to understand all of their students' past experiences. The past does influence us but that is not where the problems lies. Kids are messed up because they have no clear vision of what they want to become in the future. Our job is not so much to analyze the past but to provide options for students to make a dynamic assessment (decision). Human beings can make choices – the past can limit your options. Martin Luther King presented himself for arrest because he knew the options – keep the law or go to jail. There is always an option. Always a choice. The great counseling always comes when we ask a student – “what are your dreams?” What does the future hold for you? The people perish otherwise. The church doesn’t do this much at all. The movies do it all the time. Christianity is built on a vision of the future. One of the things we have not done for young people is sufficiently define for them the Kingdom of God."
-Campolo
the question: is there a future for kids (adulthood) or just more of the same?
stumped.
2 comments:
thanks johnston:
so for you taking responsibility for you actions is the defining factor - i got not argument with that. But then i gotta ask is the some TIME when we should expect a kid TO BE ABLE to take this type responsibility?
Yeah I think you are expressing a very disturbing reality about how adolescence is more and more and issolated and issolating reality - maybe thats what the guy meant by slavery???
It should bother us that as we supposedly help younger people to mature they refuse to identify with the form of maturity that we offer to them.
As for using Gil as a crutch to walk into this blog - hmmmm
you are welcome and if it takes Gil to get you here great but there really is no need to hobble around here.
"We need to create a sense that adulthood and maturity are Godly."
Johnston please don't misread me...
by what you said (as above) do you mean MORE Godly. I hope you can see the problem. Its hard to see that comment as anything else but as a comparison to adolescence. But with your comment that we must, "invite our young people into "our tents" as full partners." It suggests that there is some level on which adolescence can and do attain equality with adults functionally and possibly in other ways.
The problem with your first quote is that it is precisely statements like those that - when misinterpreted have ghetto-ized young people. then those comments about slavery make lots of sense.
Do you have any further thoughts?
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