Tag Archives: teen life

Great Books for Christian Parents

By Cary Schmidt | March 8, 2010

Frequently someone asks what books I would recommend on youth ministry or parenting. They are generally the same books. While there are some good books on youth ministry, the most helpful to youth ministry are those on the family. Whether you are a parent or a youth pastor, I would urge you to read everything [...]

Posted in books and resources, family, student ministry | Also tagged adolescence, biblical living, book review, books, family, parenting, student ministry, teaching | 5 Comments

10 Things Your Teen Won’t Tell You (Part 3)

By caryschmidt | March 4, 2010

This is the third and final part in this series of articles. Click here to read part one or part two.
7. I’m as confused as you are about my problems. The truth—when you, in frustration, ask—“What wrong with you!?” They honestly don’t know the answer. If you feel like you are confused about what’s going [...]

Posted in family | Also tagged adolescence, family, parenting, student ministry | 1 Comment

10 Things Your Teen Won’t Tell You (Part 2)

By caryschmidt | March 2, 2010

This is part two of a three part series. Click here to read the first part of this article.
4. My deepest need is a sincere relationship with you. (I need time with parents.) Not only will they not say this—they won’t even admit to it or understand it. This one resides so deep in our God-given [...]

Posted in family | Also tagged adolescence, family, parenting, student ministry | 1 Comment

Before You Discipline Your Child…

By caryschmidt | February 23, 2010

Discipline is a sacred thing. Too often we parents take discipline too lightly or treat it too flippantly. In the big picture, all discipline is about bringing our children into a right relationship with their Heavenly Father, that He might bless their lives. It’s not about controlling behavior, modifying behavior, or minimizing embarrassment. Pure and [...]

Posted in family | Also tagged adolescence, family, parenting, student ministry | 4 Comments

Problems with Fun-Focused Youth Ministry

By caryschmidt | February 15, 2010

Is your youth ministry Bible-focused or fun-focused? It’s easy to focus more on making the youth group fun than on making it biblical. I’m all for having a good time with students in the right context, but we have a much higher calling. How easy it is to fall into the trap of spending more [...]

Posted in student ministry | Also tagged biblical living, local church, ministry, student ministry, sunday school | 8 Comments

10 Things Teens Won’t Tell You (Part 1)

By caryschmidt | February 8, 2010

Have you noticed that teens are tight lipped? For a myriad of reasons—usually intimidation being the biggest—they really find it difficult to talk to adults at times. This is especially true with parents. In every home, there is a spiritual battle against authentic communication. Let’s face it—the devil doesn’t want parents and teens to truly [...]

Posted in family, student ministry | Also tagged adolescence, family, parenting, student ministry | 1 Comment

Survey for Reality-Parenting

By caryschmidt | January 4, 2010

Several weeks ago I shared a post called “Reality Parenting—Making the Grade.” This post is a follow-up.
A primary goal of every parent should be to model a right relationship with the Heavenly Father, and ultimately to see our children embrace that same relationship. Seeing a father or mother live in love with the Lord—happily submitted [...]

Posted in family | Also tagged family, parenting, student ministry | Leave a comment

7 Big Parenting Mistakes

By caryschmidt | November 10, 2009

Here’s a short list of mistakes that all parents can make when it comes to seeing, understanding, and biblically responding to the spiritual growing pains of life. (This is as much to myself as to others.) Stop and think about it—and pray for godly wisdom in responding to the issues of your children’s hearts with [...]

Posted in family, student ministry | Also tagged adolescence, counseling, family, parenting, student ministry | 2 Comments

Struggling Teenagers? Don’t Give Up Early!

By caryschmidt | November 4, 2009

Have you had a student come through your youth group, graduate, and not mature spiritually the way you hoped? It seems no matter how we pray, labor, plan, or serve—there are some that graduate and drift spiritually.
What about trying to help a struggling student, only to feel like you’re spinning your wheels? Gauging by the [...]

Posted in family, student ministry | Also tagged college and career, counseling, parenting, student ministry | Leave a comment

Pitfalls of Passive Parents (Part 2)

By Cary Schmidt | October 22, 2009

This is part two of Pitfalls of Passive Parenting. Click here to read part one.
Passive Parents Focus on Behavior Modification Rather Than Heart Transformation—They are more concerned with minimizing embarrassment than with truly molding the heart. Eli wasn’t alarmed by the wickedness of his sons’ hearts. He was just embarrassed by their behavior and the [...]

Posted in family | Also tagged adolescence, family, parenting | 1 Comment

The Pitfalls of Passive Parenting (Part 1)

By Cary Schmidt | September 28, 2009

Uncovering the assumptions and behaviors of disengaged parenting

“It’s just a phase—he will grow out of it.” “That’s just what teenagers do—she’ll mature.” “All kids are this way—there’s not really anything we can do to change that.” “They have to be able to make decisions for themselves.”
These and others are the statements we make to give [...]

Posted in family, featured | Also tagged adolescence, family, parenting | 3 Comments

Defeating the Media Monster—Part 1

By Cary Schmidt | September 4, 2009

Media will eat your family alive, unless you tell it not to!

I have a deep inner aversion to living things that crawl, creep, fly, or slither around and find their way into places they don’t belong. They bother me. They creep me out. I just want them dead as quickly as I can make it [...]

Posted in family, featured, media & tech | Also tagged biblical living, counseling, danger, family, satanic, separation, social networking, student ministry, twitter | 1 Comment

Suggested Family Cell Phone Guidelines

By Cary Schmidt | August 22, 2009

Seems like kids are getting cell phones younger and younger these days! This post is one I’m only doing because of requests. Several years ago, as our boys became teens, we decided to get cell phones for them—primarily so we could get a hold of them in relation to school and youth group outings. It [...]

Posted in family, student ministry | Also tagged adolescence, communication, family, parenting, student ministry, technology | 2 Comments

New Research on Social Networking

By Cary Schmidt | August 19, 2009

Both TIME magazine and the San Francisco Chronicle recently reported on some dangers surfacing behind the many hours that teens are spending in social networking. Here are a few quotes from the San Francisco Chronicle article that relayed the results of a poll of 1,000 teens and 1,000 parents:
“From behind their bedroom doors, more than [...]