So I toyed with the title of this post for about 5 minutes. What I originally wanted to call it was “Christian teens & the secular media… a swim upstream.” That title was long and boring, but now you have a better idea of what I want to talk about. I want to start out by making a statement.
Any teen who decides to truly pursue Jesus in high-school is my hero.
I make that statement because I don’t think many people truly understand how difficult it is to follow Jesus in these schools, in this culture, at this time. I was watching a re-run of the MTV VMA’s (like a good youth pastor should) and it came time to award the “best new artist.” The award went to a 19-year-old alternative hip-hop artist nick-named “Tyler the Creator.” His hit single titled “Yonkers” has about 28 Million Views on YouTube. I want to show you that video for you to really understand what I’m trying to get at.
However I want to include a disclaimer before you watch this video: WARNING, this video includes EXPLICIT profanity and imagery. If you are a student, I do not recommend watching this video. The content is not a reflection of my interests and/or beliefs.
Ok, now if you are a parent, I will wait for you to go wash your ears out before continuing reading. I want to be clear, the point of this post is not a “Tyler the Creator” bash. There are enough of those counter-productive Christians out there. I’m sure that if we sought to understand what happened to him to form his world view would give us a clearer idea of why he chose the lyrics and imagery he has. This is simply me grabbing a sample of current youth culture. If you know the hip-hop culture, Tyler is extremely talented, but in my opinion he is mishandling that talent in incredible proportions.
I want to give you a couple of my thoughts after first watching this:
- What on earth are Christians up against? - This reminds me of the first Eminem album I bought when I was in high-school. - Why would anyone listen to this? - Well… the beat is incredibly catchy. - Ok, now I can’t get some of this out of my head. - What could I possibly tell a 16-year-old to convince them this well mess them up?
Now I want to give some advice to both teens, parents and pastors who might be checking this post out.
Teens:
Be careful about what you’re putting in your head. I had a conversation this week with a student who listens to this music who had no clue that the music he listens to effected him in any way. Romans 12:2 gives us some serious wisdom, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” I know how difficult that is. This is coming from someone who listened to some of the most hate filled, angry, backwards music out there. I can still remember every word to some of them. Sometime following this verse just sucks. But if you care AT ALL about the long run, and not just the HERE and NOW, this verse will protect you. If you do follow this, in high-school you will share Jesus by people simply wondering why you are different. (and not in a “that person is a FREAK” kind of different) A teenager who has an idea of what God’s will for them is, can make some serious change happen. Lastly, don’t be a hypocrite. If you’re going to pray to Jesus, you can’t listen to a song like Yonkers that has the lyrics “Jesus called, he said he’s sick of the disses, I told him to quit b–chin’, this isn’t a f–kin’ hotline.”
Parents:
Know what your teen is listening to and watching. At times you may have to protect them. Now there is also another side to this coin. There is certainly such thing as being overprotective. Sometimes they simply have to come to these conclusions on their own. Sometimes the best way to fight this is to come along side of them, listen to what their listening to, ask them specific questions, challenge them to think about it. I never backed away from any of this stuff by being TOLD to. I got there myself, and that made my desire to stay away from media that isn’t beneficial for me a million times stronger. I also am going to give you the same advice that I am going to give any other youth pastors out there.
Pastors:
Know what’s out there. Relevance is a HUGE part of youth ministry. You need to know what other voices are going into their head to be able to accurately counter it. Obviously there is a fine line there. i.e. You shouldn’t go to a strip club to better understand men with porn addictions. So many people don’t come to churches because they believe pastors are so out of touch with reality… (mostly because most are.) Be aware of what you’re up against and come along teens and show them some light in darkness. ”turn or burn” will NEVER effectively work in youth culture.
I hope this has been helpful in some ways to you. Feel free to leave comments on your thoughts. I simply ask you be respectful and clear if you leave comments.
