Loud voices

As a youth pastor and someone that works with teens on a regular basis, I am always concerned at the different voices calling out for our teens attention. Lets consider some of those voices and how much impact they have.

• Parents... this should be the greatest place to hear from for teens. Unfortunately many teens have no connection with their parents. Parents either are not around in the home, or don't know even how to have a voice in their teens lives. How much impact should they have? 100%, but how much do they have? in most cases about 10%
• Teachers/school...this should be a place where teens can learn truth and taught from all perspectives. They should be taught about Godly things as part of their education. They should learn about creation, the danger of premarital sex, the implications of their choices for the teens future? Scripture tells us that those who teach will be judged more deeply, so it is sad that many never teach the truth to students. How much impact should teachers have on teens? 80% but, how much do they have? Some would say a very high % while other would say a low %. I believe that teachers could have a much greater impact if they were free to teach truth and were willing to do it.
• Friends...friends have a huge impact on teens. Some teens are able to stand up for what they believe and are strong influence on their friends. This is the minority as many teens are led by the things their friends do and tell them to do. Peer pressure from other teens as we know is very deep. How much impact should they have? 50%, but it is closer to 90%.
• Media...teens are highly influenced by the images they see on television, movies and music videos. They don't recognize that this is the case and they would say it has very little impact on them. If you look at things like fashion and the words being used in these mediums it is obvious the impact is there. How much impact should it have? 10%, but in reality that number is probably 95%
• Church...this should be one of the loudest voices calling out to young people and having an impact on their lives. We should have a loud voice because we have the answer to the challenges they face. We know how much God can make a difference in their lives, how much He loves them and how much pain He can save them from if they make Godly decisions about issues they face. How much impact should we have 95-100%, but sadly for most teens we have almost no impact.

The reality is this: We have to have a far greater impact on the lives of youth. The church needs to step up and get serious about having a voice that teens hear. Parents need to have a more intentional impact in the lives of their teens. You spend more time, potentially, with teens than anyone else ever will.

We need to talk with our teens about what they are learning in school and make sure they hear a true perspective. We have to know who our kids are spending time with, who their friends are so we can understand what influences are surrounding our teens.

Finally I think we need to turn off the tv much more often, we need to do things together as families and youth ministries so that our voice is louder than the media. I would rather have "Big Brother" and "Bachelor Pad" have much less influence in teens lives than I have.

Brothers and sisters, are you hearing what is being said? Maybe there are much louder voices calling out for your attention. Remember this, they are called "teenage years" because it is between age 13 and 19 that these precious folks make life changing choices.(Some good, some bad) Lets do our part to have a voice!