We're still in chapter 2 of Walt Mueller's Book, "Youth Culture 101" and it looks like we're going to be camping out here. There is a TON of information here. All the more reason for you to go out and pick up the book on Amazon.com. Let's be honest, while me summarizing the points is helpful, it doesn't do justice to the full book. Let's jump in. Shall we?

 Today we're going to talk about The Perfect Storm - Forces and Trends Affecting Teenagers. A lot of teenagers go through adolescence without being affected a great deal. They have only minor issues to worry about acne, who to take to homecoming,  and other normal parts of growing up. Recently it has been noticed that a number of teenagers are having to deal with a lot more in their adolescence years. These are forces that can greatly impact how a person matures mentally as well as spiritually. We're going to take a look at some of these forces and trends.

1. Families are Changing- The family of the 1950's is no more. Here are some ways that families are changing and how that might affect a teenagers.

•      Increase and Acceptance of Divorce - Even when I was a child I knew that divorce was common among my friends. In fact both of my parents had been married before. Divorce greatly affects the family. I've seen countless teens who have to deal with anger, frustration, anxiety, and the constant need for approval as a result of divorce. That doesn't mean that life is hopeless if you are a divorced parent of teens. With God's love and grace anyone can be made whole again

• Rise of Cohabitation and Out-of-Wed-Lock births- Mueller references a Gallup Youth survey in which 70% of all youth asked stated that they thought it was ok for couples to live together before marriage. This is a result of a more negative view of marriage and different cultural views. This affects how teens view dating, relationships, and marriage

• Crisis of the Fatherless - This has a huge impact of teenagers. According to Mueller, teens who don't have regular contact with their father have a higher rate of sexual promiscuity, premarital teenage pregnancy, substance abuse, depression, suicide, low academic performance, intimacy dysfunction, divorce, and poverty. Again, I'm not saying that any teen in this situation is hopeless. These teens desperately need to know the love and grace of their ONE TRUE Father in Heaven.

• Decrease in the Amount of Time Parents spend with their Kids- Between work, school, tv, video games, texting, facebook, going out, and hanging out with friends, parents are spending less and less time with their kids. This leaves less and less time to teach the teen in the way he should go. I've noticed in the past 15 years that parents are becoming the minority part of raising a teen. Media, culture, and friends are becoming the majority part of raising teens. Mueller quotes a survey that states; "When asked for wishes for a better lifestyle:  27% of students said more money, 14% a bigger house, and a staggering 47% asked for more time spent with family.

• Increase in family violence- One of the most horrifying thoughts is that the majority of family violence and sexual abuse goes unreported. It's obvious the grave negative impact that these things have on anyone, much more a child or teen that is trying to mature and grow. This is something that if seen should be reported immediately.

There are a lot of different circumstances that happen in the family. Please understand that by writing this post, I'm not judging any family decisions that have been made or how the parents of  HRBC parent their children. What I am saying in this post is that these things have the potential to affect how teens grow and mature into followers of Christ.

 If there's one thing that we know, it's that God can heal all wounds and restore the broken. If you think that one of these may be affecting your teen and want to talk about it. Feel free to email me at jon@hrbcrichmond.org or you can comment annonomously below.

Jon