like a fire

Tracy speaks: An excerpt about Thirteen::.

This article about a movie from the perspective of a thriteen year old girl is staggering. Walt Mueller says, “viewing Thirteen is like having full access to a stack of teenage diaries and a hidden camera focused on the day-to-day comings and goings of young people.” WHy would you want to do that, you might ask? Well the premise of the story of Thirteen is that teens feel like no on eunderstands them and no one is listening. That pretty much sums up our world’s attitude toward the unlovely and unlovable. It also states the need for youth ministry more than any piece of scripture I have ever found.

What is it like being thirteen? Certainly it is different for all, but it is a time of change and innocence lost. Most of all, it is a time when teens start comparing themselves with others to see if they measure up or not. This places extreme pressure on them to fit in and be recognized. This desire can overcome everything they understand as right or wrong.

In youth ministry, we have to be able to respond to this desire and I think the better we are at responding to it, the more healthy or ministries will be.