Youth ministry is messy work. Being involved in the lives of teenagers means we get to see the good and the bad. It’s easy to celebrate the good. It’s challenging to know what to do with the bad. All of us have had moments where we called kids out for their behavior, speech, or attitude. Not our favorite thing.

In this episode, Brock, Shannon and Steve talk about when to confront students. How do we strike a balance between calling them to higher things, yet not policing them all the time? How do we do so with grace, love and truth? Add in watching their lives unfold on social media, and the pressure we feel to defend our ministry reputation, and it becomes overwhelmingly difficult.

But what if we create an environment where confession is real? What if our default isn’t judgement but love? What if we are with them in the mess, what theologian Andrew Root calls “Place Sharing,” so they will see Jesus in us?

There’s no perfect way, but there is a better way. We are looking for it in this conversation.

Mentioned in this episode:
Revisiting Relational Youth Ministry by Andrew Roothttps://www.andrewroot.org/books/

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