STUDENT MINISTRY: Talking About the Tough Subjects

Recently, I was given the opportunity to preach at the church where I serve on staff, Calvary Baptist Church in Fayetteville, on short notice. However, I am always excited about an opportunity to share from the Word.

Over the last two weeks, I have taught our adults on Wednesday evenings about Jesus proclaiming and demonstrating His power to His disciples in Luke 8. We talked about Jesus’ power over nature as He calmed the storm and His power over the spiritual world as He dealt with a demon-possessed man. So, it only made sense for me to continue the conversation as the Book of Luke moves us forward. 

However, I found myself a little nervous about the message on Sunday morning. Why? Two reasons. One, I only had a short time to prepare. I prefer to have a week or two to prepare if I am going to share from the pulpit, but that wasn’t going to be the case. Sometimes, you just have to step up. Two, one of the characters in the narrative was the woman with the discharge of blood. Culturally, we find it difficult to discuss certain things at church. Whether it be women’s health issues, sexual impropriety or gender confusion issues, our brains say, “We don’t need to talk about those things.”

Let me tell you that our brains are wrong. Our students and church members need to know what the Bible has to say. We don’t need to leave it for people to just “figure it out.” God calls us to speak on the tough and uncomfortable subjects.

Why is it so important for us to tackle the tough subjects in the youth room and from the pulpit? Let me give you a few reasons:

• The tough subjects are only tough to us. Our students have teachers, coaches, friends and classmates who are readily willing to discuss the tough things. While we might find it difficult to speak on some of these things, we need to understand that the young men and women in our youth groups are hearing about them from all sorts of sources. Do they have a question about homosexuality or transgenderism? They will find an answer. All they have to do is to pull the rectangle from their pockets and go to TikTok, Instagram or YouTube to find someone that doesn’t have any problem talking about the things we consider tough. Study and gather information so the tough subjects aren’t difficult to speak about.

• Our students need a biblical view on all things. The tough subjects are no different. They need to know what the Bible has to say about abortion, transgenderism, homosexuality and the rest. They hear the world’s view every day. The young men and women in our youth groups need to understand clearly what the Bible has to say about things. That may mean we need to go deeper into the Word ourselves.

• Our youth need to see our faith as relevant to life. If we aren’t willing to discuss the tough things, our youth will see their faith as of little value in operating in the “real” world. They need to see the connection between the Bible and the world in which they live. If they don’t, they will likely set their faith aside as the world continues to hit them with questions our faith does not address.

If you are struggling to find ways to address the tough things, check out the free resources offered at AXIS.org. I recently interviewed Kelli Rankin of AXIS on our Student Ministry Matters Podcast and talked about the value of knowing the culture as we minister to the young people in our care (check out Episode 167). Most of their resources provide questions to get the conversation started about the harder things. Check them out and figure out a way to talk about the tough subjects of life with your teenagers.