March 13, 2008

Re-educating Teen Girls & Young Women

Joe Carter's post today serves us well in revealing the agenda of Planned Parenthood and similar organizations. The facts about condoms don't really matter, even while the sexualization of our entire culture is placing young women's lives at risk. Of course, PP's agenda is not based upon some neutral, bias-free notion that they just care about women's health and, therefore, only interest in promoting safe sex for the sake of safety. There is nothing altruistic about what they are doing. The fact is that money and their entire worldview is at stake, and the 'anything goes' mentality must continue to be dominant. So what does this mean for girls and young women in our community? In our churches? What's a church to do?

1. As I said in my previous post, it's time to be raising up womens leadership in the local church. They are the ones in relationships with other women and teens in your community.

2. Understand abstinence education as entirely counter-cultural. Give this area of education more prominence, keep it on the forefront of discussion. It must always be a taught as a matter of theology, a matter of worldview and not taught in a vaccuum.

3. Don't wait for the experts-learn the data and don't wait to begin discussing it.

4. See the opportunity. This area of ministry will serve to help bridge the gap between older and younger generations.

5. Expand the focus of your womens ministry. While these issues can be addressed in youth ministry, this is a place where real mentoring among women can and should occur. Womens ministry should be about making disciples who can contend with and address today's issues, not just helping them to survive.

6. Take a look at who is on your leadership team who can address these and other contemporary concerns. If she isn't there, I'm sure she is in your congregation somewhere. If you are a lone leader and don't feel equipped or called to this, its time to raise up someone who can.

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