Raising Purity

After taking Gerald Hiestand up on his offer to read and review his book, I was glad to receive my copy of Raising Purity. While many authors will claim to have a biblical perspective on sex, dating, and relationships; they often end up spouting the hackneyed opinions of conservative Christianity. I could tell from the Table of Contents that his take could actually be different.

Hiestand takes a gospel view of this ball of wax and helps the reader think thoroughly through it. Starting by defining the gospel and examining the reasons God created sex, he also provides help by exploring biblically-defined relationships. This allows him, and us, to see how modern-day dating is covered by timeless scriptural principles. Of course, if you don't agree with the author on these first three items, you'll have a hard time swallowing the rest of Hiestand's book. But he is very sound in his examinations and explanations of these issues in the Bible. Any semi-serious reader will find much to chew on in this work.

I most appreciated the first two chapters and the second appendix. While the contents of the first chapter [Sex and the Gospel] are difficult for teens to grasp, they are powerful thoughts for parents and an excellent starting place for this discussion. As a youth pastor I found the three biblical categories of relationships in chapter two to be very helpful. That material can easily be used with teens. Hiestand's explanation of the severity of sexual sin in Appendix B is excellent! Well done!

This is not a standard 'don't-have-sex-outside-of-marriage' book because it spends so much more time on the foundational principles behind that statement. And in so doing, it provides more strength for living biblically in regards to sex, dating, and relationships. I highly recommend it to parents and youth workers. To go to the book's site, click on the book title at the beginning of this blog entry.

Something I heard last week

I was mowing the lawn and listening to 'Uncertainty: Certain Leaders'. It's a 2009 sermon from Scott Hodge of The Orchard. He said two things that grabbed my attention; here they are:

   #1 - 'If there is no uncertainty, there is no need for leadership.'
   #2 - 'Legalism flattens diversity.'

For some reason, that first one makes me think of the difference between leaders and managers. But I like both lines because they encapsulate a lot of truth in just a few words.

hurt by Chap Clark

The title of this post sounds accusatory but it's not - hurt is a book and Chap Clark is it's author.  Dr. Clark has written several books on today's adolescents and is well respected for his knowledge of and passion for today's teenagers. This is the first one of his books that I have read, but it won't be the last.

As a fellow youth worker, I really identified with the observations and statements that Chap made. I think his assessments are dead-on accurate. His underlying idea is that today's adolescents are hurt because they have been steadily and systemically abandoned by society. To deal with the hurt (the pain), adolescents look to soothe their pain by finding acceptance with certain peer groups. In turn, they distance themselves from adults and unconciously contribute to the fragmentation. They kind of give the adults in their lives what they want (the right answers, expected behavior, etc) but they develop a world beneath, a world that most adults don't see.

In the first three chapters Clark develops his idea of abandonment with some history, sociology, and common sense; and it was these three chapters that I enjoyed the most. I've passed the book on to others and said, "Just read the first three!" because they paint the picture so clearly. The following chapters explore the ways the principles of the first three chapters show up in real life.

The last two chapters were a little disappointing because I was hoping for a silver bullet. But they were good echoes of my own convictions and it's always nice to have your own beliefs affirmed by an expert.

If you work with youth or simply want to learn more about today's adolescents, check out the first three chapters of hurt. You'll probably end up reading the rest of it.