Whether it be social media, extended adolescence, helicopter (I call them “uber”) Parents or a host of other issues in our culture that impact young teens, we as leaders charged with ministering to junior highers are constantly put in the position of answering for ourselves and for others the question, “what do we do about it?”

Do we fight against culture? Do we toss our hands in the air and reluctantly go along with it? Do we try to transform it? Do we embrace it enthusiastically? Good questions….and questions that Christians have faced all along.

If you’ve never read Richard Niebuhr’s classic, Christ & Culture…you need to. Order it today. Written in the mid-50′s, this book has as much significance today as it did over a half-century ago. While reading this book you will fairly quickly identify what your default theological practice is and be challenged by the other approaches.

The question of “How ought followers of Jesus respond to culture” is one that we are constantly faced with, but many of us have never truly answered for ourselves. Your answer to the question will RADICALLY impact the type of church you want to minister in and the shape of your junior high ministry.