Waiting, Dating, and Mating

This weekend we're starting our annual reoccurring series called "Waiting, Dating, and Mating." This is a relationship series designed to discuss what the Bible has to say about issues related to sexuality. I know that when a youth ministry presents these types of topics, parents can start thinking a couple of things that are a little off-track from the goal of this series. Let me speak to both of them here.

The first thought of some parents might be "Yeah, the church is talking to my son or daughter about sex... so I don't have to." That thought couldn't be further from the intention of this series. It is my desire and goal for this series to open up the lines of communication between parents and students. I want students to go to there parents with their questions and struggles about relationships, and I believe it is the parent's primary role to lead their children to follow God in this area of life. We are taught in Deuteronomy 6 that we are to impress God's teachings onto our children, and this doesn't exclude God's guidelines for our sexuality. My challenge to you as parents is to have a conversation with your son or daughter after every service to find out not only what they are learning, but also what they think about what they are learning as well. You may also find other conversation starters throughout the week by downloading our Daily Dose of Awesome on our website (mecklenburg.org). These are follow-up readings about the topics we discuss at REALife, and are great ways to keep the conversation going with your family throughout the week.

The second thing that comes to mind with some parents is "Sex is not something to be discussed in public. Why should we be talking about this at church?" Here's my answer to that question. Students hear sexual messages and see sexual images on a regular basis. All one has to do is walk through the halls of a high school for less than a minute to hear that sex is a major part of students lives. It's what they talk about. It's what interests and intrigues them. It's what the media is feeding them. And for the church to remain silent on an issue so entrenched in teenage culture is huge mistake. Plus, the Bible is full of valuable information for our lives in relation to sex, so why not discuss what the Bible has to say about it?

And let me reassure you of what this series is not... It is not an anatomy or sex education class. We are not discussing "how it all works", but rather how it all relates to God and our faith. So, if you have never talked about sex with your son or daughter up to this point in their lives, I would recommend having a conversation with them before they attend this series. This will better help prepare them for what we will be discussing.

So, let the conversation begin. And please contact me if you care to discuss in more detail the topics being covered, or if you have any questions related to how to handle this topic with your son or daughter.