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This is my article on the imagination

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This may be helpful in putting it into practice

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In The Transforming Moment, the late Princeton educationalist James Loder assesses the human dynamic of transformation, suggesting that it is a five-step process. Furthermore, he believes it to be the process the Holy Spirit tends to use to enable change. Remembering that the wind of the Spirit still blows where it will, we can let Loder's insights about transformation shape the writing of our sermons and youth talks.

Conflict-in-Context

Loder suggests that the impetus for the transformation process begins with a 'conflict-in-context'. Human beings long for 'coherence'. Whenever we face something that does not cohere with our present understanding, it unsettles us.

The preaching of scripture initiates a conflict-in-context because there is always a difference between the horizon of God in the text and the horizon of the hearer. When made to face this difference, the hearer undergoes an unsettling experience of incoherence.

When preparing a sermon, we should ask, "What is the conflict which this passage sets up for the hearer?" The best place to introduce this conflict and unsettle the listener is at the beginning of the sermon.

Interlude for Scanning

When humans are faced with incoherence, they search for a solution to bring them back to coherence. Loder calls this second stage in the transformation process 'interlude for scanning'. In general, our teens are experimenting intellectually and emotionally, scanning other viewpoints and worldviews for answers as their worlds get bigger. So when hearing a sermon, they ask, "How do other worldviews answer this conflict? Do any of them make better sense?"

In preaching, we can facilitate scanning by considering the answers from other worldviews and then ultimately from the text. When we respectfully examine and then reveal the fault lines in the answers that other worldviews give, we are equipping our teens to engage with the world.

We can help our teens 'scan' the text for the answer by asking, "How does God respond to this divine-human conflict?"

Insight Felt with Intuitive Force

When the conflict-in-context is answered, Loder calls this 'insight felt with intuitive force' (the third stage). This is the 'aha' moment. The conflict that came with such unease at the start is now resolved constructively, like pieces slotting into place. It's like that feeling you get in Tetris when the pieces slot together and a complete line is formed.

During that sermon which changed my life, I had had such an insight: the preacher helped me to understand the sovereignty of God as a fatherly attribute. I realised that God is not a divine Santa Claus, to whom we bring our spiritual shopping lists, but a loving father, to whom we bring our hearts' deepest concerns. This insight not only resolved the conflict the preacher initiated about prayer but also proved to be a powerful corrective to my thinking about God more generally.

Release and Repatterning

Because the solution comes with force, what follows is a release of 'energy'. This release of energy enables transformation to take place. Loder calls this set of movements 'release and repatterning'. The energy released is directed into working out how the solution 'fits'-how it is to reorient the hearer's life.

In a sermon, once we have delivered the solution in the text and thereby resolved the incoherence, new questions of coherence can be raised: How does this new insight affect related aspects of life and faith? How should the rest of my life look different because of this?

In my personal example, the preacher helped me see how viewing God's sovereignty as a fatherly trait should bring about a change in how I view myself in prayer: I come to Him not as a needy annoyance but as a beloved child. In other words, a new insight about God led me to new, transformative insights about myself.

Interpretation and Verification

Beyond the moment of transformation, there is still need for ongoing 'interpretation and verification': Does this solution make sense of life? Are there aspects of it that still need to be tested? The sermon cannot shoulder the whole of this step, but the preacher can at least help students begin it.

In preaching, we often call this step 'application.' But preaching for transformation should offer something deeper than mere practical implications of a text. Rather, application should unfold as the final step in the five-part drama that began with the conflict initiated by the text at the start of the sermon (step one), fueled by the energy that comes from the release of the resolution (steps three and four). In this step, we ask, "If this is true, then what else needs to be adapted in my thinking and living?" Much of this step may need to be left for follow-up groups or further discussion-and that's good. We haven't given our teens a complete answer that shuts down the need for dialogue.

I have found that the most significant step to emphasize in my preaching is the first one: raising the opening conflict. If I can unsettle my hearers in a way that digs beneath their skin, then they are motivated to listen and are more ready to perceive their need for God as the answer to the incoherence they are presently feeling. Some of the latter steps will be beyond the control of the preacher and the scope of the sermon and may take place in later reflections, both personal and corporate. Even so, I have found Loder's model to be helpful for understanding the process of change and how it might be initiated through preaching.

As I've been sharing, I have experienced change initiated through a sermon: 'Why should we bother praying if God already knows what we're going to say?' the preacher asked, introducing an unsettling conflict-in-context. The question sent me into a tailspin which involved scanning desperately for possible answers. The preacher led me to explore whether prayer was pointless or whether God was unaware of the future, leaving room in the sermon for moments of doubt and questioning. He then led me to scan the text, which revealed the heart of the relational Father who longs for me to pour out my heart before Him in prayer. This insight came to me with such force and energy that it involved repatterning much of my Christian life. As I discussed it with friends, I was challenged to move from a mechanistic view of God, and therefore mechanistic way of life, into a way of life in which I walked with God my father through every circumstance.

Transformation is an important process for teenagers to go through as it helps them to make their faith their own, rather than presuming on what they have grown up holding to. It also means we, as preachers, have the potential to be vessels for God's work of transformation into the likeness of Jesus. God changes lives through the preaching of His Word!

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Preaching to Youth for Transformation - Youth Pastor Theologian

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Five keys to help you understand the process of transformation and how that can influence your preaching.

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Also this one

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Amid all the warnings, the positives of digital technology must be made clear; there is a reason why we use these things. We are connected creatures who love to communicate and express ourselves. Social media gives enormous potential for creative expression, whether that's through short videos on TikTok, or images on Instagram, or creative text on other platforms. We love to share beauty as well as shout for justice and different platforms give different opportunities for this.

These connections give enormous opportunity for the gospel. Can we imagine a scenario where our young people are loving God and neighbour online -- where they see the digital landscape as a place where they can place lanterns of grace? The danger of retreating and removing smartphones is that this removes the salt and light from a generation who lives a significant portion of life online.

Connectivity has both positive and negative aspects: they can be influenced, but they also have the power to influence. They could engage with non-Christians across the globe and have an enlarged sense of global mission and need. They could discover amazing resources which deepen their discipleship. They could become the online equivalent of Billy Graham. The possibilities are vast, unless we fail to disciple them into digital faithfulness because we are concerned about the temptations and dangers they may encounter online.

Living as salt and light online will necessarily involve guiding youth to embrace digital boundaries and limitations. This approach calls youth towards godliness and wisdom in their online lives, rather than merely settling for "restrictions" because of the potential dangers.

Life Online

In her excellent , Angela Williams Gorrell suggests the key aspect of social media is its 'connectivity'. The way we communicate has changed. For example, teenagers send selfies as a form of communication. We can now talk to anyone in the world with relative ease, and that has opened incredible opportunities and challenges for young people who are still forming their identity.

In some ways this is no different from how it has ever been. Young people have always wanted to explore and connect with different people, often without parents' knowledge. I remember stretching the telephone cable as far as I could so I could speak to a girlfriend without being overheard. The opportunities are greater, but the issue is the same.

Recent has suggested that the smartphone functions as a 'transportal home' for young people; somewhere they live and reside alongside their home in their real world. In some ways there is no division between the two. This would give reason to Pete Etchells argument for a 'Goldilocks zone' in screen use: removing a smartphone entirely may have as negative an effect as unfettered access. Etchells refers to two separate pieces of research from 2019 and 2020 in Zurich and the UK which suggest that an 'appropriate level' of screen use is key to wellbeing, and this will differ between individuals (p13, 211).

What Are The Perils?

With great connectivity comes the great possibility of genuine harm. This must be acknowledged. Just as there are bullies in the playground, so there are bullies in the online world. These may take the shape of wicked adults or just fellow students. Again, this is a continuation of the risks in the offline world but undoubtedly with some more acute risks.

Another potential peril is the speed of social media. Where we used to take time to write letters, we can now fire off a quick response which can reach the globe. The pressure to be available and respond quickly is great and can add to the pressure and anxiety of young people. There can be a sense of always needing to be available, even when that communication might be unwanted and harmful. Another peril can be that of being shamed online, which can happen very suddenly and unexpectedly with severe repercussions.

And, of course, there is just simply wicked and sinful content which people have put online.

This may be where some restrictions are important and wise: setting and discussing time limits and privacy settings should be a non-negotiable for youth and children to have a smartphone. It is important to do this in conversation with the young people, although this will vary with age. In my experience the teenagers often understand this better than the adults, which does not mean they always make sensible decisions. Pressing for a simple ban undermines the abilities of young people to work these things out and come to sensible positions.

What Should We Do Now?

I've attached a wisdom sheet for parents at the end of this blog. The essence of the questions in this wisdom sheet will help you navigate the nuances of setting up limitations while empowering kids to make responsible decisions. Children and young people are all different and the apps they want to engage with are all different. This means that they will react differently to different levels of connectivity. Some may be susceptible to mental health issues in areas of appearance and image. Others may be less thick skinned when faced with disagreements online.

This discernment is where the parents in our ministries need some guidance to have those conversations with their children. Each family will work it out differently (sometimes tailored for each child, even!) and that is OK. Throwing an unrestricted phone at our children or removing it entirely are both poor strategies. Each come from a place of fear: disappointing the child gives an unrestricted phone while fear of the online space results in complete ban.

Youth workers can support families by serving as intermediaries, helping both sides to navigate something which is new and frightening to many parents (being careful to not impose your opinion over the family). The purpose of parenting and youth ministry is to do our best to raise disciples who can honour Jesus in the world, and this includes the online world.

This is a key aspect of youth discipleship. Youth groups would do well to help their teenagers navigate online life in a way that honours Jesus in the same way that we help them to navigate their offline life. Setting restrictive rules will not raise up young disciples and an overly harsh and negative culture is likely to foster rebellion. Some of our teenagers may need to consider pulling back on their use, but also some parents and youth leaders may need to consider pushing more into understanding digital life rather than being reactive to the latest scares and popular publications.

Please do look at this wisdom sheet and adapt or share however it may benefit your ministry.

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Helping Youth Navigate the Online World - Youth Pastor Theologian

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Jonathan Haidt's "The Anxious Generation" has raised alarm, causing some parents to wonder if teenagers should have smartphones or social media at all, and others are wondering what limits, restrictions, and boundaries to put in place. This article helps parents and youth workers call Chri

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You may (or may not)appreciate this review I wrote

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Robin Barfield reviews Jonathan Haidt's: The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.

and Pete Etchells book: Unlocked: The Real Science of Screen Time (and how to spend it better).

The best way to sell books to parents is to scare them, and new technology is an easy fear to play on. Research has shown that religious parents have a higher emotional reaction to new technologies. Those of us who remember the scare stories of violent video games in the 1990s will know the importance of being cautious and nuanced when it comes to the unfamiliar changes which come with raising the rising generation. As Bob Dylan sang, "Come mothers and fathers throughout the land/ And don't criticize what you can't understand". This review will cover two recent books on smart phones and social media; one which is subtle, thoughtful, nuanced and constructive; and the other which hammers away at an unspecified issue and feels cynically marketed to religious parents. I will let the reader decide which book is being referred to in each case.

Jonathan Haidt is a well know social psychologist, commentator, and author. He has previously written several books which have sold well amongst Christian parents. His key thesis here is that we have moved from a '"play-based childhood" to a "phone-based childhood"' (7), children are being over-protected in the real world and under-protected online; screens are causing an epidemic of mental illness, a 'great rewiring' of children's brains. These are big claims and Haidt spends the next twelve chapters defending and making practical suggestions. Having laid out in chapter 1 graph after graph which demonstrates a correlation between smart phone introduction and an increase in mental health problems, part 2 describes the decline in risky play and has some interesting and useful observations. In part 3, Haidt claims that smart phones cause sleep and social deprivation which harms girls far more than boys, before suggesting that spiritual practices of silence and stillness need to be reintroduced. Part 4 makes recommendations for collective action from various groups. Haidt is looking to incite a revolution based on his prior chapters. I am sure that this book will convince many parents to act and there have already been many discussions around this work. Will it be the right action and response, or will Christian parents end up misjudging the impact of new technology by demonising it in the way previous generations have?

Pete Etchells book Unlocked, is a fascinating partner volume. Etchells is Professor of Psychology and Science Communication at Bath Spa University, where he studies the short- and long-term behavioural effects of digital technology. His volume has no single argument; he has not come to praise or to bury smart phones, but to examine the evidence that exists. This means that Etchells considers the arguments for and against the claims that smart phones cause insomnia, problems with attention, addiction and the benefits of digital detox suggestions. His careful weighing up of evidence on both sides comes from a calm and non-anxious presence in the midst of a torrid sea.

One of the most helpful parts of Etchells book is his description of the arguments that smart phones cause poor mental health as a 'jingle-jangle argument' (47). That is, are we using one term to describe many things and many terms to describe one thing. Haidt appears to be unaware of this challenge. Etchell's point is that we need to be far more specific in what is being compared: what do we mean by 'smart phones', devices, social media (which ones and how?), screens, contact with dangerous individuals? And what do we mean by poor mental health: anxiety, depression, self-harm, and so on? "Using 'social media' when we're actually interested in Instagram, Mastodon or Facebook is a jingle problem, whereas using phrases like 'social media', 'social networking sites' and 'screen time' interchangeably when we're talking about one thing is a jangle problem." (48).

Etchell's book does not provide four simple solutions for a concerned parent, but simple solutions are rarely the solution to complex problems. What it does is provide information for parents to make decisions based on their individual children and the setting they are in. Undoubtedly Haidt's book will sell more; it has already caused more of a stir. This does not mean that it is better or more helpful for parents. The dangers and potentials for discipleship and evangelism in a smart-phone-era are enormous. For Christian parents sifting the wisdom the world has to offer on new technology and parenting is critical.
Robin Barfield, Oak Hill College, London, UK

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BOOK REVIEWS: 'The Anxious Generation' & 'Unlocked: The Real Science of Screen Time' - Church Society

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Robin Barfield reviews Jonathan Haidt's: 'The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness' and Pete Etchells book: 'Unlocked: The Real Science of Screen Time (and how to spend it better).'

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I thought Bergler's biblical theology of spiritual maturity was exhaustive and very convincing, though encouraging spiritual maturity can only be done once the youth have accepted Christ; and would perhaps occupy the minds of youth workers running an inside-out ministry. In Pete Ward's outside-in incarantional model, the idea of growing up into Christ would be a much later consideration, perhaps falling under the 'Nurture' stage?