By Pastor Ricardo bain

I am presently writing from the "Shining Like the Son" Pathfinder Camp In East Grand Bahama. As I thought about what I would address this week; I thought it would be prudent to share deeply and openly with some teens about what they face in everyday life. The only question I put to them was; "What is it like to be a teen?" For the adult mind you may prefer, "What are the Characteristics of being a teen?" The following are some of the answers given by some of the campers. I thought these made for a good exchange between us. This was a powerful experience I must pleasurably admit.

"As we go through our teenager years, we realize that the mistakes we make are necessary to learn and improve ourselves, but without guidance from people who love us, we could never stand up again and move forward. In a few years, no one will care if we had the coolest clothes or the best car, but they will remember whether or not we had the courage to stand up to our beliefs and be the better person."

"Uncomfortable (many things are banned) Very exciting, you learn many things about yourself and others. Amazing (it lasts only few years and we will miss these years in future). Great, because young years are given only once. Interesting, because you understand who you are being a teenager is fun because you can get certain freedoms like going home later, hanging out more with my friends, teens are allowed to watch more mature movies, etc."

"Being a teenager is exciting because there are so many opportunities. There are so many things that you can do and then things that you can't do that you can still try to do. Also, there are many things that you have to look forward to."

"Being a teenager today is not as easy as it seems. Every day we face decisions that can affect our future. Sometimes we are driven by our emotions and the pressure to be accepted, but it is extremely important to realize that decisions we make reflect our values and the things that are important to us."

I can't tell you all that we discussed, but we truly had meaningful discussions about these thoughts from young people.

In this issue therefore, I would like to share with you five teen characteristics you may want to underline. Knowing these and relating to them with discerning care and excellence; should bring about a positive effect in their lives, as they manoeuvre the distance between puberty and maturity.

Five Teen Characteristics to Keep in Mind:

* Flexibility. Teens will respond to that which appeals without the cluttering effect of traditional hang-ups. The teen world has little "red-tape" they just want to get things done. Productivity and relevance is far more important than rigidity. Youth love rules! They don't like a place where they are allowed to do anything they want to do because they don't feel secure in that environment. When rules are around they feel safe and secure.

* Creativity. Teens of this generation particularly appreciate and respond to the creative. a consequence of being second generation "TV" Children. There version of creativity may look like this, "Doing things MY WAY!" They are looking for independence, and they will bring out their creative juices to show their apparent arrival at this dubious destination.

* Impatience. Teens tend to be impatient with what tends to be irrelevant and obsolete. Please don't try to play an eight-track tape in their DVD world. Neither should you use a "walkman in their IPod world. Teens love what is fresh and idyllic, these right brain creatures will toss out logic most times for aesthetics and beauty.

* Intolerance. Teens seem to be intolerant when issues have a negative impact on them. In the area of religion, youth appear to withdraw rather than do battle with authorities. For example, youth would prefer to leave the church because of harsh criticism, hypocrisy, perceived irrelevancies, etc.

* Idealism. Teens are typically idealistic and are particularly perceptive when inadequacies or irrelevancies exist, or hypocritical attitudes are persistently held. They will watch a sermon in your life before they listen to one. I was once asked what impacts the mind of a youth more? Is it their being real about the feeling of a sermon's effect on them? Or is it their discerning nature piercing through the fact that the sermon is seldom lived? I am persuaded that the latter would be the overwhelming answer.

When these points are sorted and processed youth usually respond with apathy and disgust toward the church. Especially if these show up in positive or negative form based on what teens desire. During this crucial period in the history of the world; so much is at stake for youth to be handled in a manner that is inflexible, drab, irrelevant, fake, and inadequate. We must be vigilant about the way that we seek to connect with them. They NEED us to walk around in their world. The apostle Paul in Acts 17: 16-32, was on Mars Hill. He tried to minister to the people with the philosophy that he had learned in school. He matched philosophy with philosophy. The people were not really excited about it. However when he walked around in the city he figured out that the people were very religious and that they even ascribed worship to an UNKNOWN god. Paul then utilized that opportunity to tell the people about Jesus as the God they did not know. The people were then willing to hear him further.

It was not until he walked around in their world that he knew how to minister to them. I submit, the same process must take place if we are going to connect with youth and young adults. We must walk around in their world. I do admit sometimes it is scary doing so. It is though, a necessary happening if we are going to impact them with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let us therefore spare no effort to minister unto them within their context, thus connecting them to the one who is always relevant – Jesus Christ, Son of God!