Social Media Parent Resources
Social media is huge! Teens eat, breathe, and sleep social media. Someone has said that this generation is the “technology everywhere generation.” No matter where or what they are teens are doing, they are usually connected to some social media network. Whether that’s Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, they are hyper-connected and social media has become how they do life. This creates a huge task for parents. The goal of parenting is not just protecting, it’s preparing teens to become Godly adults who make wise choices. So parents must learn how to parent their teens in regards to social media. To do that parents must not watch from the side lines or just protect their teens from having a Facebook or Twitter. They must become missionaries into the teen social media culture. They must know it, navigate it, and be in it.
I did a seminar last night for our CCC parents called “Social Media 101.” In that seminar I shared some resources with the parents and I want to share those here so those parents have a place to get the resources electronically as well as for parents who may have not been at the seminar. We did film the seminar and I should have the video of it posted here on my site next week. Below are resources for parents that will help them understand social media and give them some guidance in how to parent their teens in regard to social media.
Parent Tip Sheet: Common Sense on Social Networking. This is great handout that explains what social media is, why it matters to teens, and advice for parents regarding social media.
Parent Tip Sheet: Common Sense on Facebook. This is much like the handout above, but focused only on Facebook. It explains how Facebook works, how teens use it, and advice for parents regarding Facebook.
Recommended Facebook Privacy Setting for Teens. This is a great resource that gives the recommended privacy settings for a teens Facebook account. Many teens don’t realize how much personal info they are sharing with complete strangers. This will help parents set up the right privacy controls for their teens Facebook.
Parent’s Guide to Understanding Social Media. Unlike the resources above, this one is not free, but it’s worth paying for. It’s a helpful little book that explains what social media is, how it works, how teens are using it, what teens should know about it, and advice for parents on how to teach their teens to use it wisely. This is the best book out there for parents regarding social media. Click here to read my short review of it.
Community Discussion Guide: Social Networks. This is a creative resource that is designed to help you have a discussion about social media with other parents and even your teen. Includes various case studies and questions that foster good discussion about social media.
If you have any resources that I did not mention above that you have found helpful feel free to share them in the comment section below. Also, feel free to pass these resources along to other parents so they can use them in parenting their teens as well.
Book Review: Parent’s Guide to Understanding Social Media
In preparation for a parent seminar on social media I am doing this week, I picked up a copy of Mark Oestreicher and Adam Mclane’s little book Parent’s Guide to Understanding Social Media. I was blown away by this book! It’s a short book (I read it in about 45 min.), but it’s loaded with facts about social media sites, what teens are doing on those sites, and practical advice for how parents can handle social media when it comes to their teens.
This helpful book informs parents about everything they need to know about social media and their teens. It tells them what social media is all about, what teens are actually doing with social media, the psychological impact of social media on teens, what parents need to remind their teens about social media, and of course practical advice on how to deal with social media and their teenager in regards to their parenting.
The main thing I enjoyed about this book and why I would highly recommend it to parents is how Mark and Adam wrote it with preparation in mind rather than protection. “The focus of this book, then, isn’t ‘circle the wagons’ mentality. If you want a book to tell you the internet is evil, you can find that elsewhere. Our goal, instead, is to move from building walls of protection to shaping a focus on understanding social media and earning trust that moves your teenager towards adulthood” (page 8-9). Did you catch that? Mark and Adam says the main goal of parenting is not just protecting your kids, but preparing them to move towards adulthood. I couldn’t agree more. I too believe that parents must move from a mindset of protecting their teens to a mindset of preparing their teens. Click here to read a post I wrote on this topic a few months ago.
Another thing I liked about this book was the amount of practical advice Mark and Adam shared. They wrote a whole chapter on practical ways you can parent your teen when it comes to social media. Some of the advice they give is things they did or do with their teens or something they have heard of other parents doing. Either way, they share easy ways to help understand and communicate with your teen about social media.
In my opinion, this is a must have book for parents of teens. Teens are on social media networks and that isn’t going to change anytime soon. Parents cannot just hope it will go away and pray their teens use it wisely. Parents need to understand and engage social media in a way that they know what their teens are doing as well as to know how to prepare them for adulthood. Now go grab a copy of this book for yourself! Click here to purchase it for only a few bucks on Amazon.
Sarah’s Story
Have you ever heard someones story about what God has done in their life and it leaves you speechless? There has been a few times in my life so far where I have heard someones story and I was left completely speechless because of the awesome power of God’s grace, mercy, and redemption. One of those stories is the story of what God has done in one of my students life’s.
Sarah is one of my high school students at CCC Stow. I remember meeting her a few weeks after I started working for CCC this past September. Over a few conversations I was able to hear the story of what God has been doing in her life. I was left speechless and all I could think about was how good God is even when the situation or circumstance paints nothing but darkness. Instead of telling you Sarah’s story I want you to hear it for yourself straight from Sarah. Below is the video we showed this past Sunday at all of our campuses. Check it out and be reminded that God is in the business of redeeming every situation in our life, no matter how bad it seems.
Freebie: Parenting eBook for Helping Teens Answer Tough Questions
Being a parent of a teenager is hard. I am not there yet, but from my observations and conversations with parents of teens, I know it’s not an easy task. Teenagers are in a stage of life where they are questioning everything and trying to figure out who they are. They are asking tough questions and parents need to be ready to answer them. The good news parents, there are resources available to help you out! I want to share one of those resources with you today that is totally free!
Roland Boyce has written an eBook called Issues and Answers: A Handbook Providing Biblical Answers to Questions of Children and Youth. In this book, he gives parents the tools they need to answer questions regarding topics such as homosexuality, abortion, dating, divorce, pornography, and many more. What I love about this book is the how the writer addresses each topic and gives parents the tools they need to talk to their teenagers about it. For each topic, he gives a Biblical synopses, modern reasoning, responses, resources, fact, and a life lab. Click here to see more details about this book from Tim Schmoyer.
If you are a parent of a teenager, or any age child really, do yourself a favor and download this eBook. It’s free and will be a great resource as you talk to your teenager about tough topics. All you have to do is click the link below to view and download this great resource for yourself.
Click here to download “Issues and Answers”
4 Things Student Pastors Must Learn To Do Well
With every job comes the demand to learn how to do certain things well. When it comes to being a student pastor there are a few things I believe you must learn to do well. I’m still pretty new to full-time student ministry myself, but I’m learning a ton of stuff along the way. Here are four things I am learning that I believe myself and other student pastors must learn to do well.
Teach well. I believe the most important thing students pastors must be good at is teaching God’s Word. Student pastors can build a program, plan great events, and build great relationships with students, but if they cannot teach the Bible effectively to students they will struggle. I’m not suggesting that they must be able to stand on stage and give the perfect expostional sermon, but they must know how to take the truths of God’s Word and teach them in a way that applies to the current culture of today’s teenagers. Students pastors must learn to teach the Bible well on stage to a large group of students as well as within one on one relationships with students. Student pastors must always be striving to be better teachers of God’s Word.
Work with people well. Ministry is about people and student ministry isn’t any different. Student pastors must learn to work well with all types of people. First, they must work well with the church staff. Nothing is worse than a young student pastor who thinks he knows how to run the church better than the rest of the staff. Student pastors must learn how to work well within the whole church staff. Second, they must work well with parents. Student pastors not only minister and serve students, but their parents as well. Third, they must work well with volunteers. A student ministry cannot be effectively ran by just the student pastor, it takes a team of volunteers. The student pastor must learn how to work well with these volunteers. Learning how to work well with people is very important in student ministry.
Program well. Don’t get me wrong, I know student ministry is much more than building a creative and attractive program, but that program is an important part. Student pastors must learn how to be good programmers. That means programming the mid-week or weekend services well, retreats well, events well, and other things we do in our student ministries. I know some student pastors are all about relationships and that’s great! Relationships are key to effective student ministry, but you cannot sacrifice building an effective program for the sake of only building relationships. Student pastors must learn how to program their student ministry well.
Study teen culture well. I hesitated throwing this last one in, but I believe it’s something student pastors must do well. To be a good missionary you must study the culture your going into. The church doesn’t just send missionaries into foreign mission fields without giving them time to learn the culture. It’s the same with student ministry, student pastors must see themselves as missionaries to students who have their own subculture. Therefore, student pastors must learn to study that culture well. How will a student pastor effective teach Biblical truth if they don’t know the culture they are applying it to? How can they build a relevant program if they don’t know what attracts and connects with teen culture? Student pastors must learn to study teen culture well. Studying teen culture isn’t hard, it just takes time. Click here to see a list of helpful tools I use to learn more about teen culture.
I know there are many things student pastors must learn to do well, but these are the ones I have been thinking a lot about recently. I would love to hear from you on this subject. What do you think are the most important things student pastors must learn to do well? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
