There's No Such Thing as "Youth Culture" (So Stop Talking About It)

*Mike, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic. Can I get a response post?

My heart is racing and I have a lump in my throat. I've been blog stalking youth ministry experts and think I've read the term "youth culture" one too many times. I've had enough and I've got to voice my opinion...I'm no expert but I strongly believe youth workers should stop analyzing and defining kids and their culture. It's a waste of time and energy.

Let me explain...



In 2000, I worked at a camp for Junior High students. My friend Trac and I would perform parody songs dressed up as and dancing like members of NSync (remember, the boy band Justin Timberlake used to be a part of). The kids at camp loved it. Whether or not they were fans of the group didn't matter...everyone knew who they were and that they were the pop culture icon of the moment. It was fun, connecting and trust building for students to observe two older guys who understood what "the kids were into". Back then, MTV had a voice and TRL mattered.

In the year 2000, NSync's album No Strings Attached sold 1.1 million copies in one day and 2.4 million copies in one week, giving it the highest first week album sales ever in the US. I will go out on a limb and prophesy that their record will never be broken. Diversified album sales are just one tiny indicator of how things have obviously changed drastically when it comes to "culture" (shudder at that word) and will never be the same as they were in 2000. The idea of a unifying "youth culture" (double shudder) has quickly gone the way of the dinosaur...So quit talking about something that doesn't exist.

Today’s schools aren't defined by the jocks and the nerds. They aren't even defined by a "goulash of sub-cultures" as I recenlty heard one youth worker observe. Here's my observation: Kids today are undefineable...and that's what makes them so wonderful and our jobs so exciting. Like never before, teens are experiencing more and more freedom to be real, authentic, unique individuals without feeling compelled to fit into some clique, sub-culture, or social box. Sure...us adults (parents, teachers, coaches, youth workers, counselors, etc.) still try to put some pressure and expectations on them to become something defineable (something we can understand and be comfortable with) but they have discovered new ways to break free. So now, keeping up with them has become a great adventure!

I love the fact that the kids I know are constantly changing. To me, this means that they are getting closer and closer to discovering who they really are...who God created them to be. Instead of becoming experts in "youth culture", we are finally being forced to simply be expert friends to the individuals that God has brought into our lives. I think this is how God intended for us to love one another all along.

So, you wanna be a good youth pastor? Stop trying to figure out the changing "youth culture" and start getting to know the individual kids God has placed in your life. If God's brought more than 10 kids your way, get busy finding some other people that are willing to simply enter into the world of a teenager and love them for whatever they are and whatever they're becoming...with no strings attached. (Sorry, I had to use a cheesy NSync reference to close)




Speak Out Reader:
Do I sound like a stupid jerk in this post or am I on to something?