© 2009 by Brian Housman

Published by Brazos Press

a division of Baker Publishing Group

P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287

www.brazospress.com

Spire edition published 2012

Previously published under the title Engaging Your Teen’s World

Ebook edition created 2012

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN 978-1-4412-3855-9

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

Unless otherwise noted, scripture is taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked NIV is taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Occasionally, italics are used in scripture quotations for emphasis by the author.

The internet addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers in this book are accurate at the time of publication. They are provided as a resource. Baker Publishing Group does not endorse them or vouch for their content or permanence.

To Mona,

For allowing me to show you

my whole heart

and still not running away

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Table of Figures

Introduction

Part 1: Engaging Your Teen’s Culture

1. Friday the 13th

2. A Taller Wall, a Wider Moat

3. Finger Pointing

4. A Big Horse with a Small View

5. You against the World?

Part 2: Engaging Your Teen’s Heart

6. The Writing on the Bedroom Wall

7. You Will If It Kills Me

8. A Passionate Story

9. Hello, I’m a Mac

Part 3: Engaging the World Together

10. Melted Gummi Bears

11. Boating Upstream

12. Employed by Playboy

13. When “I Don’t Know” Is the Only Honest Answer

Acknowledgments

Notes

About the Author

Back Ad

Back Cover

Introduction

Your teen is now living in a postmodern culture. That fact is undeniable. The debate is no longer whether or not we inhabit a postmodern culture. A more fruitful debate is, “Since we are living in a postmodern culture, how will this affect the lives of our teens as they grow older, as well as our families as we engage the culture?” It affects your teen’s understanding of relationships, spirituality, justice, and truth—all important characteristics of postmodernism. Their expression of these qualities can look markedly different from what we are used to as parents. Moreover, our unfamiliarity with this new culture can lead to uneasiness in moving into it.

But move into it we must. Author Robert Lewis said, “I believe we need to accept the fact that the world has dramatically changed. We need to recognize, and not ignorantly fight against what is inevitable. If ...