As a physician of youth culture, Mueller delves deeper than the surface maladies typically assigned to the teenage years—peer pressure, romantic heartache, experimentation with substances. Instead, he recognizes, as a sometimes bewildered parent himself, that there is a more pervasive and devastating condition in need of diagnosis and treatment. “The sad reality is that the life-shaping power of the postmodern worldview stands in marked contrast to the increased ineffectiveness of the church to communicate God's good news and a distinctively Christian world and life view to today's young people,” writes Mueller.

Stir the Soup

Teens' world and life views are shaped by a cultural context vastly different from their parents'. What Mueller dubs the “soup” of postmodernism contains ingredients such as a celebration of pluralism, diversity and tolerance, a nagging despair that suppresses hope, and a longing for connections and permanence. The flavor of this soup would shock most adults who grew up in a culture dominated by modernist thinking. Therefore, says Mueller, parents, youth workers, the Church—anyone with an interest in connecting with youth—must approach their work as a cross-cultural venture. “As the new and different postmodern culture unfolds around us, God's people unfamiliar with this new way of thinking and living must get beyond an uninformed 'we're right and they're wrong' approach that inevitably leads to their forfeiting positive influence and engagement for the sake of the gospel,” writes Mueller.

For some parents, the task of trying to understand youth culture and interpret how postmodern thought is affecting their kids may seem even more daunting than engaging a recalcitrant teen in conversation. Mueller reassures parents that it's not necessary to know the whole culture, but warns, “You do need to know the world of your child. Find out what they're reading, what they're watching, who they're spending time with ... what they care about.” For instance, Mueller recently arrived 20 minutes early to pick up his daughter from high school just to unobtrusively observe the lively after-school parking lot culture. “Stir the soup every day and find out what's in there,” he recommends.

Step Outside the Bunker

In conservative churches like those in the PCA, Mueller says some hold a misguided view that engaging with the culture is unnecessary. “We think erroneously that the culture doesn't touch our kids,” he argues. “In some people's minds the 'covenant model' eliminates the need to interact with the world and love those outside of the covenant.” Such a “bunker mentality” can lead to a dangerous alienation from the world in the name of guarding against its influence. He warns, “This approach forfeits the very influence Christ calls us to have in the world.”

In John 17, Jesus' words shed light on our relationship with the world. “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. ... As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world” (John 17: 15-16, 18). Mueller writes concerning this passage, “As Jesus prays for His followers, it becomes clear that He wants them to infiltrate the world, living in it as a transforming and redemptive presence, while maintaining their distinct identity.” Yet, Mueller argues that Christian culture is often imbalanced in its relationship to the world. “We must learn to walk the tightrope of living for God in the context of the postmodern culture.”

Matt Christian, director of student ministries at Intown Community Church in Atlanta, has tried to create a ministry that achieves this balance. He believes, with Mueller, that the answer to the challenges of youth culture is not isolation from the world, but preparation for it. “We are chosen in order to be a blessing to the nations,” he explains, “not to take the promises of the covenant and hold them to ourselves. God gives us the ability and freedom to go out and change culture.” That's why Christian named Intown's Student Ministry “IDX,” for Identity in Christ. “Our goal is to teach students that if your identity is in Christ, you are free to go out and live in the world,” he says. “We try to teach them to take truth and filter all of life through that lens.”

Re-Think Methodologies

As we step into the culture we must consider new ways to communicate. Mueller writes, “If the message isn't getting through because of dated methods, new ones should be prayerfully sought and adopted in order to communicate the good news.”

At the University of Florida, Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) pastor Steve Lammers has seen previously successful methods of evangelism fail miserably in the face of a new generation of students. On a campus like the University of Florida's, one-time presentations of the gospel using an evangelistic tool don't work like they may have in the past, says Lammers. “Our methodology has to take into account that this generation has had little exposure to biblical teaching,” he says. “You have to view evangelism almost as you would in much of Europe, where they think Christianity has been tried and [has] failed, but they really haven't seen true Christianity in practice.” Postmodern students are likely to approach a one-time evangelistic presentation with a “been there, done that” attitude.

In this environment, Lammers sees evangelism as a series of mini-decisions that lead young people to consider the plausibility of Christianity instead of dismissing it as quickly as a Friday afternoon class. “We invite non-believers to participate in Christian community—whether it's playing ultimate frisbee, going to a movie, or joining a prayer time—so they can interact with other students who have a relationship with God.” Only when they see the reality of God in others' lives can non-believers come to a place where they are willing to investigate Christian truth, he says.

Integrate Faith with All of Life

Even if we're listening to youth and singing to them in a familiar tune, our efforts are unproductive if we're calling young people to a stripped-down faith, suggests Mueller. “For too long youth ministry has been about getting people 'saved,'” he writes. “We have failed to understand that the conversion is not just about belief, repentance, forgiveness, and eternal life. Something else has to happen after someone accepts Christ as Savior. Salvation makes a person free from sin and a slave to righteousness—integrating the Christian faith and kingdom into all of life.”

Shawn Slate, RUF pastor at the University of Virginia, identifies the lack of gospel depth in many youth ministries as a primary reason many students walk away from Christian community in college, despite active involvement in high school. “I see a lot of students who get to school and suddenly they don't care about their faith anymore,” says Slate. “They're now immersed in a new culture that doesn't care about their Christian walk or activities.” What's revealed, he believes, is that in high school they were more concerned about earning the approval of others than walking with God. “They never laid hold of the gospel; they discovered that their participation in Christian activities was a way to earn praise and approval from people they cared about.”

Mueller delivers a stinging critique of the church in response to such observations. “For those members of the emerging generations who need to hear the message of the gospel ... we've offered a disjointed faith that is anything but attractive, convincing, and compelling,” he says. “The result? We've undermined the power and appeal of the gospel.”

“Students don't merely need more information about Christianity,” Slate contends. “They need a vision of something to live for.” At the University of Virginia, Slate encourages students to see their community and culture as a place to love and bring the healing of Christ, whether sharing the burden of a sorority sister's eating disorder or ministering to the city's underprivileged. “Students ask me, 'how can I get more involved in RUF?'” says Slate. “I tell them, 'Everything you do is part of RUF and part of being a Christian—a football game, a hike, a student government meeting.' Christianity is something you are, not just something you do.”

Parental Antidote

What can parents do to instill this integrated faith in their children? “God's design is to use families and the larger body of Christ to point young people to their divine purpose,” writes Mueller. But he encounters too many parents who have discovered that their kids are living a double life via the Internet, engaging in sexual promiscuity or secretly abusing drugs. “These times of crisis are times of blessing for parents,” Mueller says. “I've learned through my own kids' struggles that there are no guarantees. God in His grace allows kids to struggle for our growth and their growth. At these times, we throw ourselves helpless into the arms of God.”

However, Mueller prefers the question of how to prevent kids from being captured by the deceptive lures of their culture in the first place. The answer is the same whether you ask Mueller, Slate, Lammers, or Christian: parents need to live an authentic faith before their children in order to help them develop a Christian world and life view. “Instead of just talking about Christ, families need to live His mission,” says Slate. “Our kids need to see us living for Christ rather than ourselves—this will shape in them a kingdom mindset.”

Mueller describes this sort of authenticity as one of the greatest longings of the emerging generation of young people. “Most of the culture is the 'blind leading the blind' in terms of relationships,” says Christian. “If parents model authentic relationships, it will help students navigate their own relationships.” Christian illustrates this authenticity as admitting when you've taken out the frustrations of your own bad day on your children, asking forgiveness of your children, and being real about your own questions and struggles.

Calling Out

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 6:4-7).

Lammers points to Deuteronomy 6 as a guide for teaching our children. “The idea is that in all contexts of life we model faith and show them God's point of view.” With two preschool-aged children himself, Lammers says that witnessing the struggles of today's college students motivates him to be a better parent. “As both a parent and a pastor, I realize that preparing my kids for the struggles of their teenage years begins now, while they're still in diapers.”

If the church follows the prescription of Walt Mueller and the CPYU, by the time Lammers’ children are teenagers, the Church will have a much higher IQ in its quest to engage the soul of youth culture.

Susan Fikse is a member of Intown Community Church (PCA) in Atlanta.  Freelance writing is a welcome respite from her real job of corralling three young children and managing an animated household with her husband, Jonathan.

Going to School on Youth Culture

For further study on the topics of parenting, youth culture, and a Christian worldview, the CPYU website (www.cpyu.org) offers a reading list to rival your teen's Advanced Placement curriculum.

Binge: What Your College Student Won't Tell You: Campus Life in an Age of Disconnection and Excess. Barrett Seaman.  Jon Wiley & Sons, 2005.

Not Much Just Chillin':  The Hidden Lives of Middle Schoolers.  Linda Perlstein.  Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003.

The Art of Talking With Your Teenager.  Paul W. Swets.  Adams, 1995.

Understanding Today's Youth Culture.  Walt Mueller.  Tyndale, 1999.

Help! There's a Teenager in My House: A Troubleshooting Guide for Parents.  Wayne Rice, ed. Intervarsity Press, 2005.

Restoring the Teenage Soul: Nurturing Sound Hearts and Minds in a Confused Culture. Margaret J. Meeker.  McKinley & Mann, 1999.

Parenting Without Perfection: Being a Kingdom Influence in a Toxic World.  David John Seel, Jr.  NavPress, 2000.

Also, CPYU's College Transition Initiative helps teenagers and parents transition smoothly to the "world of the university."  Visit www.cpyu.org for details.