Almost every student ministry blog I read has made reference to the Associated Press article that appeared last week claiming that one out of every four teenage girls (over 3 million girls) has a sexually transmitted disease. I think more than anything, we’re in a collective state of disbelief wondering where our sex ed programs and more importantly our youth ministries have failed to educate teens about the risks related to sexual activity. I’ll admit I’ve never led any of the student groups I’ve worked with through an effective study on human sexuality. It’s always something I tiptoe around hoping “my kids” aren’t the ones that need to hear these things because they know better, but that’s naive optimism. The truth is there should be no safer place to talk about a wholisitic understanding of human sexuality than in a church setting. It’s the elephant in the youth room that no one wants to talk about. Maybe it’s time we ask the elephant to leave.
UPDATE: Scratch what I said about there being no safer place to talk about sex than in church. Shelby Knox got it right by suggesting that sex education must begin at home. While I think schools must also teach a responsible understanding of sexuality, I believe that it should be the the church that supliments and streamlines those lessons learned at home by helping teens develop their theological understanding of human sexuality.
cory!
you know holistic sex ed in the church is one of my absolute biggest passions in life!!!!! if you ever need/want help doing a series on it, and i VERY HIGHLY encourage you to do one with your youth and youth parents, please call me and i’ll help you if you want/need help or a place to bounce ideas off of. i did an extensive study in seminary on sex ed in the church, and would love to help you in any way possible….even if it’s just helping you think about thinking about doing a sex ed series.
i also have lots of resources, etc.
holistic, healthy sex education is essential in the church. absolutely and extremely essential. it doesn’t matter how”good” a kid is; i was the model “goodie-two-shoes” christian kid in a great family…..but my parents never breathed a word of sex and sexuality to me. ever. and in my middle and high schools where i grew up in sc, when we had our annual sex ed series in health class, all the pages on contraception were torn out: a decision by the county school board. if it were not for my youth minister, and his belief in holistic sex ed (which included parents and all kinds of other “experts” to speak on the topic), i would never have received any sort of healthy theology of sex and sexuality. (and there are distinct differences in “sex” and “sexuality” that should be addressed)
it is not just a matter of the “church” or “minsters” talking to “teens” about sex……it is a matter of ministers working with parents to collectively teach and initiate real conversations with teens about what is really going on with them: the confusing world of changing bodies, changing emotions, peer pressure, sex, sexuality, relationships, respect for self and others, and general information. it is a collective conversation. and one that does not solely and exclusively focus on abstinence. abstinence-only based sex ed not only does not work (studies are now showing what we’ve suspected for a long time!), but i also believe it is emotionally and psychologically detrimental to the developing young adult. we must take our teens’ minds, hearts, and bodies more seriously!!!
btw: did you know the correct term is no longer STDs? the correct term is now STIs: sexually transmitted infections. i recently learned this.
sorry for ranting!
i LOVE this topic and LOVE encouraging youth ministers to plunge in! it’s fun! involve lots of people! you don’t have to be the expert!! xoxo erin..
Wow! If anyone can make reading a blog comment feel like running a 5K, it’s you, Spenge!
Great thoughts, and I promise to tap into your resources one of these days.