This week I attended a conference that centered around the idea of “theological reflection.” I know, that sounds like something we would talk about at the seminary, something that has little to do with 7 or 8 teenagers who spend most of the Bible study laughing about someone passing gas. But I think reflecting theologically is not just for theologians. Or, more accurately, I think all of us who desire to impact the lives of teenagers for Christ are theologians. Perhaps we do not all share the dusty, academic brand of theology that requires years of study of things written in German and Latin.

But we are engaged in thinking about the world theologically. And we are engaged in teaching a theology to students that will guide their understanding of their lives and their world.

One of the presenters at this conference compared much of youth ministry practice to steering a car. “Steering is not driving,” he explained. True. If one only steers a car, she is destined to crash into something. Driving involves careful attention to everything around us and then guiding the car . . . sometimes faster, sometimes slower, sometimes switching lanes . . . to reach the desired destination. Many of us engage in youth ministry activities we have seen done some where with no real consideration of what God is up to around us. We are steering the youth ministry, but not really driving.

Theological reflection in youth ministry means that we look at our surroundings: What is happening in the lives of our teenagers? What is happening at our church? What is happening in our community? Then we consider what all of this means in light of the work and movement of God in human history. How does the word of God speak into the issues we see around us? How would Jesus address this generation of teenagers? What spiritual truths are most important for our church to keep in mind? Finally, we determine the activities of our ministry based on how we see God at work.

We don’t (or shouldn’t) do youth ministry based on our desire to get teenagers to show up at an event. We do youth ministry because our understanding of God and His work in the world leads us to ways to impact the lives of teenagers for the Kingdom. I know, this may seem like I am stating the obvious, but perhaps it would be good to ask yourself: Why are you doing the next youth activity you have scheduled? Does it hold theological importance for you? If not, should it?