Pseudo-stupidity.

It is when a student looks back at you with a completely blank look and shrugs when you ask him . . . well, anything. Your teenagers don’t have to be rocket scientists or brain surgeons, but one of the goals of adolescence, according to Robert Havighurst, is to develop intellectual skills. So, does the development of intellectual skills have anything to do with what we do in youth ministry, or is that one of those issues we can just count on other people to address?

Adolescent brains are changing. Teenagers are gaining the ability to think and reason in ways they never have before. (If you doubt that, ask their parents. Teenagers invent new ways almost daily to argue every possible point with their parental units.) In the middle of all of the changes going on in an adolescent’s body, what happens in her head may be the most significant part.

While the brain is developing quickly in adolescence, some research seems to indicate that it doesn’t just happen automatically. The cognitive processes (that is, how kids think) develop best when teenagers are guided to practice the hard work of careful consideration. When you ask a young teenager why he did what he did and he tells you he doesn’t know, the truth is, he doesn’t know. He is just beginning to develop the ability to figure all of that out.

One theorist suggested that for teenagers, higher reasoning is like going through a jungle with a machete. The first time through is hard work. You have to hack your way through dense undergrowth in order to clear a path. However, the next time you walk the same path, it will be much easier . . . and will get easier with each repeated effort. As teenagers practice firing the synapses that help them to think through a difficult problem or look at alternatives to their actions, it may be tough for them at first. Gradually, they will be able to do this thinking automatically, much as adults do.

So, how do you help teenagers develop intellectual skills?

1. As you are teaching and discipling younger youth, take it slow. You may have to ask them several follow-up questions before they can put the pieces together. They need you to lead them to think all the way through an issue and not just give them the correct answer.
2. Don’t be afraid to ask youth hard questions . . . especially as teenagers get older. Ask them to wrestle with issues of faith and come up with answers that make sense. You can cover more verses in the Bible study if you just explain the point to them, but you will teach them more if you give them time to figure it out.
3. Find ways for them to articulate their faith. Too many teenagers graduate from high school (and occasionally even college) still living on the faith of their parents. Ask them to examine why they trust God, what experiences and what evidence leads them to put confidence in God and in His Word. Help them to wrestle through the implications of their faith on their lives.

In many large churches, teenagers sit in a big room while someone six rows away teaches them the Bible through a loud speaker. Teenagers may engage in the Bible study and enjoy the setting. They may take good truths home with them. In the small church, you have the unique opportunity to do more than tell your students what to believe. You can challenge them to think through the lesson and tell you what is true based on their understanding of Scripture. Help them flex their intellectual muscle as you teach and you will make a tremendous difference.