{"id":10894,"date":"2019-06-28T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-06-28T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reasons.org\/changing-the-we-can-t-expect-much-from-churched-kids-culture\/"},"modified":"2019-06-28T09:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-06-28T16:00:00","slug":"changing-the-we-can-t-expect-much-from-churched-kids-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reasons.org\/christianity\/beliefs-values\/changing-the-we-can-t-expect-much-from-churched-kids-culture","title":{"rendered":"Changing the \u201cWe Can\u2019t Expect Much\u201d from Churched Kids Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Years ago, as a college student applying to veterinary school and then as a practicing veterinarian, the goals and expectations set forth were clear: anything less than high performance was not an option. Later as an executive for multinational organizations, I learned and taught knowledge transfer methods and processes as high performance meant survival in an increasingly globally competitive marketplace.<\/p>\n

If success in worldly endeavors requires rigor and work, should we not also expect the bar to be set high when it comes to teaching youth about our Christian convictions?<\/p>\n

In examining the goals and expectations of church youth ministries today, I am concerned about shortfalls I see in the attitudes of many parents and leaders in the church. Over the past 10 years, I have discovered a \u201cWe Can\u2019t Expect Much\u201d (WCEM) philosophy emerging in youth ministries. This mindset likely stems, at least in part, from the fact that most of us parents and our teenagers have overscheduled lifestyles. Along with that tendency, I have heard and\/or observed that parents and church youth leaders alike can\u2019t expect much when it comes to:<\/p>\n