Youth Culture 101(Youth Specialties)YouthWorker Journal’s pop-culture columnist puts his years of experience in this book, full of research and insight about today’s youth culture. One of the best parts of this resource is the online discussion guide that follows each chapter. The Web site includes articles, practical youth ministry tips and plenty of ideas for engaging students in discussion of everything from sex and pornography to video games and movies.
The Culturally Savvy Christian(Jossey-Bass)
If you liked the excerpt in this issue, you’ll love Dick’s book, which critiques contemporary Christianity and culture by providing insight into how pop culture diminishes our effectiveness as followers of Christ. The related Web site, Culturewatch, offers blogs, Web links and resources for Christians concerned with effectively engaging culture.
I Want to Talk With My Teen About Movies, Music, and More(Standard)
This book is written for parents and youth workers and contains helpful hints, information and strategies to enable their teens to use today’s media and electronics in healthy ways.
3-D Guide to Media: How to Use Your Head to Guard Your HeartWalt’s Center for Parent/Youth Understanding (CPYU) focuses on the three Ds of Discover, Discern and Decide to help young people be better consumers of the music and other media they use. “With practice, teens will begin to listen to their music more critically, analyzing the messages they are hearing, weighing them against biblical standards, then deciding whether the music should be a part of their musical diet,” says the organization, which also offers a helpful discussion guide that can be found on its Web site, as well as downloadable student survey forms and lots of examples of how the three Ds can be applied to movies, music and TV shows.
Vital Skills: How to Respond to Culture(Lifeway Church Resources)
A stand-alone series designed to help youth in grades 7–12 develop the skills necessary to evaluate the messages of today’s culture.
CPYU Web site