Sometimes, as a youth pastor, I feel like a broken record, or that I’m beating a dead horse, or whatever cliché you’d like to use. This is one of those times. If I could have the attention of every Christian parent in America for 10 seconds, the one message I’d want to convey in those 10 seconds is: “Get a Facebook account and befriend your teen so you know what they’re doing online!” Many teens have me as their friend on Facebook, yet not their parents. I think many of those teens forget that I am their friend on Facebook, as some of the things they post I doubt they really want their youth pastor to see. I have been recently discouraged by some of the musical artists, video clips, pictures, or all-around comments of teenagers who have grown up in a church environment and know better.
The first, and most effective way of guiding a teenager through the online world is for their parents to be plugged in and courageous enough to parent in the world of cyberspace. They can always “drop” their youth pastor from their friend list if the youth pastor calls them on the carpet for bad online behavior. They can’t drop their parents, if their parents make their “Facebook Friendship” a requirement for their teen to have a Facebook account.
The world has become so much smaller than it was in the 80’s and 90’s, when the parents of this teenage generation were teenagers. There are some remarkable benefits to this. I have friends on my Facebook from not only every corner of the United States, but also from foreign countries such as Haiti, India, Nicaragua, and Jamaica. But with these benefits comes the potential for an unending stream of negative influences, dangers, and bad decisions. This isn’t necessarily a Biblical message; it is a message of common sense. If we are to take Christ’s command to raise our children to love God with all of our hearts, mind, soul, and strength, we must use common sense and stay plugged in to what our teens are doing online, and with whom. Be strong and hold your ground when it appears your child is making a bad decision online. They may not like it, but you may save them from a decision that could have life-long consequences. In order to do this, we must take the first step and join the online community.
-Pastor Adam
