During the month of February, REVOLUTION is in a series entitled “Chevy Love.” In this series we are taking an honest look at God’s plan for relationships, sexuality, and purity.
Being a youth pastor, I get asked quite a bit on my view of teenage dating. Parents will ask. Students will ask. Other youth leaders will ask.
By no means am I an expert on this topic. I speak from my past experiences, my mistakes, my successes, and the Word of God. My thoughts on this topic is a work in progress. It has evolved over time and will probably continue to evolve as a learn and experience more.
Wednesday night, I shared my view on teenage dating. Here’s what I shared…
I am not anti-dating. I have not fully bought into the “I Kissed Dating Goodbye” mentality. However, I believe that teenagers should not date until they are responsible and ready to begin to prepare for marriage. And the reality of life states that most of the time, people are not ready for that in middle school and high school.
I strongly encourage all teenagers to learn how to have healthy, balanced, and God-honoring friendships with the opposite sex more than dating. I say this with full confidence because I have lived this principle. My best relationship with the opposite sex was somebody I was best friends with for a year before we ever started dating.
And if we were being completely honest, the only difference between friendship and dating as a teenager is making out and changing your Facebook relationship status. BOTH YOU CAN LIVE WITHOUT.
However, if a teenager chooses to date, I always strongly encourage the need to have strong, firm, I-won’t-budge-these-for-anybody boundaries. Boundaries that honor God and maintain his/her commitment to keep God first and his/her purity in tact. Boundaries that the teenager communicates to the other person before he/she ever goes on a date. And the second those boundaries are crossed and not respected, the teenager ends that relationships. (Run, flee, sprint, etc – 1 Corinthians 6:18)
Above all, honor and follow God. Have a game plan that honors God and have the guts to stick to that game plan.
______________________
What’s your view on teenage dating? Are you a no dating person? Are you a boundaries in dating person? Are you a hybrid of the two person? Are you a whatever, have fun, go buck wild person?
2 comments:
I did a series last year about relationships called "Cinderella and Coldplay are Killing Your Love Life". It was awesome.
haha, thats awesome... I know a single youth pastor that did one last year called best sex ever... awkward...
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