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Growing up during the past few years, I've found a very different perspective on Christianity than the one I had when I was a child. I've learned new things about the world, new things about my friends, and new things about God. When I studied the Bible and looked at my Faith, I began to move my attention from the common controversial topics like Evolution and Homosexuality and took a much deeper look at Love, Life, and everything God wants from me. Lately, I've also taken to looking at the way my friends and I are maturing, and the way we think of the faith in which we've grown up. There are a number of different issues that Christian teens think about, and a number of helpful and harmful aspects of Church and Youth Groups that Youth Pastors/Ministers often don't understand.

Basic Faith and Open-Mindedness:

I remember a while ago I was at a friends house eating lunch, and we began discussing aliens. That is, life outside of Earth, not the illegal kind. My friends began to suggest compatibilities between theories on life outside of Earth and the Bible. By the end of the discussion, one of my friends jokingly remarked, "Wow. Poor Jesus. How many times did he have to die"?

One part of us was joking around. The other part really wanted to know what everyone else thought about the issue.

It's this sort of conversation that Christian teens are using to think about theology, at least on the rare occasions that they do feel like talking about theology. Inside a Church building or a Bible/Youth class, you will find a quiet group of people that answer the "right" questions each time. What kids say in most Church buildings is rarely an indication of what they think. Because of this, many Youth events or classes I've attended have avoided any potential for open-minded thinking. That's completely fine. There is nothing wrong with simple, absolute truths. However, there is questions inside of a teenage mind that are always brewing, and they are often unable to find the answers to these questions.

Even separation into small, youth-lead groups within the Church doesn't fix this problem, thanks to the (often true) stereotypes about the Church that open discussion is wrong and that they will be punished for speaking openly about touchy subjects. Because of this, teens are left with a gaping void in their lives where they once had a desire to talk about Christianity from unique perspectives.

Bible Class/Youth Groups:

I currently consider myself to be a member of two different Youth

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