Yesterday, in my sermon, I mentioned my well-worn teenage study Bible that is held together by duct tape and has gone through rain storms, international travel, and reading and writing in it cover to cover several times. This is a glimpse:
Of course, I know that my real relationship is with God and with his word, but there is a very special place in my heart for this Bible. And to create that bond, it had to begin with me using it, wanting it, needing it, and not being afraid of it. Our youth learned lots of different things in Confirmation and both youth groups yesterday, but today, I'll be focusing my blog on how to encourage our youth to have a positive relationship with their Bibles.
#1: Which Bible should I have?
There are a LOT of English translations of the Bible, and often we think of some as "better" than others. I like to think of them as not so much "better" but what fits the purpose at hand.
Our third graders receive a Bible that is in the Common English Bible version. This version keeps a good grasp of the original languages while remaining on an elementary aged reading level, especially with regard to some more "adult" topics like sex and violence. Although we give this Bible to children, at the church I came from, many of our older adults purchased this Bible because they found it easier to manage for daily reading. It is gaining in popularity and many Bibles contain study guides and annotations. It is perfectly fine to use this Bible through 6th and 7th grade. If your teen is self-conscious of the cover, there are lots of covers you could get or a special case so that the cover can't be seen.
After 8th grade Confirmation, we present to our newly confirmed students an NRSV Student Study Bible. The NRSV is the version that is in the pews in worship and that is read from the pulpit. Generally speaking, it is considered by many scholars to be a very accurate translation from the original languages, but this offers two disadvantages: one, the reading level is 12th grade, and two, some passages are difficult to comprehend because the English is so clunky. We have this Bible in all of our Middle School and High School Sunday School classes. I would encourage you, that if you find there is a version you prefer at home for reading or if you have kids who have difficulties in reading, there is nothing wrong in using a more easily accessible translation at home or even bringing that to Sunday School. The Reformers who built the protestant and Presbyterian traditions held very dear the value that all people should have access to scripture in their own vernacular, and so we should today. Here's a CEB for teens:
Just two notes about translations and paraphrases:
1. There are a few very loose translations out there (i.e. The Message or The Good News Bible) that many of us would consider a paraphrase rather than a translation. These Bibles can be very helpful to understand the difficult concepts in the Bible, but they contain more interpretation on the part of the author than perhaps other translations and thus can be more skewed in perspective. I always encourage students to put the paraphrases next to a more direct translation, like the NRSV or the CEB in order to help them understand the differences and where the interpretational leaps are occurring.
2. A really great resource for comparing translations or to quickly look things up is Bible Gateway: www.biblegateway.com.
This is an easy way to compare translations and quickly look up Bible passages anywhere you are.
#2: How can I encourage daily reading?
The vast majority of our kids do not need one more item added to their to-do list, even if it is reading their Bibles. Their brains need some time to rest. Here are a couple of reading programs I think are helpful:
1. D365 Devotions
The great part about this is it pops up on your phone and it's a quick lesson that kids can relate to and do in about 5 minutes. It will help them to regularly engage in scripture each day or at least a few times per week.
2. Family challenges
Perhaps as a family you can set goals to explore particular books of the Bible together. Our Library and the Presbytery Resource Center have lots of books and materials to help make the Bible really accessible and understandable so that we can study it together as a family.
3. Lectionary
The lectionary includes the weekly texts from which preaching and teaching occur in our worship and Sunday Schools on Sunday mornings. There are usually 4 scriptures per week, and just committing to read those might be enough to get you started. This website also has a daily lectionary that gives you texts each day to look at.
4. If your teenager doesn't want to read their Bible, that's pretty normal. Although we'd like to believe our teenagers are just the perfectly alabaster children we raised, the reality is that part of their development is learning to question and challenge authorities in their life in order to learn what they believe and who they respect. If they are not asking these difficult questions, it seems likely that they aren't taking responsibility for their faith lives on their own.
#3: What if my teens have questions I can't answer?
When I was 14 I started really seriously reading my Bible, and I kept asking my parents questions about what is in the Bible. I can remember my mother looking at me like she would have rather I asked her where babies come from. She told me that she didn't have answers and to make a list to ask to a pastor when I got the chance. On the second day I visited Hiland Presbyterian Church, I presented the pastor and the youth director with a lengthy list of questions (including, where do Dinosaurs fit in? and why did Jesus have to die? and why is there violence in the Bible? Of course, they were taken off guard. They had some answers for my questions. They had some questions for my questions. And they had only one answer to some questions: that is a great mystery.
Pastor Dan, Pastor Jeannie, and I would be happy to take any and all questions, and we would welcome that conversation to be had with us. There are no questions too silly or too difficult, but I will admit that I do not have all the answers. Just yesterday, one student in Confirmation asked two questions for which I did not have an answer, and we discussed what the answer might be.
Again, asking questions is a good thing. So often, we are terrified that kids are going to leave the church forever or not find that love and peace that we have found in a congregation. And frankly, that might happen, and there's nothing you can do to stop it. But more often than not, if a kid is asking questions about Christianity it's because there's a genuine interest, a genuine aching of their heart, for answers, for connection, and for relationship. When they ask, even if they don't get an answer, they've engaged with the topic; if they are never allowed to ask, they never feel like they're a part of the process or like they have ownership of their own faith. More often, THAT sense of alienation and disconnect is what leads to people turning away from the church.
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Some other helpful items
Again, it's perfectly normal and healthy for teens to resist or distance themselves from scripture reading as a discipline. Our job as educators and parents is to help them have the tools so that when no one is looking, they can read a chapter of the Bible, or when their hearts cry out, they know where to turn. I am always available if you would like to ask questions, look over something in scripture, or explore something new and different. I don't claim to have all the answers, but I am very comfortable with all questions. Happy reading!
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