Lisa told me that she is planning a class on human sexuality for youth and their parents to be held in the spring. I think this is an awesome idea. Among the many reasons for my sense of relief - I have long said the church needs to do more rather than less of this - is that I know it will not be anything like an experience I had as a too-young, too-inexperienced youth leader 20 years ago.
I took a youth group I was failing to lead to a concert by the Christian rock band Petra (they sound like Journey for Jesus, so it was a pretty agonizing musical experience for me), and in between sets, a man came out and talked to the mostly high-school-age audience. It was horrifying. Had I been fifteen or sixteen, it would have made sex the most frightening, dangerous experience, to be avoided at all costs.
The man's name was Josh McDowell.
One thing Lisa said that made me smile, and think of my experience hearing McDowell speak, is that we need to teach kids that abstinence should be about understanding sex is something, not dangerous or horrible, but beautiful and wonderful, to be cherished and protected until being with someone that way has some meaning. McDowell's entire spiel was a simple equation of sex and disease/death.
My question is a simple one - does anyone have experience of a positive approach to discussing human sexuality in a church setting?
