And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and with people (Luke 2:52).

We often turn to Luke 2:52 when we begin talking about holistic ministry and the importance of ministering to the whole person. It’s easy to imagine how Jesus grew physically, gained favor with people He encountered, and how God’s pride in a faithful Son increased year after year as Jesus grew into His mission.

However, we often overlook the phrase about wisdom. Jesus increased in wisdom? How could that be? Wasn’t He fully divine, filled with grace and truth? This is a challenging theological question. As the Word incarnate, Jesus certainly had special knowledge of Himself and God through the hypostatic union of His human and divine natures, which often is described as blessed and infused knowledge.

There’s a scholarly consensus that Jesus did indeed gain insights, knowledge, skills and wisdom throughout His natural human growth. We can observe this by reflecting on the changing terminology Luke used in referring to Jesus as a baby (v. 2:16), little child (v. 2:40), child (v. 2:43), and finally by His proper name in Luke 2:52. In His humanity, Jesus certainly acquired knowledge in the same manner all humans acquire knowledge through experience, study and reflection, which produce wisdom.

Christianity often is criticized for its anti-intellectual posture, and youth ministry has fallen into the same quandary, often relying on biblical proof-texts, blaming the culture for problems that really are issues of poor discipleship and trusting in strategies that reflect the consumerism of our culture rather than the community of Christ.

If our teaching is going to engage the whole counsel of God, painting a picture of God’s redemptive story, then we must understand the whole story of God and His people. Too often in youth ministry, substitutionary atonement is presented to teenagers in a manner that comes close to suggesting God is a cosmic child abuser. We can do better. If youth can engage organic chemistry and socio-political theories in high school, they deserve the opportunity to engage a variety of atonement theories in the church.

This generation of youth ministry is immersed in social justice issues, but I rarely hear anyone teaching about theodicy. Do we have an understanding of theodicy that is strong enough to comfort those who are suffering and wrestling with issues of suffering in the world? Is our social justice grounded in a theology of the human person, or is it simply based on the golden rule?

You’re probably thinking, “I just want kids to know and love Jesus!” That’s terrific. Me, too! However, what is our theology of discipleship? Why do we continue to allow discipleship to be optional in the spiritual formation process? When a person comes to faith as a convert, is he or she entering a life of discipleship? The gospel writers clearly indicate there is no difference between becoming a Christian and becoming a disciple of Christ, and Jesus establishes a very high commitment for His followers in John 6. Christian formation is very complex and requires significant study on our part to attain the wisdom necessary to minister to young people faithfully and effectively.

How is it that youth ministry and the church have become so consumed with consumerism? I’m not referring solely to advertising and marketing campaigns. I’m much more concerned with the way we treat young people as consumers and place ourselves in positions as distribution managers. Reflect on this for a moment by comparing the aspects of your ministry that simply ask students to take, accept or receive what you are giving to them compared to the aspects of your ministry that require students to contribute, create, question and wrestle with issues as they develop ownership of their faith. Is there a problem here that is worth studying in order to make wiser decisions in our ministries?

Some would suggest we have watered down the gospel in youth ministry. I don’t believe that’s true, because you can’t dumb down what you don’t know. I believe we have become so busy with the perceived tyranny of the urgent in doing ministry that we rarely take the time to ask why we’re doing this. It is only through asking why questions that we will lead ourselves to seek wisdom through rigorous formal and informal studies of various issues and topics concerning theology and ministry.

I will stop short of suggesting everyone needs to earn a graduate degree to be effective in youth ministry, but I do believe that if we are to be faithful to a holistic view of life and ministry that youth ministers need to engage in some formal study enhanced with some high-quality informal study. Take a course. Read some theology. Talk with well-educated people. Create an intentional plan of professional development that will serve you and those in your ministry well.

If Jesus Himself grew in wisdom, how can we expect anything less of ourselves?