From Youth Ministry Matters:
“We go to see our kids play football or soccer. We listen to their band or choir concerts. We attend high school musicals. And we praise them for how well they performed, for how talented they are, for how hard they worked. And at youth group…we thank and praise and shine the spotlight on the kids that sing well, play instruments, speak well in public, have “amazing testimonies,” etc., ect. What values are we reinforcing when we do this? But when we hold our words of praise and recognition only for when they accomplish something, when they do something well, when they perform…what are we teaching them? We may be emphasizing a false sense of self-worth based only in performance … “
Read the whole blog entry here.
