I am working on a doctorate in Education, emphasizing in the area of Youth Development. My passion for working with youth and their families ultimately led me to pursue two graduate degrees within this field, but as a Christian I have always felt a tension between the philosophy which largely guides the my field and the truth taught in the Bible about the state of the human condition and the process by which are people changed.Within the story of the tragic events that led to the death of Derrion Albert, a 16 year old from Chicago, you can find an example of the dangerous and deadly lie that guides the field of Youth Development (or Youth Work, as I prefer to call it ... and there are big differences between the two terms). Here is a quote from a youth worker reflecting on the murder of Derrion:
"Misguided youth need leadership in their life. This is learned behavior," said Tio Hardiman of CeaseFire Illinois, an anti-violence group. "You can put all the police in the world in the city, but that's not enough," he said. CeaseFire intervenes in conflicts and negotiates treaties between rival groups, he said, and is working to prevent a violent reaction to Albert's slaying. Dwayne Overstreet, a minister, went to Fenger to pray for peace. "It's not that these young people don't understand the value of life," he said. "They haven't been taught the value of life."
Most people would probably agree with this quote and it's common to hear such things after teens are caught participating in criminal activities that cause us to wonder "what's wrong with youth today." Depending on which area within the field of Youth Development a particular advocate or youth worker is situated (i.e., mentoring, youth services, prevention education, character education, etc.), you'll hear a different prescription for what youth need in order to change and become productive citizens - but nearly all of the prescriptions point toward education as the means of creating change.
What's interesting to note here is that history of the field of Youth Development (well, actually Youth Work. Again, it's difficult to not use the language of 'Youth Development' or 'Positive Youth Development,' because the field of Youth Work has been so hijacked, in my opinion, by the fields of Psychology and Social Work in United States. For a more detailed explanation of the differences between Youth Development and Youth Work, click here) is largely rooted within the Christian Church and Christian sponsored organizations (i.e., YMCA, YWCA, Boys' Brigade, Sunday School Movement, etc.) which, by design, emphasized community-building and informal education, along with Biblical instruction, as a means to come alongside young people. That was the means of communicating, relating, and interacting with youth, but not the means of change, which the Bible teaches is the work of the Holy Spirit.
Today, with the exception of the church itself, we have eliminated God from most of our work with youth, and instead rely on education to create change. We use things like the Six Pillars of Character and the 40 Developmental Assets as a means of helping youth and educating them about what we (adults, society) believe that they need in order to be complete individuals and healthy adults. But if you're a Christian, you see what a deadly lie this is. You know that it's impossible for any man-made method to change the heart of anyone and that without Christ we are all dead in our trespasses (see Ephesians 2:1-9). I don't argue with the means, there's nothing wrong with mentoring, etc., to the contrary these efforts can be very helpful; but what I have to argue against, as a Christian, is the end point toward which we are aiming. Most are aiming at educating for the purpose of teaching youth how to behave (or in my opinion, how to live according to the rules of the world), but this is the path toward death, or more accurately, it is the path away from life.
I don't know the heart of the young men who allegedly murdered Derrion Albert, but I do know that it won't help any of us to be "taught the value of life" if we're dead. And it won't help to have a mentor, coach, teacher, social worker, or youth worker come alongside a young person if that "helper" doesn't know Jesus as their Savior and can't communicate the gospel, both through words and actions. Would you take a young person with a life-threatening gun shot wound bowling or out to a park to shoot hoops? Of course not, they need medical attention, without which they are moving fast toward death. But that's what we're doing in the field of Youth Development in this country. We're committing a vast amount of resources to the effort to teach our youth that "character counts, " helping connect them with mentors, and educating them about what it means to live a good life on Earth; and all the while our youth are dead in the trespasses and moving fast toward an eternity separated from their Creator.
As the t-shirts that Derrion's relatives wore at his funeral proclaim, indeed he is "Gone too soon, too young." All the more reason for having a greater sense of urgency of reaching out to people of all ages with the truth of the gospel. Please pray for Derrion, his family, his classmates, and that somehow this situation would glorify God.
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