The Journal of Biblical Counseling is a gift from the Lord to his church. The new journal is up online. A new article by Paul Tripp is entitled What to Say to a Teenager in Crisis.
His points include:
1. Communication is possible.
2. Your teen’s “trouble” is your opportunity.
3. Your words are shaped by your heart.
What to do?
1. Do not personalize what is not personal.
Don’t turn a moment of ministry into a moment of anger.
2. Start with your heart.
Your teenage is not the only sinner in your home.
3. Speak wise words.
a. calm
b. keep the conversation going.
c. keep Jesus and the gospel central
4. Take the time it takes.
Don’t try and squeeze a one hundred dollar conversation into a ten cent moment.
5. Learn to handle the times you fail.
There is a lot more in the article. Read the whole thing. Better yet, print down the whole thing and pass it around your church.
