Teens and Sex. . . .

Yesterday I drove down to Manayunk (part of Philly, along the river) to visit the offices of Harvest USA and to sit in on a test run of a new youth worker seminar they're putting together. Manayunk. . . it's trendy now. It wasn't that way when I was a kid living in the Philly suburbs. Back then, Manayunk was to be avoided. I guess things can be revitalized, changed, turned around, and made new. Hopefully, we'll be able to see that happen when it comes to individuals, their sexuality, and our culture's basic assumptions about sex. . . things that have gone in a direction different from Manayunk ever since I was a kid.

Something Nicholas Black said in yesterday's seminar has really stuck with me. Nicholas said that when we were kids (he's about my age), we were interested in and wanted to have sex. Not surprising, since God gifted us with our sexuality, sexual desires, and sex. The difference, he said, was that sex was typically pursued within the context of a relationship. Sure, sex outside of marriage was immoral, but there was at least a relational connect. Not so in today's world. One of the issues addressed yesterday was the casual nature of sex in today's world. . . friends with benefits, hooking up, etc. One youth worker in the room talked about sex parties that 7th grade kids were attending. Another talked about parties where kids would watch movies, then pair up to do whatever was just done on film. These are the times.

This morning, I happened to watch a little video clip from Jason Soucinek, an associate staffer here at CPYU. It's a good reminder of how things that are not the way they are supposed to be, are supposed to be. Thanks Jason!