1. Babysitter’s Snub
What it is: Babysitting, once seen as a rite of passage for young girls, is on the decline in the US.
Why it’s happening: The Atlantic suggests two main reasons that fewer young people are racking up babysitting hours as their first independent source of income. First, the rise of what’s known as intensive parenting—a philosophy that micromanages kids’ time for maximum learning, education, and enrichment, leaving little kids and their would-be-sitters with precious little idle time left over. The second reason implicates society, in general, as Americans have grown more suspicious, more risk-averse, and less community-oriented, meaning parents might not know any teens they trust enough to ask to watch their kids during a night out.
Continue the conversation: What makes someone trustworthy?
2. Roe vs. Rates
What it is: In the first year since the Supreme Court ruled on Dobbs vs. Jackson, effectively overturning Roe vs. Wade, the total number of US abortions appears to have increased.
Why it’s getting even more complicated: In the wake of the Dobbs decision, some states were aggressive in their approach to making medication that induces abortions more readily available. Abortion via medication now makes up nearly two-thirds of abortions that take place in the US, and in many ways, those types of abortions account for the increases that took place last year. In some states, medications that end pregnancy are currently available through telehealth appointments. Next week, the Supreme Court will hear arguments that would restrict the availability of hormone-blocking drug mifepristone through the mail and require it to be administered in the presence of a physician. No matter how this landscape continues to change, for Christians, passing on the legacy of faith includes continuing the church’s tradition of caring for life in all its forms, including (but not limited to) the life of the unborn.
Continue the conversation: What can Christians do to make it easier for women to choose life for their babies?
3. Showing Off
What it is: YouTuber MrBeast has signed an expensive deal with Amazon Studios to host and produce a reality television show.
Why it’s an industry flashpoint: MrBeast is the most popular YouTuber of all time, but his production studio won’t make a profit this year. He’s often said that most of the money he makes from brand deals and YouTube ads is given away in philanthropic efforts or funneled into creating more content. The bidding war for his reality show deal marks a moment of “if you can’t beat him, join him” from industry execs who want to understand and cash in on MrBeast’s approach to making content that is loud, colorful, and addictive without ever being too controversial for the masses. The competition he plans to host will culminate in a $5 million prize, the largest ever awarded to a game show winner.
Continue the conversation: Why do you think MrBeast is so popular?
Resource of the Week
Many of the stereotypes and statistics about Gen Z would imply that they’re a generation wrestling with mental health issues, disenchanted with the world around them, and less interested in Christianity. But multiple global studies by Barna show that Gen Z has a positive view of Jesus and they want to know more about Him. In celebration of Easter (and in the lead-up to Holy Week), we’ve released our latest 7 Minute video. It’s all about how Gen Z relates to Jesus, the Gospel, and the hope, purpose, and meaning they can find in the joy of Easter.
The Importance of Becoming Interruptible
David Galvan is a director and trainer with Soul Shop, a faith-based initiative that equips faith leaders to minister to those that have been impacted by suicide. He has been speaking, training and facilitating conversations about whole-person health for nearly 15 years, and has personally spoken to over 30,000 students along the front range of Colorado and across the country. In our podcast conversation with Galvan this week, we talk about what it takes to create an environment where the rising generation feels safe to discuss mental health issues, as well as how embracing interruptions leads to some of the most powerful encounters, both with Jesus in the gospels, and at home with our own kids.
“Over 50% of the miracles in the Bible were interruptions,” Galvan points out. “The man being drawn down through the building—interruption. Jesus was like, ‘Uh, I’m doing something here!’ He’s on the road, and the woman with the issue of blood stops Him along the way. The Roman Centurion—all these miracles that happen, they’re interrupting [Jesus] where He was going. And I think how we translate this into parenting is that… when our child interrupts us, it’s almost a divine encounter if we look for it.”
If every minute of every day and night is scheduled out for maximum productivity, it’s going to be hard to have capacity for a seemingly random conversation that our kids might want to get started right before bedtime. Learning how to make more space for this, Galvan says, requires us to adopt the slow-going way of Jesus: “I think in our Westernized view, everything has to be faster, sooner, and quicker. But if we follow the methodology of what the Lord has laid out for us, it’s to go slower, to reflect more, and to pause more.”
We hope you’ll listen to the full interview, now available on our Culture Translator podcast. In the meantime, here are three questions to help spark conversations:
- How do you think our family handles interruptions?
- What’s the balance between creating a healthy routine and not becoming too rigid?