For what it's worth...

If you asked me which topic I've learned the most about during my 25 years on earth my answer would have to be "the dilemma of teenhood."

Youth Pastor stud Dustin Hughes explained today in our conversation that teens are in a right of passage of becoming an adult. He also said this passage is growing ever more foggy in an era of consumerism and post modernism.

I agree with Dustin. I also observed that for all the beef young peeps throw at you, the defiance, the insanity, the apathy, they are truly desperate. My advice to myself and others like me is to advance into their lives.

Teens need proximity.

Give them expectations. Give them boundaries. Be consistent, firm, and forgiving. But by all means, don't give them space.