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Hats Off wrote:In our group girls tend to seek baptism and church fellowship one to three years earlier than the boys. The boys seem to want more time to "blow coal" and other practices that are unacceptable for members.

Back in my teen years it was 'lay rubber'. I remember when my dad bought an oldsmobile with a 394 motor and after letting us off in front of the church, to the shock of the young guys hanging out in front of the church, he 'let er rip' and 'laid a strip' causing my mom to moan with embarrassment. We thought dad was pretty 'cool' or should I say pretty 'hip' back in those days. Not too sure the older saints thought that way.

oooooo - maybe a tongue lashing in private later!

I had never heard the term "blow coal" before. Tendencies are the same regardless of the times. Our youth mostly drive 4 cylinder, 4 doors but they still like to step on it as hard as they can when starting off where they will be heard.

Hats Off wrote:oooooo - maybe a tongue lashing in private later!

I had never heard the term "blow coal" before. Tendencies are the same regardless of the times. Our youth mostly drive 4 cylinder, 4 doors but they still like to step on it as hard as they can when starting off where they will be heard.

When did you join the M/W Conf?

Sudsy wrote: Curious - is there a different age range for women to become members ?

Hats Off already kind of answered this question, but I will give you my take.

The "cool" thing for girls in my denomination is to start wearing a covering at 14-15. No girl wants to wear her long braids down after that age. Several girls around my age have already told me in confidence that they were not a Christian when they were baptized. Granted it's not a huge number, but a large enough number to give me concern. The excuse they gave me was that all their friends were doing it and they did not want to be the one "left out".

Now for guys it's just the opposite. No one wants to be the first guy in the there group to go "goodie goodie". They try to extend it out for a little while longer (a year or two longer) to get there "fun/sin" in a little more. I will admit I did this growing up in a Nonconservative church, and regret it.

To sum this up, I think it is fairly universal among all church denominations.

YorkandAdams wrote:Hats Off already kind of answered this question, but I will give you my take.

The "cool" thing for girls in my denomination is to start wearing a covering at 14-15. No girl wants to wear her long braids down after that age. Several girls around my age have already told me in confidence that they were not a Christian when they were baptized. Granted it's not a huge number, but a large enough number to give me concern. The excuse they gave me was that all their friends were doing it and they did not want to be the one "left out".

Now for guys it's just the opposite. No one wants to be the first guy in the there group to go "goodie goodie". They try to extend it out for a little while longer (a year or two longer) to get there "fun/sin" in a little more. I will admit I did this growing up in a Nonconservative church, and regret it.

To sum this up, I think it is fairly universal among all church denominations.

And indeed such differences in male and female adolescent behaviour are universal amongst all cultures and religions.

I have to admit, thinking about some of the younger people in my church who may have made a false profession of faith and received baptism sometimes keeps me up at night. I'm not sure what to do other than pray for them to experience strong conviction.

lesterb wrote:

Hats Off wrote:oooooo - maybe a tongue lashing in private later!

I had never heard the term "blow coal" before. Tendencies are the same regardless of the times. Our youth mostly drive 4 cylinder, 4 doors but they still like to step on it as hard as they can when starting off where they will be heard.

When did you join the M/W Conf?

1971 - a year after marriage. And when I say "our youth" I refer to this congregation. Down south we see many big fancy pickup trucks with large wheels.

Hats Off wrote:oooooo - maybe a tongue lashing in private later!

I had never heard the term "blow coal" before. Tendencies are the same regardless of the times. Our youth mostly drive 4 cylinder, 4 doors but they still like to step on it as hard as they can when starting off where they will be heard.

Teen boys are teen boys everywhere. We liken it to the peacock showing his feathers and strutting to attract the attention of females.

Josh wrote: I have to admit, thinking about some of the younger people in my church who may have made a false profession of faith and received baptism sometimes keeps me up at night. I'm not sure what to do other than pray for them to experience strong conviction.

I actually bought this up to one of the ministry out of concern. He too knew that this was happening. The reality is that there is no way to truly break this trend. The best way to deal with this is to provide the resources and education for each individual to understand the importance of a personal relationship with God.

Each person in my class was asked for their testimony several times, and I felt that all were genuine. Granted the answers were generic for young teens, but they all seemed legitimate.

One thing a minister told me is that it is not uncommon for their young members to shape up once their married/when they are expecting their first child. There is something about being responsible for another life that makes one reconsider their own. I know several of the men in my church rededicated their life to Christ after their first child. While this is not the ideal situation for young people to get serious about Christ, it does seem effective.