There is a scene of incredible tension in the film Jaws. Three characters wait on a small fishing boat, knowing that the shark is out there. The sea is still, nothing moves. But the attack is inevitable. Very quietly the familiar music starts. 'Da-dum, da-dum, da-dum.' As the camera pans around an empty, glittering sea a dark triangle becomes visible in the distance. With gathering speed it approaches the boat. The attack becomes not just inevitable but imminent.
Does that music play in your head as you anticipate the youth group session? It plays quietly at first but louder and louder as the inevitability of your teenage 'sharks' becomes imminent. As the youth group begins, these human sharks roll their eyes and show the whites as you suggest starting with a prayer. When you bring the Bibles out they show their teeth - row upon row of shiny, white serrations. Vicious smiles from the same mouths that suggest this is boring; or start talking to their neighbour whenever you are talking. The same mouths that growl with difficult questions or flippant comments under the breath.
We can too easily see teenagers as the enemy. They need to be pacified in the youth group. They need a firm hand and very strict boundaries. The teenage years are viewed as a struggle or even a war. Many of us want to keep our heads down and pray for survival - 'roll on university, let's try to ride out the storm'.
