Young People are not what they were!!! The press loves to make that kind of statement when they report yet another example of unruly behaviour.
Two thoughts arise. Unruly behaviour by adults rarely gets reported and not all young people behave in unruly ways. But I wonder if such reporting gives rise to the perception that young people are generally out of control and always behave badly at school or in public. A group of young people together ‘having fun’ can appear quite daunting, but it’s often quite harmless if a little more noisy than most adult gatherings.
More seriously, I think it has given rise to the impression that young people are a threat to our churches — they don’t quite fit the mould and need to be kept in a sealed box labelled ‘youth group’.
