quote:

ORIGINAL: dianetavegia

Gayle, There are two sides to this issue.

First, these young women who have chosen to keep their baby ARE a good example in that they did not silently have an abortion. They have taken responsibility for the life they have created. For that, we should salute them.

Speaking of the two celebrities, did you really think they were not sexually active? Just going by the way these young women dress and present themselves, I had my doubts.

Second, teens ARE having sex at an alarming rate but have been for many years. If they are not having abortions, it becomes more obvious.

The local high school in my town had 39 pregnant girls last spring. Our county has, at times, had the highest teen pregnancy rate in the U.S. per capita.

Are we doing enough? No. Can we tell kids to not have sex and expect that to be enough? No. Are we the greatest influence in our children's lives or are their friends more influential?

All we can do is raise them knowing what scripture says, educate them and pray!

For the record, our only daughter got pregnant outside of marriage TWICE. Once at 18 and once at 25.

quote:

ORIGINAL: zamdad

I don't know how we can see there is an increase in premarital sex. It seems like the OP is looking at headlines in the media and coming to the conclusion there must be more fornication. Fornication has been prevalent since the fall.

As to the question about holding each other accountable. When we, the church, are consuming more media than scripture, our minds are going to be shaped to look at life from a worldly perspective. Until we get into the word as individuals and build each other up to equip others to spend more time in the word, our shock and outrage is going to do nothing to fix anything.

quote:

ORIGINAL: gaylel1
I agree, however too, having sex at a young age sends a wrong message when there are other opportunities as finishing your education and even going on to college, because once you have that life, the baby's father may or may not have anything to do with the mother because he does not care.

Yes, having a baby takes responsblity, but at 17, 14, or even 12 years old, that is too too young when they can have an education and make something out of themselves and wait for that right man to come along--here's another thought--I don't think the church is watching out for our young sisters enough because the parents don't care neither because they are too too busy making a life instead of looking out for their daughters.

And that is where Proverbs 3:5 come into play here, because when you are a parent, you have that charge by God to have that responbility to teach their children and then in turn, the children will remember what their parents taught them.

quote:

ORIGINAL: LCannon

At the risk of gross simplification(always dangerous!) 'protection and education...what scripture says' while not 'walking the walk' in practical sense to the extent of modeling a walk of obedience and sacrifice as a lifestyle of character is one key. BTW, the unwed father has equal, perhaps even greater responsibility. Family dynamics are unknowable even in the best of them; that's part of the beauty of any family, their potential.

quote:

ORIGINAL: gaylel1

quote:

ORIGINAL: LCannon

At the risk of gross simplification(always dangerous!) 'protection and education...what scripture says' while not 'walking the walk' in practical sense to the extent of modeling a walk of obedience and sacrifice as a lifestyle of character is one key. BTW, the unwed father has equal, perhaps even greater responsibility. Family dynamics are unknowable even in the best of them; that's part of the beauty of any family, their potential.

Sure, but daughters are often negected because they are left to fend for themselves, yet they are ignored. Boys usually has guidance because they have fathers, something the daughters should have too. And believe it or not, some daughters did not have the genuine love of a father because he was not present in her life, but they subsitute meeting someone in place of a father. And I'm not saying many daughters do not have fathers that care about them, but it is not present in a daughter's life. And this is why a lot of these girls do get pregnant because apparently the family unit has broken down and it is not only in single parent familes.

quote:

ORIGINAL: gaylel1
Sure, but daughters are often negected because they are left to fend for themselves, yet they are ignored. Boys usually has guidance because they have fathers, something the daughters should have too. And believe it or not, some daughters did not have the genuine love of a father because he was not present in her life, but they subsitute meeting someone in place of a father. And I'm not saying many daughters do not have fathers that care about them, but it is not present in a daughter's life. And this is why a lot of these girls do get pregnant because apparently the family unit has broken down and it is not only in single parent familes.

quote:

ORIGINAL: cow451

quote:

ORIGINAL: gaylel1

quote:

ORIGINAL: LCannon

At the risk of gross simplification(always dangerous!) 'protection and education...what scripture says' while not 'walking the walk' in practical sense to the extent of modeling a walk of obedience and sacrifice as a lifestyle of character is one key. BTW, the unwed father has equal, perhaps even greater responsibility. Family dynamics are unknowable even in the best of them; that's part of the beauty of any family, their potential.

Sure, but daughters are often negected because they are left to fend for themselves, yet they are ignored. Boys usually has guidance because they have fathers, something the daughters should have too. And believe it or not, some daughters did not have the genuine love of a father because he was not present in her life, but they subsitute meeting someone in place of a father. And I'm not saying many daughters do not have fathers that care about them, but it is not present in a daughter's life. And this is why a lot of these girls do get pregnant because apparently the family unit has broken down and it is not only in single parent familes.

It's apparent this problem has not happened to anyone close to you. It's very easy to critique another family's "issues". Parents are prone to take (and be given) too much credit for their children's accomplishments and take (and be given) too much blame for their children's failures.

quote:

Sure, but daughters are often negected because they are left to fend for themselves, yet they are ignored. Boys usually has guidance because they have fathers, something the daughters should have too. And believe it or not, some daughters did not have the genuine love of a father because he was not present in her life, but they subsitute meeting someone in place of a father. And I'm not saying many daughters do not have fathers that care about them, but it is not present in a daughter's life. And this is why a lot of these girls do get pregnant because apparently the family unit has broken down and it is not only in single parent familes.

quote:

Gayle, I'm having a hard time following some of your train of thought here. You keep saying "the church" has an obligation, yet "the church" is comprised of men and women, boys and girls. "The church" needs to happen in the daily lives of these men, women and children within the family. Even then, there is no guarantee that our kids will make the right decisions, avoid the snares the world places before them.

quote:

A trend I have noticed during my brief lifetime is how females are changing. They are becoming more sexually agressive. I have seen this in the clients I worked with as a probation officer, I see it all too frequently as a police officer, and as the father of a 16 year old son I see girls sending photo's of themselves in provactive poses and throwing themselves at him. Many of these girls come from "respectable" families in the community. I have to ask, however, where is there influence coming from? From the family or their friends and the media?

quote:

As a dad, I speak with many parents in our area. Almost all of the parents I speak to say they know their children very well. yet, most of these parents don't know who their kids friends are. Most don't know what their kids have on the social networking accounts. Most parents are so busy trying to earn a living that their kids get second best, what's left over of them after they've earned a paycheck. And, as a parent I understand the struggle all too well.

quote:

However, among the body of believers, mentorship should be encouraged. That means the older women should teach the younger women as it says in Titus, and the men should be teaching and mentoring the young men.

quote:

I believe both because young women turn to media sources such as MTV and other networks and peers because apperently the parents just don't care anymore what their children are doing. All parents care about is themselves and not concerned about what their minor children are doing. God gave parents responsibilities, but unfortnatly, there is no such thing as responsible parenting these days.

quote:

Quite a few of the folks I've gone to church with-especially the "don't tell them and they won't do it" crowd- can't say the same.