Is LifeTeen supposed to be about Catholicism or relationship advice?

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Estevao

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I’m a convert, so I never grew up in the LifeTeen crowd, but it seems to me that LifeTeen is basically about giving relationship advice to teens and young adults who are laden with hormones, and that Catholicism takes a backseat.

Much of the advice seems to be geared toward women, with that “Jesus is your cosmic boyfriend” theology written all over the pieces I read on the website via facebook linking from Catholic friends. One example:
lifeteen.com/blog/lonely-no-more/

A choice quote: “You’re waiting for a knight in shining armor to ask you to the dance, while a man died 2,000 years ago slaying the real dragon for you.”

Now relationship advice is fine and all, but when it puts the devout life into the backseat for relationship success or what have you, I get very upset that this gets passed off as okay for Catholic youth. I would say that LifeTeen is probably just one step below liturgical abuse and poor catechesis in the list of problems we’ve had in the last 60 years or so in the faith life of the Church.

What do you think of this apostolate (or whatever it is)? I have a very negative opinion of it, and I could go on but I would like to have a discussion about it.
 
Estevao said:
I’m a convert, so I never grew up in the LifeTeen crowd, but it seems to me that LifeTeen is basically about giving relationship advice to teens and young adults who are laden with hormones, and that Catholicism takes a backseat.

Much of the advice seems to be geared toward women, with that “Jesus is your cosmic boyfriend” theology written all over the pieces I read on the website via facebook linking from Catholic friends. One example:
lifeteen.com/blog/lonely-no-more/

A choice quote: “You’re waiting for a knight in shining armor to ask you to the dance, while a man died 2,000 years ago slaying the real dragon for you.”

Now relationship advice is fine and all, but when it puts the devout life into the backseat for relationship success or what have you, I get very upset that this gets passed off as okay for Catholic youth. I would say that LifeTeen is probably just one step below liturgical abuse and poor catechesis in the list of problems we’ve had in the last 60 years or so in the faith life of the Church.

What do you think of this apostolate (or whatever it is)? I have a very negative opinion of it, and I could go on but I would like to have a discussion about it.
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I think relationship advice or relations to teens is appropriate in a Catholic youth group. You need to come to teens in the world they live in. BUT that being said, my dislike of lifeteen goes way beyond that. I think it is soft. I think it is what happens when grown ups try to “be hip” and try to talk to teens on their level. I think it is demeaning to kids to expect them to learn history and science in school, to learn something as complicated and dry as algebra, but then not give them the common courtesy and respect to think they can learn about their own Creator without games and snacks. And I think that the model of life teen has been played out. These are the same criticisms I have with “Youcat”

I went to life teen as a kid, and used life teen for part of the time I was a youth minister. Never again.
 
Personally, I don’t much care for LifeTeen. I’ve been to one LifeTeen Mass and it used Evangelical praise and worship music, which especially given the differences in theology, I find very inappropriate for Mass. That said, LifeTeen discussions come up from time to time on here and can get heated. Some claim that LifeTeen had a positive influence on them, their children, led to vocations, etc. We have a crisis among the young abandoning their faith. While most of this has to do with the breakdown of the domestic church (the family), some people say LifeTeen’s methods can help to put the Church’s teaching in language that is understandable for teens. So, while I personally don’t much care for the group, I think the jury is still out on it. In any event, I believe that you are correct in that certain reforms are needed.

JMR
 
OK. From a person who ACTUALLY uses the LifeTeen curriculum Let me explain a few points:

You cannot judge the entire curriculum of LifeTeen from a blog.
Not can you judge or gauge the teaching from attending one Mass.

LifeTeen is an approved curriculum for the United States that is also used around the world. It is heavy on Eucharistic teaching.
There are elements of social justice, morality, and Biblical studies, among other topics covered. Literally, if there is an issue your kids are having, they’ve got several lesson plans.
The lessons plans are VERY comprehensive. They come with the pertinent Scripture verses and Catechism references so that you don’t have a teacher shooting from the hip or taking verses out of context.
There is more than enough to discuss. If something is not going to be effective for your group, or size of group, select another tack.
The LifeTeen leadership and catechists around the world make a holy hour for all of the pre-teens and teens every Thursday. Prayer is central to the method of catechesis. Mass attendance and participation is a huge part of it. Not all parishes have “teen” Masses. Ours doesn’t, we don’t feel it necessary. The Mass is the Mass. Some parishes with huge teen populations will indeed have a teen Mass.
Theology of the Body is part of the lesson choices that you have. We did it this year. It’s necessary to pre-empt the secular view of sexuality and what is permissible and what is not. We tell the parents in advance that we are going to cover chastity and respect and they are generally thrilled that we’re going to do it (they don’t want to cover it for the most part.) We have never had a parent keep their teen out of that session.
We’re not soft on any level. We just give the facts. What the Church REALLY says about this or that. We had many teens this past semester not at all happy about what the Church says about same sex attraction. They have already been indoctrinated by their peers and the media that gay marriage is OK, and that gay adoption is a noble thing.
We teach love for people with same sex attraction, but we also told them the truth about the Church teachings.
We use a regular Catholic Bible…not youcat. Our pastor is a Scripture scholar, and he believes that a regular Catholic Bible is all you need. No “special” adaptations for anyone, young or old.

We have built our Teen program from 7 kids to 95 in 3 years using LifeTeen. And we do have some loud music as they arrive so that they can visit with one another, but then the music gets turned off, and a lot of times it’s retro music that applies to the ice-breaker or the theme of the night. We hardly use praise and worship music. At Christmas we use carols, in advent, O Come O Come Emmanuel.

I suggest reading
10 ways to get more out of Mass, which I will post next:
 
Ten Ways to get more out of Mass
Get the lay of the liturgical land
In other words, get to know your parish, you church home. Stop by on a different day of the week and just look around. Take it all in. Pause at the font to give thanks for your Baptism, Check out the candle burning by the Tabernacle, and kneel in God’s presence. The more “intentionally” you see the environment, the more engaged you will be at Mass.

Be sure to read ahead
Check out the readings in advance of the Sunday liturgy. www.usccb.org has the daily readings. Spend time on the footnotes. There are podcasts at Biblegeek.com It can take away the pressure of the moment, trying to hear the reading if a child near you is crying.
Pack Your Bags
Lots of people say they don’t get anything out of Mass. But they don’t necessarily BRING anything either? Lay your thanks, your troubles, your problems, your desires, at the altar when they bring up those gifts of bread and wine. The Lord is offering up His very life for you. What are you willing to offer up to him so that you might follow Him more perfectly?
Get wet.
Don’t just reactively reach for the Holy Water in the font. Make that gesture intentional. As you reach, remember the transformative power of the Sacraments. Thank God for your Baptism, and the privilege of being His son or daughter.
Sit up.
As in, “sit up closer”. The closer you get to the sanctuary, the better view you’ll have of heaven visiting earth by the power of the Holy Spirit. Change where you sit from week to week, so you can get to know some new people.

Strike a chord with God.
Don’t take the term “refrain” literally. SING! Music doesn’t incline the ear to God; it directs the soul back to Him. If you can sing, or play an instrument and have not volunteered to be in the choir or music ministry, do it! Even if you’re not so great at singing, when we sing, we pray twice!
Go through with your HEART transplant
Are you really putting your heart up there on the altar with the gifts of bread and wine? Are you really giving God permission to have His way with your life? Are you entrusting Him with your health, your finances, your studies, your relationships? Are you Christ in the Garden on your knees praying that God’s will be done, or are you one of the Apostles that fell asleep?
Say it like you mean it.
Extend your hand in the sign of peace as though it’s your last chance to right a wrong. Offer genuine peace and forgiveness to others around you. This is a great warm-up for heaven! This is for the kids who talked back to their parents that morning, or the night before. This sign of peace isn’t just a thing we do and get it over with. It’s a chance for others to hold US to a higher standard. It demonstrates humility. God actively working in you.
Relish the silence.
You know when it happens. Silence, properly understood, is not our gift to the Father, but His gift to US. It’s those moments that we draw near to the Savior, like St. John did at the last supper.
Go forth with a purpose.
Do you leave Mass with a mission? Before you exit that pew, have a goal and a plan for the week. What do you need to work on personally? Who are you going to help? The question is not whether you have been empowered at Mass, but whether you comprehend the power that exists within you—and what you plan to do about it.

Typical LifeTeen handout.
I like it. The kids loved it.
 
I think I’ve only encountered the LifeTeen Mass at one of our local parishes, and the distinction I’ve seen is that they have actual musicians that know how to play their instruments. So at least in our area, it’s literally the best contemporary music I’ve ever heard.

I find it a nice break from the now traditional squeaky flute and poorly rehearsed guitar folk ensemble. Although honestly, we don’t have a lot of that in these parts, but it was absolutely an epidemic when we lived in the DC metro area. For whatever reason, the locals seem much more serious about their music.
 
Lifeteen is much, much more than this. The teaching points provided in the LifeTeen curriculum are intelligent, engaging, inviting to youth and 100% in line with Catholic teaching.
 
I have no knowledge of the Lifeteen program. My kids are too young to participate. I just want to say that all the teen masses I’ve gone to make me absolutely irritable, and I’m not that old! In our house, we call them the God is Awesome masses. They are the last chance mass of the weekend, for us, 7pm on Sunday. The music ministers are usually a “band” with heavy base, drums, and pop style singers. I agree that many of them are quality musicians, not necessarily LITURGICAL musicians. What I disagree with is the performance style of the music and the fact that they are non-inclusive. You can only sing along if you go to that mass every week and learn their repertoire. When they do traditional hymns, they change the music and rhythms. If feels like a trap. They are usually “audition only” groups and only let people in who fit their style. Most of the people who seem really into it are the over 50 crowd who start swaying, arms lifted, and it makes me feel uncomfortable. I agree with a previous poster that the music itself is pretty lame. Other than the occasional revamped traditional hymn, the lyrics of the contemporary stuff are just boring. One song, literally every verse was “God is awesome.” Over and over and over. He is awesome but it feels like the musical equivalent of Sesame Street. We avoid these masses whenever possible.
 
I just looked at the YOUCAT website. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI wrote the forward for its package. The group is probably pretty well vetted.

Don’t know anything at all about LifeTeen aside from this thread. Never even heard of it.
 
Lousy liturgy notwithstanding, I think LifeTeen does a lot of good for teenagers. Yes, it gives relationship advice. What, was somebody expecting Catholic teens to castrate themselves? Anything that is not an intrinsic evil can be baptized in one way or another.

Sometimes, I think criticism of youth ministry programs comes out of envy rather than actual problems with the programs themselves. I only have indirect contact with those involved with LifeTeen. Face it, no ministry is going to be perfect. but from what I have seen on LifeTeen’s website, they do try to answer the hard questions and encourage young people to grow in their faith.
 
GregorysArmy said:
I have no knowledge of the Lifeteen program. My kids are too young to participate. I just want to say that all the teen masses I’ve gone to make me absolutely irritable, and I’m not that old! In our house, we call them the God is Awesome masses. They are the last chance mass of the weekend, for us, 7pm on Sunday. The music ministers are usually a “band” with heavy base, drums, and pop style singers. I agree that many of them are quality musicians, not necessarily LITURGICAL musicians. What I disagree with is the performance style of the music and the fact that they are non-inclusive. You can only sing along if you go to that mass every week and learn their repertoire. When they do traditional hymns, they change the music and rhythms. If feels like a trap. They are usually “audition only” groups and only let people in who fit their style. Most of the people who seem really into it are the over 50 crowd who start swaying, arms lifted, and it makes me feel uncomfortable. I agree with a previous poster that the music itself is pretty lame. Other than the occasional revamped traditional hymn, the lyrics of the contemporary stuff are just boring. One song, literally every verse was “God is awesome.” Over and over and over. He is awesome but it feels like the musical equivalent of Sesame Street. We avoid these masses whenever possible.
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Again, the Music Director is most likely not at all affiliated with LifeTeen.
People think Youth ministry is about loud questionable music and pizza.
it’s not.

ALSO, many parishes “call” their programs LifeTeen, (which is a curriculum) and have absolutely no connection to it.
Having a “Youth Mass” has absolutely no correlation to LifeTeen.
 
pianistclare said:
Again, the Music Director is most likely not at all affiliated with LifeTeen.
People think Youth ministry is about loud questionable music and pizza.
it’s not.

ALSO, many parishes “call” their programs LifeTeen, (which is a curriculum) and have absolutely no connection to it.
Having a “Youth Mass” has absolutely no correlation to LifeTeen.
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Again, the Music Director is most likely not at all affiliated with LifeTeen.
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That is true, But many parishes that run one have the “music ministry” to go along with it. In our old parish the Music Group was indeed teens in the life teen program using life teen music. There is a music component to lifeteen.
People think Youth ministry is about loud questionable music and pizza.
it’s not.
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Again, true. Very true. But why is it people have those opinions. It is because in many parishes this is true as well. That the youth ministry program is “flat” and out of touch and light. I have seen lifeteen parishes that have a great youth program and ones that have horrible ones.
ALSO, many parishes “call” their programs LifeTeen, (which is a curriculum) and have absolutely no connection to it.
Having a “Youth Mass” has absolutely no correlation to LifeTeen
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I have to disagree with you for the most part on this one. A huge percentage of parishes that have a “youth mass”(I will get into my annoyance with this idea of having a Mass for a seven year age group later…) run the lifeteen program. It is more than just a curriculum but you can just pick and choose from it if you wish. Lifeteen offers a skeleton outline of each and every night. It also uses the “small group” format which I will get to later as well.

I wish to continue this discussion with you throughout the week. I want to touch upon some other things you posted in this thread. But I need the time to respond which I do not have today. To be clear: I am not a fan of or proponent of life teen, I think it has played out and is stale. But it is the ONLY real option for many parishes. Which I think is some of it’s problems. I think we should be careful not to have our support for a curriculum and a type of ministry blind us to the criticisms that may be valid about it. While some are indeed blessed to have vibrant and faith filled youth programs, others, many others are not. And I think it is foolish to discount these criticisms just because it may not be something we see or run in our own youth programs. Life teen is the Walmart of youth ministry, it is made to fit every parish (which is a mistake) and it is the only player in some areas. There is a bucket of money to be made in the youth ministry area by coming up with a different and fresh format. Mark Heart tried it, he failed, DTS tried it and also failed. But there is a better product to be had for sure.
 
We tried LifeTeen for two years. It didn’t work well. It was our only Confirmation prep classes and it seemed to be very weak. Might have just been the lessons we picked. We only had about ten classes a year. I believe our biggest problem was the fact our group was just too large. 140-160 kids at a time. Enrollment is down significantly. Now we are switching curriculums. Hopefully it will get better.
The “LifeTeen” Masses were awful. The kids wouldn’t participate at all. It was painful to attend.
 
on_the_hill said:
I just looked at the YOUCAT website. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI wrote the forward for its package. The group is probably pretty well vetted.

Don’t know anything at all about LifeTeen aside from this thread. Never even heard of it.
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Really!? Lucky you! 😃
Bullet points:
1 Life teen was hugely popular in the 1990s as a youth format
2) It became the go to source for youth ministry, it still is.
3) The founder of lifeteen was a priest involved in abuse. (this is often used as a detraction to lifeteen and I don’t think too much should be made out of it BUT it did happen and it should be considered.)
4) Lifeteen, like other ministries, has experimented in the past with liturgical things. In one case they were instructed by the Vatican to stop having people come up around the altar. They complied, but it probably should not have gone that far. In general I would not say a lifeteen or any “youth mass” really is liturgically solid… Not to say that it is worse than the 10 AM contemporary Mass in any given parish, just that solid liturgy is not really what they would be known for.
5) Lifeteen is a savior program for many youth ministers that may choose to run it. Many YM Coordinators I know that are “in over their heads” see lifeteen as a lifeboat. That is not to say some of the more salty YMs don’t need or run the program, they do. One of my dear friends who has been in YM for more than 19 years runs life teen. Though they go “off script” often and Lifeteen has changed recently to make this more of a tailored approach.
6) Despite my dislike of the program, it is what I went to as a teen (not Catholic yet) and it is what I ran my first few years as a YM. It has it’s good points and successes.
 
on_the_hill said:
I just looked at the YOUCAT website. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI wrote the forward for its package. The group is probably pretty well vetted.

Don’t know anything at all about LifeTeen aside from this thread. Never even heard of it.
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YOUCAT is a whole other thread trust me!
The youth program offered by YOUCAT is bare bones stuff. A few workbooks and such.
Much of the criticism of YOUCAT that I would agree with would only be on two points. 1) It’s handling of masturbation. And 2) The idea that a Catechism of teens who care into chemistry and world history in school, when it comes to something as deep as their faith, are given a cartoon stick figure book to study… Never in my life have I seen a kid go to the YOUCAT as an apologetic source. At best I would call it a supplemental source to the CCC. And a poor one at that.
 
LifeTeen, like any program can be poorly run. If done by the book as it were, it’s hugely successful. But a parish has to implement it AS DIRECTED.
People who don’t know a thing about youth ministry can really bunge it up.
I know of no “Music component” to LifeTeen as in : “directives for Mass with youth”.

There are music suggestions for the LifeNights, sure. But they don’t ever say “play these pieces at your teen Mass”. And no, I don’t think there should be a teen Mass either.
There is way more than a skeleton outline for LifeNights. There are also “issue Nights” and Retreats that are incredibly detailed. Day long retreats, and 3 day retreats.
Using LifeTeen for Confirmation prep is a mistake. There IS a LifeTeen Confirmation Retreat available. Our 43 Confirmandi attended it at the LifeTeen Covecrest retreat center in North Georgia. They loved it. But the retreat is not to be found as a “LifeNight” in the curriculum. It’s something designed and implemented by LifeTeen Missionaries, SPECIFIC to the Sacrament of Confirmation and included Mass, Reconciliation, and Adoration.
Again, if a parish uses the curriculum incorrectly, and expects it to solve their problems such as “enticing teens to come to Mass” they’re sure to flop and be really disappointed, alienating the rest of the parish in the process.
As is painfully obvious here.
 
My only experience with LifeTeen has been the most unfortunate accident of walking into one of their Masses. I think it was just another excuse to blast Christian pop music. 90% of the congregation was not teens at all, but middle aged women. In fact, the only teens I saw were the altar servers, the band’s tambourine player, and one kid in the back pew who was looking sideways at his phone while his mother (I presume) was waving her arms around and making a fool of herself. I didn’t stay long enough to see much else as I suddenly remembered that my regular parish had that one Mass on Sunday at 630 AM and I didn’t have to go to Saturday night Mass at all.
 
Allegra said:
My only experience with LifeTeen has been the most unfortunate accident of walking into one of their Masses. I think it was just another excuse to blast Christian pop music. 90% of the congregation was not teens at all, but middle aged women. In fact, the only teens I saw were the altar servers, the band’s tambourine player, and one kid in the back pew who was looking sideways at his phone while his mother (I presume) was waving her arms around and making a fool of herself. I didn’t stay long enough to see much else as I suddenly remembered that my regular parish had that one Mass on Sunday at 630 AM and I didn’t have to go to Saturday night Mass at all.
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Funny! Sad!
 
pianistclare said:
LifeTeen, like any program can be poorly run. If done by the book as it were, it’s hugely successful. But a parish has to implement it AS DIRECTED.
People who don’t know a thing about youth ministry can really bunge it up.
I know of no “Music component” to LifeTeen as in : “directives for Mass with youth”.

There are music suggestions for the LifeNights, sure. But they don’t ever say “play these pieces at your teen Mass”. And no, I don’t think there should be a teen Mass either.
There is way more than a skeleton outline for LifeNights. There are also “issue Nights” and Retreats that are incredibly detailed. Day long retreats, and 3 day retreats.
Using LifeTeen for Confirmation prep is a mistake. There IS a LifeTeen Confirmation Retreat available. Our 43 Confirmandi attended it at the LifeTeen Covecrest retreat center in North Georgia. They loved it. But the retreat is not to be found as a “LifeNight” in the curriculum. It’s something designed and implemented by LifeTeen Missionaries, SPECIFIC to the Sacrament of Confirmation and included Mass, Reconciliation, and Adoration.
Again, if a parish uses the curriculum incorrectly, and expects it to solve their problems such as “enticing teens to come to Mass” they’re sure to flop and be really disappointed, alienating the rest of the parish in the process.
As is painfully obvious here.
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I think lifeteen has wisely moved away from thier original purpose and moved into the curriculum category. But you should know being a lifeteen operator that there is indeed a liturgical component. And I don’t know how long you have been involved with lifeteen but that component is still around in many parishes. I have attended lifeteen conferences in Arizona at the original parish.
here are some interesting tidbits I would like your (name removed by moderator)ut on.
ewtn.com/vexperts/showmessage.asp?number=330774&Pg=&Pgnu=&recnu=
jimmyakin.com/2004/07/flash_lifeteen_.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dale_Fushek
And in regard to Dale Fushek, Does it give you any pause or is it separate enough for you to not connect the two. Personally, it would give me pause. But I know others whom I respect that have separated the two apart.

If indeed lifeteen were just a curriculum then no correction would have been needed liturgically.

But on the curriculum issue I see a parallel here Pianistclaire,
I homeschool using Seton Homeschool curriculum I love it and it is truly the BEST Catholic education my kids could get. I firmly believe that for my children anything else would be a disservice to them. Does this mean that I think Seton is correct for every child or even every homeschooler? Of course not! But in homeschooling circles curriculum wars abound. Same with youth ministry. Everyone thinks that their program is correct. For everyone. You have even given the impression that lifeteen would be ideal or even adequate for every parish. This is not true. And lifeteen markets itself this way and I think that is a mistake. A blanket program for every situation is unattainable and no amount of rebranding or refocusing by lifeteen will change that. The fact is that Catholic youth ministry is in need of a cleaning. And lifeteen is really the biggest and most well known program. I think a monopoly or dominance indicates a vacuum in the market. And I think teens are starving for authentic food. The person I feel that could really implement this program is Matthew Kelly, whom I personally probably would not get along with and I have criticisms of his books and talks but honestly, he has the business mind and social knowledge to develop a viable teen program. Now I have no idea if Matthew has ever attempted this or would be interested in it but I honestly think he could help give a real alternative to Lifeteen.

For my next YM position should this bear itself out, I am curious to try out ydiciple. Which was not around in my YM days. I know several of the people involved with it and am still learning about it. The philosophy really hits at what rings true to me in the arena of Youth Ministry. Have you had experience with it? I would love to hear your (name removed by moderator)ut as a Youth Minister.

I think it is important that we not look to one source as the end all be all for every parish. I think lifeteen has certain drawbacks to it and I think others do as well. But I think we should not be so blinded by our passion to defend it or destroy it that we refuse to see it’s faults and benefits and realize that two parishes may have two different needs that lifeteen could or could not fill. And a lot depends on the YM too. Lifeteen saved my bacon my first two years. And I am not saying it is only for YM who are not experienced. Some of the best youth ministers I know are using life teen. Also, by skeleton I was not referring to “content” but of the ability to tailor it to your nights. It used to be much more rigid and scripted. I think giving more flexibility was a smart move. By skeleton I mean that they give you the bones and you can fill in the meat.
 
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