Good Sex : A Whole-Person Approach to Teenage Sexuality and God

by Jim Hancock and Kara Eckmann Powell

• ISBN13: 9780310237136
• ISBN10: 0310237130
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-02-28
• Publisher: Youth Specialties

Summary

In the real world, kids acquire sexual information and experiences through an indirect process of observing the world over many years. Using a complex combination of reading, listening, talking with friends, watching television and movies, watching adults, siblings and peers, listening to music, dating, and experiencing sexual arousal, kids construct an understanding of what sex is. The perception they construct is what ultimately informs their sexual attitudes, opinions, values, and behavior¾and no amount of teaching (in the traditional sense) can override the long-term influences of these real-life learning experiences. If we want to impress the next generation with biblical values regarding sex, we need to enter the very process that is forming their ideas and their actions. Good Sex is a youth ministry resource that very directly and very honestly speaks to the "whole system" of sexual formation. It is a resource that assists youth workers in helping students understand sex as a whole-person experience in the broad context of their entire lives. A plethora of self-contained but connected segments are organized in seven major sections: * Plumbing and Wiring: From androgens to zoologists * Sex includes body, mind, emotions, spirit, and relationships * Sexual Identity: How people think about sexuality * What we think about our sexuality affects everything - body, mind, emotions, spirit, and relationships * Intimacy: Dating and non-sexual closeness * Sex does not equal intimacy and intimacy does not equal sex. Intimacy equals intimacy. * Desire: The difference between appetites and needs * Learning the limits of our obligation to sexual desires and grounds for self-discipline without denying the goodness of sex * Sex: Sex isn't everything, and sex isn't nothing -- so what is it? * Building sexual hope and understanding, and diffusing sexual tension * Responsibility: Our sexual responsibilities to God and each other * The Basic Speed Law governs our sexual choices for the rest of our lives * Do-Overs: Mercy, repentance, forgiveness, and restoration from God * Help and encouragement for new beginnings (students) * Help in identifying and serving kids who are sexually broken (leaders) Each of the many segments within these seven sections encompasses two or more of the following elements: * God's Story -- Bible passages and open-ended, learning-centered questions for discussion * True Story -- readings, short monologues, video, audio, on location opportunities to give information, stimulate thought, or ignite questions * Our Story -- reflection, small group discussion, large group talkbacks, debate, play, agree/disagree voting, storytelling and more * My Story -- writing, drawing, praying, worship, storytelling, seeking and giving help Through the use of video, an extensive leader's guide, and a student book called What Almost Nobody Will Tell You About Sex, the Good Sex curriculum is an upfront, truthful, process-centered resource that invites students to consider, understand, and surrender their sexuality to the God who loves them and who made them sexual beings. 7 sessions (flexible format); 1 60-minute video.