Book Review: 10 Reasons to Stay Christian in High School

My husband and I don’t disagree on much, but on this one particular point, we are polar opposites – I’m so glad I’m not in high school anymore. He, on the other hand, loved every second and doesn’t understand why other people don’t want to go back. Then again, he loved middle school, too.

For me, high school was hard. I had transitioned into more challenging classes, many of which came with college credit. I loved my clubs and extra curricular activities, but I was also ready to move on to the next stage of life. So much so, that it was easy to forget that I was supposed to be a representative for Christ in my daily life.

So when I saw this newly released book, 10 Reasons to Stay Christian in High School: A Guide to Staying Sane When Everyone Else has Jumped off the Deep End by Michael Ross & Greg Johnson, I wanted to know what they had to say.

Before I started the book, I tried to create my own top ten reasons to stay Christian in high school. I came up with one: because God wants you to. But this book was more of an apologetic book than I realized. It covered the following subjects:

1. Creation and the Created Matter
2. Friends are Worth It
3. God’s Word is Real … and Relevant
4. Popularity isn’t Worth the Chase
5. Your Work Always Matters
6. Relationships Have a Purpose
7. Love and Respect Win with the LGBT Issue
8. There Really are Off-Base Beliefs
9. Life Always Matters, and it’s Valuable at Every Age and Stage
10. Unreality Can’t Win

These are some heavy topics! But Ross and Johnson handle them with professionalism. I applaud their style and tone throughout the book. They were educational, not preachy. And they did not talk down to their readers. Rather, they dissected these current issues into manageable pieces so that a teenager reading this book would 1. be able to understand the issue and 2. begin to think through what God’s Word says on these issues.

Each chapter begins with a real-to-life scenario of how a teenager may be confronted with one of these situations. It then gives three examples of how a teenager could respond before discussing the topic in detail. At the end of every chapter, the authors give two sections called “On Your Own” and “With a Group.” They are filled with a number of verses to look up and questions to answer so that the reader isn’t just told what to believe but is challenged to think it through for themselves.

I would recommend that parents pick up a copy of this book for their high school children. But don’t just leave them on their own to figure out how Christians should interact with culture. Use the book as a tool so that these topics are regular conversations in your household. Help them understand that we base our beliefs not on opinion or personal feelings but on the Word of God. And help them realize that by staying Christian in high school, they will be living a life to the glory of God.