A Bible Study on Integrity for Teens: AIM by Teri White

When did someone at your congregation last sit down with a fifteen-year-old and talk plainly about sex, with time for the teenager to ask questions? In a lot of our homes and Bible classes, the answer is that it's been a while, or it hasn't happened at all. The kids notice when we go quiet, and they go looking for answers somewhere else.

They find them, too. In 2023 Common Sense Media surveyed about 1,300 American teenagers between 13 and 17. Seventy-three percent said they'd seen pornography online, and slightly more than half had seen it by the time they were 13. Among the teens who'd seen it, 27 percent said they think it shows sex accurately. There was one figure in that survey that gave me some hope, though. Forty-seven percent said they'd learned a lot about sex from a parent, caregiver or other trusted adult. That's more than said the same about pornography. In a good many homes, kids are still willing to hear it from us.

Paul starts with the body

Paul wrote to Christians living in Rome, a city whose ideas about the body weren't far from what our kids scroll past every day. Before he gets to anything else in the practical section of the letter, he says this: "Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship" (Romans 12:1).

Then he tells them how that happens: "Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:2).

A couple of things in those verses are worth slowing down for. Paul begins with the mercies of God. Before he asks anything of us, he reminds us what God has already done, and the whole appeal rests on that. He also puts the body and the mind side by side. What we do with our bodies grows out of what's been put into our minds.

Our English word integrity comes from the same root as integer, a whole number. A person of integrity is all in one piece. He's the same at youth camp as he is alone in his room with his phone. That's the kind of wholeness Paul is describing when he talks about a body offered to God and a mind made new.

Notice also that conforming takes no effort at all. The age we live in will shape a teenager's thinking without anyone lifting a finger. Renewal takes work. Somebody has to put God's truth in where the world's noise has been, and for most teenagers that somebody is a parent, a Bible class teacher or a youth leader who cares enough to have the awkward conversation.

What AIM does with it

We've just released Teri White's AIM: Acknowledging Integrity Matters, a workbook on God's design for sexual integrity written straight to teenagers. Teri talks to teens honestly and warmly, and she backs up what she says with Scripture, sound science, current medical research and real stories from people who've lived with the consequences of their choices. The goal is for students to understand the real risks and to have the confidence to make wise decisions that honor God.

I like the order of the book. The first chapters are "The Battle" and "Voices from the Past," and then Teri spends time on a student's value and worth as a person made by God before she ever gets to rules. From there she covers risk behaviors, relationships and family formation. The last six chapters deal with boundaries a young person can set in every part of life: emotional, mental, social, physical, ethical and spiritual. That's the same order Paul uses in Romans 12. He starts with who we are because of God's mercy, and then he talks about what we do with our bodies.

Each of the thirteen chapters closes with discussion questions, so a teacher has something to work with on Sunday morning or Wednesday night. They'd work just as well around the kitchen table with your own teenager.

About the writer

Teri M. White is a Certified Sexual Risk Avoidance Specialist, a Professional Certified Life Coach and a Certified Trauma Informed Care Coach. She's taught students in public, private and home education settings, and she isn't timid about the hard conversations that come with this subject. Her time in the classroom shows in how she writes. AIM is the first title in Teri's author collection, and you can keep up with her work there.

Who it's for

AIM was written for teens, so the natural home for it is a teen Bible class or a youth group study. It's also a good fit for a parent and teenager who want to work through it together, one chapter a week. If you're the adult leading it, read it yourself first. You'll be ready for the questions, and you'll know what your students are reading before they bring it to class.

The workbook runs 198 pages in an 8.5 by 11 format. The color edition is $27 and the black-and-white edition is $17. There's also a PDF for individual use at $14 and a class-use PDF at $100. You'll find all four on the AIM product page.

Somebody is going to talk with the young people you love about sex this year. Which teenager in your life is waiting for you to bring it up first?