Youth pastors, forever on the hunt to stay on the teen strange, are always prone to pepper their talks with pop culture baubles and buzzy trinkets. It’s an old, reliable way of keeping the kids’ ears perked at half mast, ready for an Ariana Grande lyric or Fortnite reference to set those recognition bells clanging in their prefrontal cortex.
Sometimes this works well, and youth pastors can help shepherd young, impressionable minds through the confusing and even dangerous world of advertising and digital media. And sometimes, well, you spoil the ending of Avengers: Endgame in front of your entire youth group, driving them further from the pure light of the Gospel and into the waiting arms of the devil who, whatever his other evils, at least doesn’t reveal what happens to the Avengers.
To be abundantly clear: major spoilers for Avengers: Endgame herein.
Yikes. Well, thoughts and prayers out to all parties involved here. The kids, who are now looking for a new church and very likely a new religion. The youth pastor, who is undoubtedly looking for a new job and possibly some sort of witness protection situation. And to youth pastors everywhere, who have a very tough job that requires a lot of thinking on your feet, so mistakes are going to be made.
