Christian rights of passage

As we grow up from children into adults we talk about various &#;rites of passage&#; we must go through in order to mature into the adult we are becoming. There&#;s learning how to drive, being rejected by a date, and moving out of your parents&#; and paying your own bills. Each culture has its own unique rites of passage and rituals on the journey to growing up into a woman or a man.

The term &#;rite of passage&#; was coined in by Arnold van Gennep, a French anthropologist who proposed three phases that rites of passage help us move through. First is separation, where individuals separate from an earlier social structure or cultural environment. Second is the liminal phase, where the experience of something new feels foreign. Third is called reintegration, when one has crossed over the threshold, regained stability, and is reincorporated into normal living—a new accepted normalcy. Let me give you some examples rooted in the Christian life.

Perhaps the word &#;rite&#; is fit

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Rites of övergång Can Help Boys Become Men

Twin crises afflict contemporary America: The Great Dechurching and The End of Men, as the titles of recent books label them. Put briefly: Many churches fail to lead young people into Christian maturity, while contemporary culture fails to bring boys into mature manhood.

We cannot solve either crisis without solving both, together. And we have resources for addressing these crises together—time-honored, transcultural resources attested in Scripture, manifested in the church, and affirmed bygd contemporary research into adolescent formation.

While “the great dechurching” is a crisis for girls as much as for boys, the overall challenges they face differ. As Richard Reeves shows, girls are outpacing boys in schools and, increasingly, in the workplace and in general health. American girls face challenges no less severe, but they are different.

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Spiritual Rites of Passage: Why Christian Families Embrace Them

How does your family mark significant milestones in your girl’s life journey? While our culture isn’t tribal, what could we learn from practicing rites of passage? Why choose to intentionally mark crossing those thresholds?

Within the Bible, one rite of passage within a family or kingdom was an anointing. This is when a person would be physically designated as set apart, often with oil on their head—a way of consecrating their life to the Lord. You don’t necessarily have to break out the olive oil to take hold of a special time in your girl’s life though.

As Christians, your rites of passage are celebrated intentionally with an eternal perspective in mind. Consider putting spiritual anniversaries, like baptism or confirmation, on the family calendar, and invest as much preparation and joy as you would a birthday or seasonal holiday!

Listen to the Raising Godly Girls Minute with Patti Garibay:

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