Rick Horne’s heart is for counselors, teachers, pastors, youth leaders, and especially parents to be able to communicate the life changing message of the Gospel to their unruly teens. Get Outta My Face!
While focusing on how to talk to teen-agers, this book could very easily apply to counseling anyone because, quite frankly, adults and little kids are sinners just like teens.
Slightly self-promoting
Horne’s method is an effective one. He outlines four key actions for parents and counselors to take in order to get across to their kids. They are:
Listen Big: Build a Bridge to You Teen Clarify Narrow: Expose the Realities of Your Teen’s Experience Look Wide: Discover Your Teen’s Solutions Plan Small: Support Changes Your Teen WantsThese are great methods that should be used when trying to communicate the need for change in the teen. However, Horne’s repetition of some variation of the phrase “Using the LCLP approach works because…” gets tiresome at times. A casual reading would lead one to believe that he thinks his is the only method of change for troubled teens. This is not the case. He is sure to stress that there are other, Biblical methods to reaching people.
Big on the Gospel
The last two chapters of this book are perhaps the most important. He encourages us to Keep the Conversation going in the Right Direction (chapter 10) and to Point Your Teen to the Cross (chapter 11). Horne stresses that if you don’t aim for deep changes that are routed in the Gospel, you’ll lose your teen. They might do all the external changes that you are looking for, but if their hearts are unchanged, they will remain unchanged, and that is undesirable. We point everyone (teens, children, adults), every sinner to the cross of Christ for deep, lasting change. If you don’t do that, you have lost your teen.
Over all, a great read with great truths. It is slightly dry at times, but worth reading if you want to see change.
Would you say it is more for parents of Students or youth workers?
It is really good for both, but focuses more on the youth worker and helping them out. But, parents should definitely read it.