Dating Advice...

We're in a month long teaching series called "Flirt" (totally stole the title from Brian Berry, so props to him & his crew!) for our students about sex, sexuality, dating & relationships. I had some fun with our high schoolers last night as we talked about dating.

I came up with a fun (yet practical) list of 10 Rules For Saving Your Dating Life that set the stage for our actual healthy dating advice.

I did not expect the major push back on the McDonald's and rollerskating date. I added it because I once had a date at McD's who refused to eat. And then on another night I went rollerskating with our youth group and she wouldn't skate with me during couples skate. I figured it was a bad date idea. Maybe it was just me?

What we actually settled down on for healthy dating advice was this:

• Be INTENTIONAL instead of RECREATIONAL - Who am I dating? What are they about? What do they believe? Why are we dating? What are we doing on the date?
  
• Be RELATIONAL instead of PHYSICAL - Recognizing that it's easier to be physical than relational, what boundaries do I have? Where will I be tempted?
  
• Be CHRIST focused instead of SELF focused - What if I was willing to pray about my date and for my date?
  

I'll admit that this series is pushing my creativity. The easy thing is to just tell them what not to do. But they've mostly heard it all before and I don't think that really helps them. I'm trying to encourage them to use their brains and think about what they are doing. I'm trying to get them to ask themselves lots of questions.

If you had some advice about dating for high schoolers, what would it be?