Wandering In The Wilderness Analysis

Brian Simmons in Wandering in the Wilderness offers in-depth perspectives on the often overlooked difficulties faced by emerging adults, otherwise referred to as The Twenties, as it pertains to their Christian journey. Aspects covered in this text includes interpersonal relationships, both familial and romantic, as well as the dubious intrapersonal expedition of faith. Simmons presents compelling empirical insight regarding the church’s role in assisting emerging adults during their wilderness season. Rather than allowing emerging adults to suffocate beneath the pressures that surround the period of emerging adulthood, Simmons asserts that those who have trekked through the wilderness should lend their experience to The Twenties to alleviate

The largest issue within these relationships is competing interests. Parents are unsure how to be faithful to their role as a parent and concurrently view their child as an adult. The balance of the two competing interest is not taught and seldom practiced. In failed attempts at closing the power gap as the child emerges into adulthood, communicative interactive becomes strained because of honorific titles such as ‘mom’ or ‘dad’ being replaced by first names. Relinquishing the controlling component of a parent-child relationship is counter to the biblical principle of honoring a parent. With the loss of the controlling component between parent and child, keeping to the family script adds to the uncertainty of The Twenties in their Christian faith. The family script, or the expectations that honor the family name, lends accountability and acts as a guide for emerging adults. Simmons adds in Chapter 8, “family scripts are good and useful things, proving themselves invaluable in ordering expectations and behaviors.” (pg. 138) Rather than being viewed as a distancing component the family script is an additional level of assistance to the emerging adult currently in their wilderness

There are numerous contributing factors such as familial status, socioeconomic status, cultural heritage, and ethnic identification that add complexity to an emerging adults’ journey of Christian faith. In particular, cultural heritage and familial status have the ability to largely skew relationships and challenge identification as a Christian. In example, one’s cultural heritage may be deeply grounded in their faith as in the Hispanic connection with Catholicism. Because many Hispanics regard their culture as inclusive of the Catholic faith, family scripts will likely not be a point of contention as honoring the family name is more of an expectation rather than a suggestion or hope of the parent. Also, as cultural expectations vary one’s identity during The Twenties is potentially more troubling such as within the African-American tradition. Within the African American tradition, identity, as been historically challenging for individuals, are uncertain about who they are to become or the possibility of whom they can become. Navigating through the hollowness of uncertainty felt while wandering in the wilderness can seem like a bottomless pit as there are additional societal pressures for certain ethnic groups. All encompassing, Brian Simmons’