If your parenting strategy is to listen to other Christians discuss the world of pop culture, consider this a wakeup call. Ambassador families must go way beyond finding out what the church thinks about pop culture. We need to listen carefully to how the the architects of that world think about teens, Jesus, and even about the strangers they now call "evangelicals." To get started, check out YPulse, a blog authored by Anastasia Goodstein, who "provides daily news & commentary about Generation Y for media and marketing professionals." USA Today recently featured Goodstein's blog as a hot site:

Teens, meet Anastasia Goodstein. She's 33 and it's likely she knows more about your generation than you do. Marketing and media professionals, meet Generation Y, the first to not know life without the Internet. Anastasia makes such introductions daily on Ypulse, where she blogs news and gossip on Gen-Yers. Pros targeting teens are very interested. So are counselors and youth leaders. Come to think of it, so are we.

Goodstein knows youth culture intimately, but she also knows the church — she's a Nashville girl who describes her mother as a follower of Jesus:

I don't think I've shared this on my blog before, but my mom is what is known as a "Jewish believer" or a Jewish person who became a Christian and claims both a Jewish heritage and a belief that Jesus is the Messiah. I was raised Jewish and never shared her beliefs, but I grew up exposed to all kinds of Christian radio, literature and of course televangelists.

This intimate relationship with a Jesus-lover makes Goodstein's take on Christian Teen Media especially fascinating. Her blog offers ambassador parents a tour of pop culture hosted by a high-ranking diplomat who understands our home country well. (And if you read closely, you might glean our King's gentle but steady pursuit of this insightful young woman.)