This weekend at National Youth Workers Conference (NYWC) I had the great chance to hear and sit with some of the greatest minds in practical theology and youth ministry: Kenda Creasy Dean (Princeton), Andrew Root (Luther), Mike King (Nazarene Theological Seminary and Sr. ed. Of Immerse Journal), Amy Jacober (Truett/ Baylor), Kara Powell (Fuller), Chap Clark (Fuller), Jeffrey Keuss (Seattle Pacific University), Adam English (Campbell), and Dean Blevins (Nazarene Theological Seminary). I write those names not to say I have met them, but to show from whom my theological thinking was with this last weekend.
Some context, this year at NYWC they started “Theological Fourms” and “Theological Café’s.” These events created space where youth workers who have a more theological inclination could gather to hear and participate in conversations on topics important to youth ministry. Topics included but were not limited to: “What does it mean to be a person?” or “Theological issues impacting the Christian formation of adolescents.” In total there were four such theological fourms made up of panels from the above persons.
Theological Café’s were something a little different. Theological café’s were a time where youth workers could have one-on-one or group conversations with many of the persons above over the beverage of your choice purchased by Sparkhouse Publishing. (If you work with teens Sparkhouse has some amazing curriculum for Confirmation Programs and/or youth programs, so check them out.) At these café’s I had conversations concerning “what does it mean to be a person?” “Should the church still do infant baptisms in a post-Christian individualistic consumer world?” and “What does our worship space and practices communicate to our teens?”
On top of these conversations, I had the opportunity to hear a session on “Sticky Faith” from Kara Powell and attend many lectures from the likes of Kenda Creasy Dean and psychology researcher Dr. Robert Epstein.
Before I move from hear I would just like to state that I am thankful that the NYWC created these theological fourms and cafés. Speaking for myself, it redeemed NYWC because it opened up a deeper conversation on issues affecting our teens and families. I want to thank Mike King, the sponors, and everyone that was a part of these great sessions.
Out of these conversations and sessions, some key topics and questions emerged for me this week. In today’s blog I wanted to put out the first one to continue some of the conversation that started this week at the NYWC. Feel free to post your thoughts, disagree, or ask questions. Let’s continue the conversation.
Personhood
The first topic/questions that emerged for me centered on or around personhood. At the heart of this conversation was two topics:
1. God determines our personhood: God calls us into a unique relationship with himself. It is in the relationship Christians find a unique calling and gifting as individuals and as children of God. This is what makes us “particular” or individuals.
2. Others reveal our personhood: People are who they are because of the relationships they have, not because of their functions in the world. For example, a women is a mother not because of the functions she does, but because of the relationship she has to her children. This also plays out in the Godhead, in that the Son is the Son because his relationship to the Father and the Spirit. This is why we need relationships. It is also important to note that there is both beauty and danger to this reality. It is beautiful because a community can “hold a person’s identity in Christ when they are unable to hold themselves” (Amy Jacober). The dangerous is when others reveal to us who things that are “contrary to who God says we are” (Amy Jacober). (Note: there is a reality that all relationships are probably doing both, but the question is how to facilitate the latter?)
As a Lutheran I am grounded in a theology that says in a person’s baptism and in faith they are united with Christ and become Children of God. The question to ask ourselves is are we creating space to reveal that reality to our children, teens, adults, and elderly?
At the heart of this questions is not a program, but two things: relationships and our non-verbal communication.
Some questions on relationships:
1. Are you creating relationships at all? If you are, are people revealing who they are as God’s Children to each other within those relationships? If not, how do you empower them to do so?
2. Are you creating relationships in silos? Isn’t there something to be said for a child/teen to reveal God to an adult and an adult to reveal God to a child/teen? Why do you allow curtain adults, children, or teens, of your church to gather were others cannot?
3. Are you working to put adults in relationship with children and teens so that they might understand who they are as God’s Children?
Some questions on non-verbal communication that affect relationships:
1. What are you communicating to children, teens, and adults about who they are by what you are not doing?
a. Example: The church leadership meets every month to talk about vision, but no one has ever asked a youth for his or her options on where the church should be going. What are you communicating to youth?
2. What are you communicating to children, teens, and adults about who they are by what you are doing?
a. Example: the choir gathers in the choir room between services instead of outside on the patio with the rest of the church body. What is that communicating to the church and the choir?
Quote to think about: “We have a lot of adult in our churches who don’t know they have any gifts to give.” – Kenda Creasy Dean.
Have a great week everyone.
Steven Johnson
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