Redeeming Creation

The Signs of God. A Christmas Blog.

2011-12-23T13:40:00.001-08:00

I will be the first one to tell you that I am impatient, especially when it comes to divine action. It is as if I believe God is a barista at your local coffee shop who you order from and then a few minutes later, there it is a frothy divine beauty sitting right in front of you.

In all seriousness, waiting on God has been my largest struggle in my faith journey. In fact, while I was in seminary it was, “the struggle” of my life. I was dating a wonderful woman, I felt called to be a pastor working with youth, and I believed I had the right skills, but I could not find the right job. There were many times where I thought, God is calling me here, yet he was not. In the midst of everything I really struggled with my calling and how God interacted with the world.

Before I got hired at my first church out of seminary, I spent some time unemployed and not doing much of anything. During this time of hardship I decided to dive into my discomfort and ask God what I could learn from this situation.

Through a lot of talking with friends and family, prayer, and time in scripture, I felt God tell me, I am teaching you to trust in me.

In the Christmas story found in the gospel of Matthew 2, a group of people known as the Magi go in search of God’s divine action found with the birth of a baby named, Jesus.

One night while the Magi were studying the stars, they saw a star that caught their eyes, a star that is different, almost new. Some Biblical scholars believe that these Magi were people who were star lookers, or people who studied the stars to determine events in the world, similar to modern day astrologists.

Once these first century astrologists saw this new star, they realized that something special was happening, so they set out on a journey to discern what God was doing. They noted the location of the star and took heed toward where God was guiding them.

What amazes me about these Magi is that they were disciplined at looking for signs and looking to see what might be happening in the world. The magi were so disciplined that on the night of Jesus’s birth they looked up into the sky and noticed something different, a divine sign.

This makes me wonder how many divine signs I might be missing in my busy life…

What many people fail to realize about the Christmas story found in Matthew is that the Magi did not show up to the manger at the time of the birth, they came to Mary’s “house” (Matthew 2:11).

The Magi were not present at the manger, despite what nativity sets say. In fact, scholars believe that the Magi traveled over a year to arrive at the doorstep of the King of the Jews. A YEAR!

I don’t know about you, but that is some trust and faith in God’s divine action!

I have to wonder how many times during that year, plus long journey the Magi asked themselves, did we really see that star? I mean, it could have just been a fluke or something. I wonder how many times they doubted on their journey toward God’s divine action in the world.

One of the beautiful things about Matthew’s Christmas story is the Magi. The Magi believed in a God who interacts with his creation, who called them in divine signs, and who trusted that after their long journey they would arrive to where they were called.

Prayer:

LORD, I thank you for the sign of your Son.
For the gift that he is to our world
LORD, I thank you for the gift of faith that I might see your Son for who he truly is.
In the times of trouble and ease, may you help me to trust in you as the Magi did.
This Christmas and throughout my life, may you help me look for your divine signs of action in the world.
Clear my mind and give me a heart focused on your work in the world.
May you give me eyes to see your work in the world.
May you give me eyes to see how you want me to partner with your work in the world.
Empower your Church to be a sign of your divine action in the world.
May your Kingdom be made manifest as you work through your Spirit and people in the world.
Amen.

Christmas Found in a Manger. Christmas Blog #1.

2011-12-20T16:43:00.000-08:00

The other day I was with a group of youth pastors reading over the Christmas story found in Luke 2: 1-21. As we sat and did a shorter version of Lectio-Divina, I could not divert my attention from words found in Luke 2:12, “This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

I was confronted by the three specific words: “sign,” “baby,” and “manger.”

As I meditated on these words, I sensed the power of and reality of the Son of God coming in the way he did. That God chose the “sign” of the coming of the living God to earth to be as meek as a “baby” in a “manger.”

Everyone in the first century Jewish world expected the Messiah to come as a king or a powerful warrior who would kick the Roman Empire out in order to bring in some picture of the Kingdom of God on Earth. Yet, the Messiah comes in one of the most unexpected ways one can imagine, as a baby born in a manger.

A manger was not the most beautiful place in the world. In fact, it was probably one of the smelliest and dirtiest places in the world. I don’t even think our little nativity sets do (do=verb, due=not verb) the reality of the manger much justice, because even our nativity sets look clean sitting on our freshly dusted tables.

A manger was somewhat of a glorified hole in the rocks where animals slept and went to the bathroom in. It might be considered the cleaner side of the city dump.

That was where the Son of God was not only born, but where the Son of God becomes and a “sign” to the world that the Messiah has come.

I think if I were completely honest with myself, I would admit that part of me wants to still believe that the Son of God is found in the clean, put together, and happy places in life. What hit me was the story of the Messiah coming as a sign to humanity flies right in the face of my desire to place God in the pretty places in my life. Instead, the Christmas story begs me to find the sign of God in the dirtiest places in my life, community, and world.

On TV and in the movies, we are shown images of Christmas being about happiness, joy, happy people, and/or beautiful things. We are told that in order to celebrate Christmas, we must have enough presents under the tree to make everyone glad. People are asked to put way the messiness of life, and to put smiles on their faces. To buy into the idea in order to celebrate Christmas, we must fill our houses with joy coming from stuff, music, family, food, and friends. Everything has to be prefect.

If you ask me, that seems like a far cry from the image of Christmas detailed in Luke. I doubt that Mary or Joseph planned to have their baby in the cut out of a rock amongst animals. I doubt that they planned to have the first people to worship their son to be insignificant shepherds. I doubt they expected to have their first child all alone in a manger.

As I was reading Luke 2:1-21 a questions came to my mind: What if the true meaning of Christmas is not found in the joy manufactured by presents, family, or friends, but when we dive into the mangers of our lives and discover a sign from the Most High? A sign that is found in the most unlikely places of our lives, communities, and world?

These lyrics from Sleeping At Last's song "snow" hit home this point too. Here are some of the lyrics from the song:

Christmas lights tangle in knots annually
All families huddle closely
Betting warmth against the cold
All the bruises seem to surface
Like mud beneath the snow

So we sing carols softly
As sweet as we know
A prayer that our burdens will lift as we go
Like young love still waiting under mistletoe
We'll welcome December with tireless hope

Let our bells keep on ringing
Making angels in the snow
And may the melody disarm us
When the cracks begin to show

Like the petals in our pockets
May we remember who we are
Unconditionally cared for
By those who share our broken hearts

Here is the song on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD-e3y2MaTU

On Thursday I will be blogging on Matthew's version of the Christmas Story, make sure you check it out!

Merry Christmas!

Alabaster: Wanting to Crucify Something Real.

2011-11-14T18:32:00.000-08:00

Busy times at work and in life sometimes make my mind tired. For that reason, this blog will be less about my thoughts and more about sharing something that has impacted me.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love music. So, I thought I would share a song that has spoken to me almost every time I have listened to it in the past 7 years. Here it is:

Here are the lyrics to Alabaster by Rocky Votalato:

On the outside looking in
I've never been able to crack the code
to break the secret spell
that would open up the door and let me in
to everything I've been looking for so hard I've never seen
but I feel my strength returning tonight
its flowing from the purest well to ever give water
Out into an ocean where the sharks are circling
a carnival of counterfeits has no room for something real

Arrogance and ego wrapped around every word
shouted from the pulpit as a judgment to control
these were my roots my seed was thrown in shallow soil
I grew into the thorn bushes to be scorched by the sun
but I feel the gravel move beneath my feet
the smell of the gasoline mixed in with the trees
when my faith is strong I know my strength
the threats will be screamed when the vultures fell threatened

So I'll open up the door and let you in
I want to break the alabaster smell the sweet perfume
and when the bottle is broken I'll have nothing left to give
I'll know I'll already have everything worth having
but I feel my strength returning tonight
its flowing from the purest well to ever give water
it spills out into and ocean where the sharks are circling
a carnival of counterfeits with no room for something real

What the song has meant to me:

There is something beautiful in this song about the desire to just be real with God and humanity. Something that I confess I struggle with as someone who feels the need to be what people expect me to be as a youth pastor.

What does God say to you in this song? How do you relate?

What Scares Me: A late Night Halloween Post

2011-10-31T22:34:00.001-07:00

The thing that scares me more than anything is duality.

At the basic level, duality is the separation of the spiritual and the physical. Gnostic Christians took up this idea when they asserted that Christ could not have been physical, because all things that are/were physical are evil.

A form of dualism is still lingering in our world today; it is represented in multiple forms of identity. Notably this is most prevalent within adolescents who create different identities for themselves depending on their environments. Psychologists believe this has to do with the teenage journey to find oneself, yet is it now continuing past adolescence. Identity has become very fluid; different forms of identity are lived out and determined by the environment a person finds himself or herself in. A person’s identities are determined by fluid structures: relationships, consumerism, where one works, and/or where one lives.

I am most fearful when the fluidity of identity does not stop at the larger structures, but continues into more specific environments. Therefore, some continue to live as an actor who plays different roles depending upon their surroundings. At work they act one way, at home they work another way, and with friends they work another way.

Once, while I was cleaning up after youth group a fellow church member asked, “Don’t you ever get tired of this?”

I assumed that he was referring to cleaning up after youth group, but he wasn’t. Clarifying, he said, “Tired of living two lives, one here at church and another while you are not here? I mean, I tried to explain how hard this was to my girlfriend the other day and she didn’t get it.”

I carefully responded, “I try to live the same way whether I am at home or I am at work, whether I am hanging out with students or my friends.”

My answer surprised this person. He looked at me questioningly and said, “Really?”

If I were totally honest, I would say that living out my identity in Christ is challenging thing to do. I mess up a lot, but I believe that God is concerned with how we live and how we act in every part of our lives, not just on Sunday, or right before we sit to partake in a meal.

My wife found a quote by G.K. Chesterton that reads, “You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the play and the opera, and grace before the concert and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing; and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.”

Maybe I am being presumptuous, but when I read this quote I see Chesterton taking the idea of duality head on. In his own way, he reinforces that God is everywhere and is deeply concerned with and deeply involved in everything we do.

When I was in high school I used to surf a lot. Every Sunday morning I would leave church right after youth group to drive down to the beach with a couple of my friends. Every time we went surfing, we would pray before we got into the water.

When I joined the leadership team in my youth group, my youth pastor asked me why I never stuck around for “big-church.” I still remember the conversation and my response; “I go to the beach and experience and worship God in another way.”

Now, I am not saying my teenage self was right to not participate in “big-church,” but my statement about God was not far off.

What would it look like if believed that God was everywhere? Not just everywhere, but that he cared about how we acted and what identity we confessed as we went about our days, weeks, and years?

One of the hardest things about the Christian life is realizing that in Christ our identity has not only been redeemed, but that it is also in the process of being transformed. The ultimate goal is that everything previously held as “ours,” would be let go of, and that selfishness would turn into selflessness as Christ sanctifies us completely.

Imagine what the world would be like if people stopped living in duality and started living in Christ.

What Defines a Man?

2011-10-24T22:22:00.000-07:00

I am tired of being told what a “man” is.

This blog post might quickly turn into a rant. Therefore, let me first apologize if it does, because it is not my intension. My hope is to draw attention to the recent shift in advertising by companies such as Dr. Pepper and Miller, who are now strongly marketing to “men.”

In order to appeal to men, these companies have drawn a line in the sand and declared that certain actions, likes and dislikes, purchases, products, and/or fashion styles are not manly. These companies then ask their audience to “man-up,” as the Miller ads state, and purchase their [the company’s] product. These advertisements, based on fictitious assumptions of what manhood should be, are riddled with false views of what communicates a person’s masculinity.

Focusing on the latter first, a person’s masculinity is often based in culture. The culture one is raised in communicates certain expectations regarding who a man should be. If a man does not meet these cultural expectations, he is deemed not manly, feminine, or even sometimes “gay.” Once someone has been called these things, he is left with two choices, trying to fit into the cultural expectation of manhood that is being pushed onto him, or being stuck in the non-manly camp. The question I ask is, how can one determine if a male is “manly” or not?

This brings us to the subsequent assumption of these advertisements, what communicates a person’s masculinity. The culture of the United States has bought into the idea that one’s identity lies in the motto, “you are what you consume,” or put on your body, or what you do with your body, or the shape of your body. Current culture tells people that they are what others perceive them to be.

Take the advertisement below for instance. The “unmanly guy” in the commercial is carrying a bag. It is this bag that communicates his unmanliness, not who he is.

Miller Lite

Dr. Pepper

Even these commercials realize that culture believes that what people put on their bodies helps to define them, which is why these advertisements work. Men are “manly” when they drink Miller Lite or when they drink Dr. Pepper 10, but not when they drink that “other lite beer” or “lady drink.”

Has identity formation really become so fluid a process that people, including me, are what they do, drink, or wear?

As Christians, our identities do not come from our culture or “world.” That is why many New Testament writers, such as Peter, refer to Christians as “aliens” or “foreigners” (1 Peter 2:11-12). There is a difference between those who follow Christ and those who do not. This difference finds its roots in where our identities derive themselves. As those who are “rooted in Christ,” we derive our identities from the one whom we are rooted in, Christ.

Even within the 1st century church, there were people who wanted to define others by what their body looked like or by what they ate. The Judaizers demanded that all Gentiles be circumcised, acting as a bodily marker, to become Christ followers. Yet, Paul argued that circumcision does not define a Christian; it is the “circumcision of the heart” and what a person is “rooted in” that makes him or her a Jesus follower (Romans 2:29).

If we find our identities in Christ, shouldn’t our definition of manhood also be found in him?

Jesus was the complete revelation of God to humanity (John 1:18). He not only reveals God to us, but he also reveals that we are created to be God’s image. If you want to know what a man looks like, look at Jesus, who was homeless, who gave up everything to serve, who cried, who turned over tables, and who died on a cross. That is what a man is. What you drink, what you wear, what you do or act like does not define you as a man. God defines you as a man.

Young Adults Leaving the Church: Not only Sociological, but Philosophical

2011-10-17T22:40:00.000-07:00

The reality of youth leaving the church upon their high school graduations is disconcerting, namely to those within practical theology and church ministry.
There are a lot of people in the world of practical theology and church ministry writing and talking about why youth are leaving the church after they graduate from high school. Many of the books and much of the research that has been done is very helpful for those, like me, in full-time youth ministry. In fact, while I was at Fuller Theological Seminary, I had the opportunity to hear some of the essential research being done by the Fuller Youth Center and what became known as “Sticky Faith.” Based on those conversations at Fuller, I developed a Senior Transition class at my old church and am now facilitating one at my current church. The other day I began questioning, does this have way more to do with a philosophical shift than we would like to admit?

Let me back up, while I was on Facebook a couple weeks ago, I noticed that a few of my junior and senior students who had not come to church that morning “checked-in” at another local church. I have to admit, his disheartened me a little bit and I began to wonder, why aren’t these students coming to their home church?

That morning my wife had been sitting in a classroom at our church waiting for the 9:30 Bible study class to start. She overheard a conversation regarding some things happening in our church community when one person made this statement, “We keep wondering when they are going to do away with the choir and leave us behind.”

While sitting on Sunday night after hearing about this conversation and seeing students “check-in” on Facebook, I started thinking, what if something deeper is happening? Something not only sociological, but philosophical?

A Philosophical Shift

The study of theology is not required to acknowledge that something within our culture has changed. We have moved from a “modern” to a “late-modern” or “postmodern” world. What some have failed to realize is how much our philosophical understanding of the world around us affects the way we worship and connect with God.

Today’s Christian church has become saturated with modernism. In the book, Who’s Afraid of Postmodernism?, James K.A. Smith makes the statement, “One of the reasons postmodernism has been the bogeyman for the Christian church is that we have become so thoroughly modern” (23). Everything that happens within thousands of churches across the country is plainly modern, and for good reason. The church became modern to reach moderns.

While modernism emerged as a result of the enlightenment, what most forget is that the Reformation also occurred amidst this earlier shift. During the Reformation many of today’s churches built and established their confessions and theology. Therefore, we must assume that the majority of current practical theology was created in a modern context, and, therefore, speaks most readily to a modern audience.

Now jump ahead with me six hundred years to current society: There is a new philosophical shift happening in the world, to postmodernism. Everyone between the age of 25 and 45 was most likely raised in a blended version of modern meets post-modern world. A world where a modern understanding was on its way out and a new philosophical mindset was on its way in.

Today’s teens are not being raised in such a world; they are being raised in a completely postmodern world. This world does not speak modernism and does not communicate in a modern way, with the exception of the church. Every week the church asks teens to cover their postmodern eyes with modern glasses so that they can “worship God” through modified lenses. I find myself asking: Would God require that? Or would God meet postmodern thinkers were they were at?

Taking it Back to Church
This reality hits close to home. I am a part of a very modern mainline church. I weekly ask teens to come and worship God in a modern service that has yet to ask teens how they connect with God.

I agree with and love all of the research that is being done regarding why young adults leave the church, but there must come a time when we admit that things must change in our churches if we ever plan on keeping postmoderns around. As David Kinnaman proclaims in his book You Lost Me: Why Young Christians are Leaving Church…And Rethinking Faith,

…the Christian community must rethink our efforts to make disciples. Many
of the assumptions on which we have built our work with young people are rooted in modern, mechanistic, and mass production paradigms…We need to renew our catechism and confirmations—not because we need new theology, but because their current forms too rarely produce young people of deep, abiding faith” (12-13).

The church is not producing what Kinnaman calls, “deep, abiding faith” within young people because it is not taking the philosophical shift seriously. Instead it is asking students to become modern to worship God.

Please do not hear me saying we must do away with all “modern” forms of worship, in reality that would create a whole new problem. At the same time, I do not think the answer is to create a new service for postmoderns, as many churches have done. What needs to happen is reformation, reconciliation, and the development of hybrid services in order to include all members.

When Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the door of the church he did not want to divide the Catholic Church, he wanted to reform it. However, the leadership of the Catholic Church at the time had other ideas. The essential question is, what will the leadership of our churches do? Will they create a split or will they create conversation? Will today’s denominations and church leaders look to bridge the gap of modernity and postmodernity, or will they look to split the church? Or most unfortunately, will leaders allow churches to die with modernity?

I have a friend in seminary on the East Coast. The last time I spoke to him, he shared that he was interning at a mainline church of less than 100 people who were all on their to meet the LORD. Every Sunday the church sings hymns and goes about things the same way they always have. In reality this church is dying. This church will not be around in twenty years. Why? Because they will not change to meet the changing culture around them.

The reality is that this is going to be a messy process. People will be emotional, angry, and misunderstand what is happening. There will be those who choose to hold tight to their idols of preference and personal demand. While these people may die with these held close, we must not allow the church to die with them.

What do I do?

To be honest, I am still developing my answer. The only idea I have is to start creating conversations, made up of young people, old people, and everyone in between. These conversations should be made up of people in different places and of different mindsets. I know it will be messy, I know it will be hard, but I think it is the best place to start.

The goals of such conversations need to be twofold: listening and then speaking. Every person must be heard and understood. Only after people understand each other can we move forward.

If you have other ideas, I would love to hear them. If you disagree, I would love to hear why.

So with that, I offer the church peace, discernment, and wisdom.

NYWC Debrief of Theological Fourms and Cafes (Part 2)

2011-10-10T18:37:00.000-07:00

For the final part of my blog and debrief of the theological forums at the National Youth Workers Convention I wanted to focus on Discipleship. These thoughts and reflections came from the forums on "The Interaction Between Human and Divine Action" and "Theological Issues Impacting the Christian Formation of Adolescents.

Thanks again for all you are reading. I would be happy to know your thoughts on what I have written in my reflections.

Discipleship

When talking about discipleship one most first confess that discipleship is a lot more than just following Jesus. The goal has to be seen as a holistic transformation of the person that concluded in the turn of Jesus. At the center of this, “The interaction between Human and Divine Action” and “Theological Issues impacting the Christian Formation of Adolescents.” It is important to note that Christian Formation is done through the help of God and is a part of our calling as God’s Children as we respond to God out of our redemption. It is calling people to die, as Bonhoeffer pointed out, this is the cost of discipleship, to carry your cross.

There are a few issues here that have to be brought forward. First, there is a reality that within Christian Tradition there has been what is referred to as spiritual disciplines. Through these practices the Spirit of God transforms individuals and communities into disciples. Some confessing communities even believe that there are some disciplines that administer grace to those participating in them. (Communion and etc.). The reality that has to dealt with is that everyone spiritual life is going to be different. What works to transform one, might not work to transform the next. This is very important to note when dealing with different generations. There are some spiritual disciplines that speak to one generation, but not to the next. That is why it is essential to be having a certain fluidity in the defining spiritual disciplines.

Secondly, the hope of spiritual disciplines is that they might announce to us what God has already done for humanity, and that in that humanity might respond and be transformed. “Faith” is an eschatological reality that breaks into the “not yet” of the world. Therefore, spiritual disciplines can transform us as we become aware of that reality, they cannot redeem us. At the heart of communicating the need for spiritual disciplines is a rhythm of grace and discipline, or as my Methodists friends might say, “call and response” motion from God to humanity.

Lastly, spiritual formation have to be about teaching a community to form habits around means of grace and disciplines. That means creating a new grammar for people, a new way of looking at life. As Adam English stated in one of the theological forums, “The greatest threat is turning the gospel into a systematic idea that fit into the life they already have.”

Questions to ask:
- What are some new ways God is communicating his transforming grace to different generations within church (elderly, parents, singles, students and children today)? Are we open to including those into our definition of transformation? What might we be missing?
- Do others understand what discipleship means?
- Do people understand how their baptism affects their identity and formation?

Call for a Transformation Appearance

There is a temptation to communicate that Christians have to have everything “together” to be or become disciples of Jesus. This could not be fuller from being correct. Christianity is messy because life and people are messy. Therefore, true discipleship is found when in the messiness of life Christians can forsake the appearance of having it all together and confess, “I hurt but Jesus is with me. “In this type of discipleship the Church and un-churched can discover Jesus in suffering through his people.

A helpful way of framing this that has been offered by Andrew Root has been the question, “are you serving life, or serving death?” This question moves us past moralistic formation to holistic formation. It states, “life can be a bitch,” but I serve my God because he has redeemed and is transforming me. It moves us into the reality where the love of God overcomes death in the resurrection. It help answers the question of many, what is stronger, “Life or death?” or “does this emptiness end?”

All suffer, and a part of discipleship needs to be both teaching people how Christ is with them in their suffering and helping people realize that Christains are called by God to walk through suffering with others by being honest with the crap of life.

Questions to ask:
- Have we modeled the correct appearance of discipleship to our church?
- Is suffering a part of our grammar?
- Are we teaching people that in Christianity everything needs appear okay?
- What are our practices serving, life or death?
- Are we really seeking our congregation’s questions about life?
- Are we ready to hear our congregation’s fears?

NYWC Debrief of Theological Fourms and Cafes (Part 1)

2011-10-03T15:17:00.000-07:00

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

How Partnering Can Help Your Ministry

2011-09-26T22:09:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have been a little absent in the last couple of months. Hoping now that the youth room construction project is finished at my church I will have a little more free time on my hands. Below I have posted a blog I wrote a couple of months ago but it never found it's way onto my blog. It is directed to youth pastors, church leaders, or pastor a little more this time. I hope even if you are not one of those people you can get something from it too. Peace and love everyone. Thanks for reading.

Ministry Cannot Be Done Alone

The number one reason that youth pastors and/or leaders are not a part of a network of fellow ministry partners is that many feel that if they do not put their own church first they will get in trouble. There is this assumption that if they join a “youth ministry network” or they put on an event with other churches, somehow they are either not putting their church first, or that they will lose teens to another church. Any youth leader knows this pressure, whether it is placed on by one’s self and/or by one’s supervisor(s), but doing ministry as a part of a community of youth pastors and leaders will help you put your church first.

If you have been in ministry for longer than a minute, you know that there are hard times in ministry and life. A few blog posts ago I hoped to show how those in ministry need a community of people who care for them and experience similar things. This type of community can help a youth pastor refresh so that he or she can do ministry better, give and receive prayer when in need, so that you can support and care for those within your community or local para-church ministry better.

They Are Not Your Teens

The first step in partnering with others and doing ministry together is realizing that the teens that fill your church are not yours. It is so easy to fall into the trap of feeling like you have to do more or work harder to make teens love God or show up to youth group. Yet, the beautiful thing is that all of the students that fill your room are not there because you did something; they are there because God did something. As Romans 8:16 states, “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” It is God who draws all people to himself.

As a minister of the gospel, the only thing you can do is work to partner with God in what he is doing in the world. Therefore, the youth leader’s role is not to work hard so that teens might come to God, or come to youth group, but to discern the work of God in your community. When you do this, you facilitate space for God to move in the lives of teens with the resources you have been given (to meet the needs of your church families and teens do you need this here or can it be removed?).

Check Your Pride At The Door

I once met a youth leader who ran an excellent para-church ministry. His group was growing and those around her were excited about what he was doing. One day I asked him if he would be interested in partnering with a local church to help disciple students and direction them toward a local church community. He responded, “you can come and see what I do if you want to try to replicate it, but you cannot come to take my teens.”

After my encounter with this para-church youth leader, I reflected on my own ministry history. During this time I realized that there had been moments when I had similar responses to other youth pastors or leaders who were looking to partner with me.

If every youth leader were really honest with themselves, they would admit that they are scared to lose teens to another church—I myself am guilty of this as well. At the same time, if you were honest, you would have to admit that the reason you do not want to lose kids to another church has everything to do with your own pride. Pride that you will not have good numbers, or that a teen might not like you as much as someone else. You as youth leaders need realize this and need to allow God to help you check your pride at the door. If you do not, you might start creating a youth group that more heavily emphasizes numbers, resources, a church name, and you; not God.

Pride is one of the most deadly things in ministry. It can not only hurt ministry, but it can also hurt teens. When you are prideful it becomes almost impossible to be in community with and partnership with others in ministry. You have to check your pride at the door and realize that the Kingdom of God is bigger than your ministry and/or church.

The harsh reality of this para-church leader’s ministry is that soon this person’s ministry lost funding and his ministry disappeared overnight. As I was sitting with another friend and para-church leader in my community, my friend got a call from the parent of a student who was involved in the now closed para-church ministry. The parent wanted to know what to do. She asked questions like, “where is my kid supposed to go now?” The students that went to this person’s para-church group were without a group, without a leader, and without a church community. This person made the ministry more about themselves than God’s work, and the teens suffered the consequences.

Do Events Together

The body of Christ is bigger than your church or denomination. The larger Church that God called us to is a worldwide diverse community of people and churches. Students need to understand the beauty of this reality.

Three years ago, a group of Youth Pastors and youth groups in Irvine committed to meeting every week for a summer to do youth group together in a park. Why? Because they hoped to show their students that the Church is bigger than their individual churches.

Through that event students found other Christians at their schools who they never knew were Christians. New friendships were made across denominations. New students came to know Christ, and the Body of Christ became present in such a new way to many students.

When churches do events together, God moves through the presence of his Body dwelling in community. After all, if God is present when two or three gather together, how much more is God present when two, three, or six churches come together?

Find a Balance

Please do not hear me saying that you should forsake your own youth group in order to partner with other youth groups or churches. There needs to be a healthy balance between both. There are times when your youth group just needs to be with your youth group and there are other times where it would do your youth group good to be with other churches or para-church groups. As the leader of youth, it is your job to seek God and determine what that balance looks like within your group.

Every youth pastor will have different amounts of time that he or she can give to a network. No “network” or community of youth pastors should require an “all or nothing” standard. There must be flexibility for the sake of community, because the reality is, there are times you will have to put yourself, your church or your teens first.

Conclusion

The network of youth pastors I partner with is taking these ideas seriously. We believe that when we work together to do the work of the Lord, we are creating a wide-open space for God to move. Through this network, we have seen teens come to Christ, High School campuses be transformed, and new believers become disciples who are plugged into the body of Christ. My prayer is that you see the same thing in your community as you partner with God and his local church to manifest his Kingdom.

Death and Grass: The Fear of Death

2011-08-29T18:15:00.001-07:00

Last week as I was driving in Irvine towards my church I noticed something a little weird, a sign in the city’s dying grass reading, “grass in renovation.” At first I thought it must be a joke that some college student had pulled, but then a week later it was still there. On top of that, more had shown up. Now, if you have lived or worked in Irvine for more than a week, you know that the cops and/or the city of Irvine don’t stand for much, not even a silly fake little sign in the grass.

As I drove to my favorite local coffee shop today, I passed by another sign stuck there in the grass reading, “grass in renovation” and I started to become disheartened. I started to wonder what this simple sign says about a city? What does it say about this city’s residents? Why would a city feel it needs to defend its dying grass?

What I realized is that somehow the city of Irvine believes that the reality of dying grass shows a sign of imperfection. That somehow in the death of grass our fear of imperfection and death meet?

Death and Imperfection

A couple months ago I read through a book called The Promise of Despair by one of my favorite youth ministry thinkers and theologians, Andrew Root. In the book, Root talks about how the idea of “death” scares us all…well…to death. That our culture has become really good at running away from death. Not just the end-of-life kind of death, but the I-do-not-know-if-I-want-to-make-friends-because-they-might-leave death, or the my-body-is-getting-really-old-and-I-must-change-that death.

Doing ministry in Orange County I have noticed something I have only seen one other place I have done ministry, Utah. In Utah the Latter Day Saint Church runs most of the state. A majority of the population belongs to the LDS Church or is expected to fall line with the culture the LDS Church has placed on its members. The idea of being perfect.

Take Salt Lake City, Utah for example. Salt Lake City is divided into two areas: West Salt Lake and East Salt Lake. The dividing line is the 15 freeway. The freeway operates kind of like the train tracks in Pretty in Pink, the rich upper class live on one side of the freeway, the east side. While, the not-so live on the west side of the 15 freeway.

In the center of the town is Temple Square, the home base of the LDS Church. Around Temple Square the streets are clean, the homes are well kept, the people look pretty, and if a homeless person if found near the square, they are relocated to the west side.

Why might Salt Lake City do this you ask? To keep up the image of the city, an image of perfection, and image where death and hurt doesn’t exist.

During my first week in ministry in Irvine I was talking to some students. They were telling me a little about Irvine. In the midst of the conversation they told me a story about a time they were talking to a homeless man. During their conversation an Irvine cop drove up, strongly urged the teens to leave, and placed the homeless man in his car. I asked the students where they took him? One looked at me and just said two words, “Santa Ana.”

Are we so scared of death that any imperfection could possibly remind us of the fate that awaits us all? Could it be that we desire to present this image of perfection to everyone because we are scared of the reality of death?

As someone who does ministry with Jr. High and High School students and their families, I started to think of the effect this has on teens and families. What might it communicate to teens that grow up or parents that raise a family in a culture where perfection is the expectation and death is covered up?

I was at lunch with a student a few months ago that had spent the weekend at her little brother’s baseball tournament. I asked her how it went, and she just looked at me and said, “it was okay, but it is so hard to watch my dad yell at my brother because he didn’t get a hit at his last at bat.”

What happened to failing being a part of life? What happened to the reality of death?

So many of my student say that they number one reason they feel stressed is because their parents are requiring them to do more: more AP classes, more sports, more dance, or more SAT prep classes. Students feel that if they do not do these things that they will not only not get into the college they want, but that they will disappoint their parents.

Could it be that parents are not pressuring their kids because they want them to be perfect, but they want to protect them from death?

Students are not the only ones who feel the pressure to be perfect, parents do too.

A few months ago I sat talking to some parents about rising teens in Irvine. As they talked one parent looked at me and said, “it is hard, you go to the store and see a parent whose son goes to school with your teen. They tell you all about the school that their oldest kids just got into, the grades their teens get, or the sports game their teen won...Sometimes you get sucked in.”

Conclusion

Death can take many forms, but at the heart of death are hurt, tears, and pain. The sad thing is that by trying to keep those things away, many times we just cause them.

This begs the question: In the purist of perfection are we bringing death?

In the Bible, the word-translated perfection only occurs once in the whole Bible as a command, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). All others times in the Bible the only person that is even called perfect is God. Even in this verse is the idea that humanity is not able to make him or herself prefect, but that it is God who will make them perfect.

No one can be perfect. No one will be beautiful forever. No one can be happy all the time.

We will all fail. We will all be sad. We will all fall ill. We will all die…Even grass.

I encourage you not to buy into the idea of running from death toward perfection, because there is beauty in death. There is beauty in death because God has entered into death and saved us out of it. As Romans 4:25 reminds us, “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”

Therefore, with the words of Jesus I encourage you to run into death so that you may have life. “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.” (Luke 9:24)

The power of love. A thought.

2011-07-24T10:37:00.001-07:00

Can love be more powerful than economics? Can love be more powerful than what we consume? Can love be more powerful than the needed to control? Can love be more powerful than a political hope?

Only when we realize that love is God, can love be that powerful.

1 John 4:7-8

Random phone posts

2011-07-14T18:10:00.001-07:00

I just downloaded the Blogger app for my phone. So in light of that fact, I am going to start posting fun pictures, thoughts, and/or quotes. I hope you will enjoy.

Take a Week Off

2011-05-30T17:09:00.001-07:00

Don't worry everyone, I did not forget to write this week. I am just taking a week off to refresh myself on this Holiday. I hope you enjoy(ed) your holiday as well. See you next week.

What a Ministry Network Can Be

2011-05-23T16:54:00.000-07:00

A Story of One Network.

I think that everyone in ministry remembers when they hit that time during their first month of ministry at a new church or in a new town, when everything just seems awkward, hard, and just little more stressful than you expected. I remember when that time came for me at my current church. Luckily, close to the day that all of that hit me, my boss at that time looked at me and said, “hey lets go, we are going to a network meeting.”

Now, I had been to a view “network meetings” in my time of ministry, and to say the least, I wasn’t very excited. I just expected it to be a bunch of people sitting around talking about how amazing their star kid was, or how God was really blessing their church. So as we got into the car on the way to a local church, I started to think about how these people might look, what crazy Jesus stories they might tell, or what super spiritual prayer I might hear.

As we got to the church and walked into the room I noticed something, no one looked how I expected them to, but I wasn’t convinced I was wrong. I had seen to many of these "network meetings" go terribly wrong.

As my boss started introducing me to everyone in the room, we sat down, and I was asked to share a little about myself. I naturally went into my surface level story of how when to Azusa Pacific, then to Fuller Theological Seminary, that I had done ministry in Utah with LDS member, lead missions trips, Youth Ministry inthe Pasadena area, all before ending up in Irvine. With every sentence I was writing my resume for them in words, hoping to impress them I guess?

After me, other people started by introducing themselves, sharing what was going on in their ministries, lives, and hearts. To be honest, I was really caught off guard. These people who I assumed would be fake, were real. I don’t mean the cheese Christian “real” where that one emotional guy fights through a tear; I mean the type of real that comes with time, energy, and friendship.

When everyone was done sharing they came back to me. "So," one of the youth pastors asked, “How are you doing?” Against every assumption, I followed suit, I honestly told them how I was doing, and it was refreshing.

At the end of the meeting the group of pastors, youth leaders, and para-church ministers sat and prayed for each other for a while, lifting up every prayer request and unspoken concern. Then when it was all done, we all then shook each other’s hands, some gave hugs, and my boss and I left.

A Vision.

When I was in college I was a part of a missions organization that looked to network people of all denominates and churches in Salt Lake City, UT. I loved working with that organization because of their vision, "Standing Together seeks to be a catalyst for uniting the Utah Christian community through relational efforts of prayer, worship, and strategic evangelism.”

In all my time doing ministry in Southern California, in college, and in Seminary, I never really found people who were willing to work towards a vision like Standing Together had. It seemed to me that everyone was in it for their own church, ministries, or self. I admit that after a while I gave up trying to look, until that day I was taken to a network meeting in Irvine.

In a way that meeting re-sparked a new desire in my heart for all denominations, para-church organizations, and churches to work together to accomplish God’s work in the world. To see a community of churches, not just a church, represent what Paul talks about in Romans. 12:3-8

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

Conclusion.

It has now been a year and a half since my first network meeting in Irvine, and I honestly don’t know where I would be without my brothers and sisters in ministry. They help me become a better person, they pray for me, and we do ministry together in some really intentional ways.

So with that, I encourage you that if you have a vision to see the church work together in such a way, not loss hope, but be a catalyst for change. If you want a community of people that is like the one I have in Irvine, start one. If you are a part of a “network” that you feel is not fruitful, then work to change it.

Next week, I will dive into some practical ways you might be able to help things change, but until then, do not loss hope, for it is possible.

How to Receive Feedback, and Change

2011-05-16T17:59:00.000-07:00

One thing God has been teaching me a lot lately through my Executive Pastor is the beauty of “feedback.” Now I know that might sound weird to those of you who do not like getting that phone call or email from an upset parent or an elder who thinks they know how to fix youth group, but trust me, it is for your good.

In John 21, Jesus presents a simple feedback model in confronting Peter on the beach. Most people don’t think of this passage as feedback, but a closer look reveals a deep message to Peter. It was only a few days earlier that Peter has standing in eye shot of Jesus, denying him 3 times. Now, Peter stands next to Jesus, as he who asks Peter simple question 3 times, “do you love me?” Peter might find this question weird or even upsetting, but we have to remember that the last time Peter was asked if he was a follower of Jesus, Peter denied him 3 times in a row.

This passage teaches us an important message about feedback, we will make mistakes, and not one of us is prefect. While we might not deny Jesus to a crowd of people, we will upset someone, treat someone as they should not have been treated, or make an assumption we were wrong about. In doing so, we might not deny Jesus, but we might deny that person the respect they deserve as a child of God.

Jesus continues to press Peter by asking him, “do you love me?” As Jesus does this, Peter’s feelings become hurt. Peter responses with tears in his eyes, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Peter cannot believe that his Lord would ask such questions. Yet, like the typical Peter who pulls out a sword and cries out, “I will never deny you;” Peter does not get the purpose for this feedback.

Feedback has nothing to do with you, but everything to do with your actions or assumptions. What I mean when I say this is that when a person has feedback for you, they are not trying to say they “dislike” you, they just dislike what you did, or an assumption you have.

This reality can be the hardest aspect of accepting feedback, separating ourselves from our actions or assumptions. The important thing to keep in mind is that when a person is giving feedback to you, they are looking to fix what went wrong, not tell you how much they dislike you. If it does become that, that person moves from healthy feedback for the betterment of the situation, to anger.

Therefore, it is important to remember when giving a person feedback, to stick to how it makes you feel. What about their actions or assumption have hurt your feelings or communicated to you. Be as specific as you can. This helps the person you are giving feedback to change their actions or assumptions.

At the end of the text, Jesus says to Peter, “Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”

Within the text is the assumption that Jesus’ feedback has caused Peter to change. He will no longer denied Jesus, has he once did. In fact, even when he is threatened with death, Peter did not deny Jesus.

Once we receive feedback, it is up to us to learn, respond, and change our actions or assumptions so that we will not make that same mistake again. In doing so, we make ourselves better people and we admit the simple fact that we are not prefect, that we will make mistakes. When we do make mistakes, feedback allows us to do as Peter did, acknowledge our wrongs and make them right.

Thoughts On Why Students Leave the Church.

2011-05-09T18:07:00.000-07:00

This week I shall return to how other in the Youth Ministry world have sought to answer the question of why teens are leaving the church in droves upon graduation. Today, I discuss Kendra Creasy Dean from Princeton Theological Seminary, in order to find out why she believes teens are leaving the church we shall look at her book Almost Christian.

In the process of writing her new book, Kendra Creasy Dean takes the research from a study involving teens she participated in entitled the National Study of Youth and Religion, which she did with Christian Smith, and comments on how thing can change. In the book Dean suggests that young people believe that churches offer then a bland view of faith and Christian community formation. In the first chapter, her findings become clear as she states, “…we have studied the religious and spiritual lives of adolescents in order to answer the question ‘How can we keep young people in church?’ Today, our question is more pressing: ‘Does the church matter?’”

By asking this question, Dean takes the focus off the question of“how can we keep teen’s in church after graduation,” to does the church communicate the gospel to teens in a way that it communicates God’s life changing message to teens? This question is driven by the fact that in Dean’s research, she found that teens have a disheveled view of God she and other researches have entitled “Moral Therapeutic Deism.” In this view God is more of a make-me-feel-good-and-solves-my-problems-god then the God of the Bible. The most daunting finding is that a teen’s pick up this faith from their parents. It is this faith that drives teens away from the church. They leave the church because it offers “such a stripped-down version of Christian identity that it no longer poses a viable alternative to imposter spiritualities like Moral Therapeutic Deism.”

Dean encourages the church and families to refocus, and point teens to a metanarrative where identity within Christ transforms one’s understanding of themselves. This type of theological understanding presents the life altering grace of God that redeems the world through his son. At the same time, it introduces teens to a gospel that has the power to change people and power structures.

Dean also challenges adults to stand up and create a community that cares for teens and makes them feel empowered to do God’s work. In order to do so, the church needs to create a community of people who make teens believe they are an essential part of the community. A church needs to give students the opportunity to participate in Kingdom work in the world, and in so, see change and redemption.

The heart of Dean’s work with teens is to see lives transformed so that upon graduation, because they have found their identity with in him, not in something else. With the hope that in their time at church before graduation; students have experienced God’s grace and the work of his Kingdom in such a way that they cannot imagine their lives with out God.

What are your thoughts on Dean's conclusions?

All quotes taken from: Kendra Creasy Dean, Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers Is Telling the American Church, (Oxford University Press: New York, New York, 2010),

Creating Conversation: Bin Laden's Death

2011-05-02T17:07:00.001-07:00

In light of last night’s events, the announcement of Bin Laden’s assassination, I will not be blogging about Sr. High Transitional issues.

After hearing President Obama’s announcement last night, I quickly signed onto facebook to see what people were saying. As you can imagine, and might have seen, there was a wide range of different responses from "partying in the streets" to frustration.

As I sat there on facebook, what I thought was interesting was that little to no High School or Jr. High students made any of their own personal comments on the event. I started to think about why they were not updating their status like the rest of the world. With AP exams coming up, I assumed that maybe many of them were to busy studying to have the time to update facebook, but when I looked at who was online, many of my student’s faces were there. I had no idea what was going on. I mean, for some students, a loud car goes by and they are on facebook up dating their status, yet a large event like this they have no response?

All of a sudden I realized that many of these students have not known a world where “the war on terror” did not exist. Think about it, the current teenage students were one to eight years old when the events of 9-11 took place. Even as a child, they might remember some of the images of 9-11 that were broadcast on the news, but they didn’t have the cognitive ability to realize the gravity of these events on this culture, economy, and the world. That is why there was nothing from teens on facebook, because they were unsure about what this might mean for them and the world.

After a little, I updated my status. A few minutes later, I started to get “likes” from a good group of students, but no comments. Then another observation hit me, they where wanting to process what was happening, but didn’t know how to, so they were waiting, watching, and learning.

Even though many of today’s teens might not remember what the world was like before “the war on terror,” that does not mean that they did not comprehend the weight of the event that occurred yesterday, they where just unclear how to respond to it. For this reason, I urge you to take sometime this week and sit down with your teens and talk about this event and what it means to respond to an event like this.

There is no better time to create conversation about what this event means, or events like this one, might mean to us and the world. Or, what this event communicates to us about our culture and world to teens. Christian teens all over the country will be looking to the church, to their parents, and to their faith leaders to see how to respond as people who are in the process of forming their faith. Whether people want to deny it or not, this event is a milestone in “the war on terror” and many people will see this event as a turning point in this war, and maybe even with our own culture and economy. Teens might be wondering what this event means? How are they supposed to respond? Is the world going to change, and if so, how?

Not only are there questions about what this means for our lives, families, and country, but there are also some deep theological questions within this event. What does this event tell us about justice, forgiveness, war, and judgment? What does God say justice is? Is this justice? What does Jesus say about forgiving those who hurt us? Can we forgive Ben Laden now? What about war? Is this an act of “just war?” Did Bin Laden final face the judgment he deserved for his role in 9-11? What is our role in judgment? What is God’s role in judgment? Can someone who did something like Ben Laden, be forgiven by God?

I pray that as you sit down with your families, your youth group, or small group that they Lord guides your conversation. That he uses this conversation to inform your teens about what this event might mean for our country and how Christians should respond to events like this.

Why are High Schoolers Leaving the Church?

2011-04-25T19:14:00.001-07:00

Over the past ten years youth ministries across the Untitled States have seen a drastic and dishearten reality: 50% of students leave the church upon graduating from High School. On top of those stats, based on research done with over 400 ex-youth group students, 16% of students feel prepared to encounter life after youth group and 40% of students struggle to find a church after graduation. Why do you think this is?

Over the next couple weeks I will be writing to this specific topic, but for now, what are your thoughts? Why are high schoolers leaving church upon graduating from High School?

Creating the Unexpected

2011-04-18T16:51:00.001-07:00

Over the last four weeks of my church’s high school program we have taken time to step away from the normal flow of the night. In fact, the last four weeks have looked very different even from each other. The reason for this is because while routine can be good, it is good to step out of the regular ebb-and-flow of the expected. I have noticed that when groups take time to change things up, that it has a way of creating space for God to move in the mist of the unexpected.

Just think of Jesus’ disciples out on the boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee, just before Jesus left them on the shore he told them he would meet up with them later. I doubt that one of those men thought that Jesus meant he would meet up with them in the middle of the sea. Yet, Jesus changes things up on them, and in doing so meets them in a new way as he creates space for a new lesson on the Kingdom of God.

When youth groups, churches, or camps, try new and expected things they allow for God to move in a new way. The unexpected has the ability to make students uneasy, and let’s just face it that is a good thing sometimes.

I remember this time at summer camp when the camp dropped something on the students that no one expected. Many of my students had been to so many Christian camps in their life that they knew the routine of Christian camp talks. Start with something easy and lively, then as the week goes on start to get to the good stuff that really encourages change.

After the second night of camp, I sat in a small group meeting with seven quite High School boys when one looks at me and says, “I didn’t expect this to happen to me this early in the week.” The camp had thrown off these students, and in doing so, had created space for God to move.

It can be easy to do this. Sometimes it is as easy as offering some time of reflection after a sermon or talk. It can also be as large as changing up the whole youth group by offering a “worship night” where you create a new mood by bringing in some candles, having some worship reflection exercises, and little to no talking. Or maybe you can change it up by having a “conversation night” on a specific topic that students are struggling with, or on a specific theological topic such as “is Jesus the only way?”

At first students might be a little uneasy, but once you direct them and set the tone for them, students are great at adapting to the situation in front of them.

Therefore, I encourage you to take a step into an expected place with students this week or in the coming months. In so doing so, I hope that you see God move in a mighty and unexpected way.

What "Love Wins" by Rob Bell Actual Says

2011-04-11T20:18:00.001-07:00

Since the Christian word as been up in arms about Rob Bell’s New book Love Wins, I thought I would write and clarify what he is saying for all those who don’t want to read his book, or have heard “things.” So here is what I understand Bell to be saying:

God is Love. It is this definition of God from the book of 1 John that drives all that Bell is saying. Therefore, the title “Love Wins” is a play on the fact that God is love. Therefore, ultimately God wins because he is Love.

God wins when his hope for the world comes to fulfillment within his plan of redemption. As Jesus says in John 3:16 and 2 Corinthians 5 God wants the “whole world” to be redeemed and for no one to parish.

Bell plays on this idea a lot by arguing that if God wants all to be saved, why would he reject anyone or purposely send anyone to “hell.” Don’t read too much into this though, Bell is simply saying in a very round about way that he is not a 5 point Calvinist (Aka, God doesn’t create people just to send them to hell).

The definition of Hell Bell prepossess in this book is both interesting and vague. Bell reads a lot into the original understanding of the word we translate “hell,” gehnenna. This word was the name for the local Jerusalem city dump, not this place far below the Earth’s surface. Bell also points out that when Jesus refers to “weeping and gnashing of teeth” he is again referring to gehnenna, because these are sounds that could be heard coming from the dump, as wild animals would scavenge through the trash for food. Ultimately, what Jesus means when he refers to gehnenna is a place outside of the city of Jerusalem.

At the same time, Bell works with the word “hades,” saying that he believes that this word is a Greek translation of the Hebrew sheol. Therefore, as Luke 10 states, “you will go down to Hades” is related to the Psalmist’s cry to be delivered from “sheol.” Therefore, Hades is something that one can be delivered out of, just as one can be delivered out of sheol.

This is then where Bell takes up an interesting argument, that hell exists not only after death, but now. Just as the Kingdom of Heaven is present here and now, but not yet; Bell sees, hell as being present here now, but not yet. Hell can be found on earth in the slums of India or the pits of war.

It is out of these arguments that Hell takes on the definition of being outside of the city, in sheol, in a place of misery, or away from God’s love. As Bell states, “To reject God’s grace, to turn from God’s love, to resists God’s telling, will lead to misery. It is a form of punishment, all on its own” (176). Or “God is love, and to refuse this love moves us away from it” (177). Basically, just think of C.S. Lewis’s version of “hell” in the book The Great Divorce and you have it.

Heaven is then the opposite of hell, life lived in the city, out of sheol, or in love. Those who are in heaven choose to be there, because God longs for all to be saved and will not reject those who wish to come in. God was not some mean man sitting in heaven waiting to send people to “hell,” until Jesus came in and saved humanity from the mean Father. God’s whole plan was to save us from our sin that keeps us from himself. Therefore, in a way when we have the ability to choose things over and against God. When we do this we reject God and therefore reject heaven. As C.S. Lewis writes in The Great Divorce, “the grass becomes too sharp” and “the light hurts their eyes.”

Bell even seems to allow for a chance of conversion or redemption after death stating things like, why would the city doors of Jerusalem be open if no one what let in them? People do not suffer for eternity in hell, they might only go through hell for a time. In fact, Bell argues that the understanding of eternity (aion) is not “a literal passing of time” but a “transcending time, belonging to another realm altogether.” In order to make his point, Bell walks through multiple verses that have an idea of God restoring Israel and even Egypt at a point of time in eternity. Ultimately arguing that one can be redeemed even after death, because restoration brings glory to God, not the suffering of his creation. It should be noted that C.S. Lewis’s also seems to have this theology on redemption from hell, but instead of writing it out in a theology book, he writes it as a narrative in The Great Divorce.

Bell does though fail to deal with verses just as Hebrews 9:27 that state, “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment…” In fact, Bell almost side steps judgment all almost together. I even fingered back through the book and could not find one mention of it.

In closing, Bell is not saying anything new. He is just saying similar things to a new generation that never read the likes of C.S. Lewis.

Secondly, Bell is not a Universalist, even though some will say he is. He just simply believes that God wants all to be saved; yet some will reject him in spite of that reality.

Thirdly, the most controversial thing that Bell seems to believe is that we get another chance at heaven once we die.

Redefining Success.

2011-04-04T18:35:00.001-07:00

Over the last couple months I have been processing a lot of the research and writing of both Chap Clark in his book Hurt and Kendra Dean’s book’s Almost Christian. I believe that they differ in their focus, and their focus leads them to make the conclusions they do about today’s youth and their spirituality. What emerges from both of them is the fact that teen’s spiritual faith is not in the place we would hope it would be. Clark believes it has something to do with systemic abandonment and Dean believes that it has something to do with the God that teens are perceiving in the church. I think both are correct and in fact related. The relational point is that adult in teen’s lives.

My pastor showed a video at a church meeting where fleas were placed on a table where they could be seen jumping about. In the video, a person then walked up and placed a glass jar over the fleas, restraining their ability to jump. After a little while, the person emerged again and removed the glass jar from on top of the fleas. The fleas had adapted to being in the glass jar and now only jumped as high as the jar would have allowed. For the rest of their lives, the fleas could only jump as high as the glass jar would have allowed too. In fact, the announcer proclaimed that not only would the fleas not be able to jump higher than the glass jar allowed, but also their off-spring would have the same limits.

After seeing this video it was as if a light bulb turned on over my head, yes like in the cartoons. I realized that it was highly unlikely that children and teens would never be able to develop a Christian life that was more mature than the adults in their lives. In fact, as Dean’s research shows, teens are developing a theology that reflects their church’s or parent’s spirituality. Yet, what Dean discuess is that almost no teens are reflecting the type of spirituality that is displayed in scripture. Teens are starting to believe in what is called, “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.” In this spirituality, God is a feel good god that gives them what they like and solves their problems. As I joked with my pastor, it is like we are turning God into a Starbucks Barista.

As I sat and prayed over some of these topics this morning I had a thought, it all has to do with how we define “success.”

When I sit down and talk to local youth pastors and pastors in Orange County one key thing emerges, kids are way to busy. Teens are not only busy with sports, school, or other extra-curricular activities; they are busy with everything. Families and students are starting to believe that they will be fulfilled if they work their butts off to get into the best college, to then find the best job. Therefore, the best job, equals happiness.

Pastors aren’t the only one’s who are telling me this. There is not a week that goes by when I don’t hear from a student that they cannot come to youth group because of an AP test or a sports game. The funny thing is, many of them would rather come to youth group then study for 2 more hours for an AP test, or practice for 3 more hours for club soccer, but they continue to study and continue to practice. Why? Because they feel like they have to or they will let someone down. That if they come to church, they won’t get into the best school they can.

I was talking to a student after youth group one night who was apologizing to me for missing youth group for 2 months strait. I looked at this person and said, “you were missed, but I don’t blame you.” As this person continued to talk they were telling me about the pressure they felt to perform at school, do well on the SAT, and be in all the school activities. I just looked at them and said one thing, “you can tell your parents you feel this way.”

They looked right back at me with tears in their eyes and said, “You are going to make me cry.”

What are we telling our teens when they feel they need to set aside church or youth group to do school work or sports, because only those things will help them get to the point were they will be successful and happy in life?

I thing this all has to do with how we are defining success.

Many teens feel like if they don’t do all these things to get into the best college or to be the most popular person, they will have failed. Therefore, teen are forced to push themselves to be successful, but in doing so they push aside Jesus.

Jesus is not someone who is against success, in fact he was very successful at what he was sent to do, and it was just that he redefined what it meant to be successful. In the Kingdom of God success comes when we take up our cross and follow Jesus. Success comes when we become a servant of those in need.

The pictures of success Jesus paints are contrary to the ideas of success that the world tells our families, parents, and students. The world’s view of success entraps our families, parents, and teens and moves their focus from God to elsewhere.

That is why not only our teens, but adults need to come face to face with a gospel message that not only sets us free from sin, but sets us free from the culture we so easily can become enslaved too. A culture that defines success as the degree we have, the car in our driveway, or the money in our bank account; instead of the picture of success that Jesus paints: success as serving others.

In today’s world it is necessary that we see our job as ministering not only to teens, but also to their parents and other adults in our student’s lives. For it is these adults that inform the worldview of our teens and communicate to them what it means to be successful.

Taking Time to Reflect On What God is Doing.

2011-03-21T19:22:00.000-07:00

When we sit down to apply our theology and the vision given to our church and ministry we enter into a theological process called: practical theology. This is a process of taking our theology of God and asking how our understanding of God, within our current cultural context, affects how we run ministries. As vital part of
practical theology is reflecting on God’s work, in us, in the world, and in our students’ lives. It is this reflection that should affect our praxis of ministry. Yet in ministry it is easy to do what is familiar to us, or what we believe is "right," despite how God might be moving.

In doing this we become routine. That is why we need to make sure that we taking the time to reflection on what God is doing and has done in the past. This type of reflective ministry can help us to get out of our ministry routines, and help to bring our ministry back into focus.

In order to do this we need to give time to God to speak to us through Scripture, through prayer, through Church history, and through what he is doing in the lives of students. Seeking God's movement in these ways will help us to ensure that our ministry is root in the right place, God's movement.

God is the One Who Heals

2011-03-14T17:39:00.000-07:00

I have this really bad problem, I like to fix things. Now I am not talking about fixing the pipes under a sink after someone thought it would be a good idea to try to cram a whole turkey down it. I am talking about fixing people who are broken.

Now I realize that we are all “broken,” and in need of being “fixed,” but for some reason I like to think that I can fix people all by myself. So I put people on my back, tie them down, and just start walking in the direction of their problem, bent on making everything better as quick as possible.

I do this partly because I am impatient, because I care, and because I want things to be fixed now. I don’t like to wait. I don’t like the process that healing can be sometimes.

There is this story in the John 9 where Jesus is walking down the street with his disciples. As they are walking, they look over to the side of the street and see a blind man sitting there on the street.

Now Jesus’ disciples ask the typical awkward question the disciples always seem to ask, which ends up with them putting their feet in their mouths, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

Now I love how Jesus responses, ““Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Basically Jesus states, no one sinned the make this man blind. He is blind because he is broken and in need of healing. Therefore, this broken man’s brokenness will be used glorify that God and show others that God is the one that heals.

After Jesus speaks to his disciples, he gets on the ground and spits in the dirt making some mud. After the mud is made. He places the mud over the blind man’s eyes.

I know I am not the only one who thinks that this is a little weird. Yet, as I started to think about why Jesus did this, I realized Jesus was a pure genius. Since this man was blind and he couldn’t see Jesus, so he touched and spoke to the blind man because that is just how the man needed to be touched.

Unlike must healings in scripture, after Jesus touches the man, he sends him on a journey saying, “Go, and wash in the Pool of Siloam.”

The blind man then gets up and walks the distance to the pool of Siloam to be healed. The man wasn’t healed from his blindness just as Jesus touched him; he had to take a journey that Jesus sent him on to be healed.

As I meditated on this passage, I realized that sometime the journey is necessary to be healed from our brokenness.

When I was in elementary school I was hanging out and swimming at my cousin’s house on a hot summer day. As we were all playing by the pool, one of my cousin yelled out, “Last one in the pool is a loser!”

Now I did not want to be a loser, so I jumped from where I was toward the pool. The issue with that idea, was that a large item was in my way: a diving board. As I came down into what I was hoping was the pool, I hit my knee on the diving board.

Now on the surface of the water, I looked down into the now bluish-red pool; I realized I had somehow cut my knee pretty badly in the process of trying not to be a loser.

As I got out of the pool, my mom and aunt found the largest band-aid they could find to cover my hurt knee.

As the weeks went on, my cut did not heal. The problem was that every time I moved my knee the cut reopened, no matter how many band-aids I put on it.

Teens, heck everyone, are really good at putting band-aids over cuts that need deeper healing.

I think the reason that people are so good at doing this is because it is easier to put a band-aid over a cut then to go to the doctor, who might hurt you in the process of healing you. They know that the journey to be healed is not always an easy journey to go on. So people try to heal by getting drunk, doing drugs, looking for love in sex, or shopping until they drop. You see, it is hard walking through town with mud on your eyes, I mean; people might look at your weird?

As youth leaders, volunteers, parents, or pastors, our job is to point students and people toward a journey that brings healing. To point people to the only God who can bring healing, even if he has to put a little mud on our eyes to do it.

Here is the reality, we cannot fix people, we cannot fix ourselves; only God can fix us and redeem us.

Then once redeemed we can cry out, “I was blind but now I see!”

Through Tears, God Heals

2011-03-07T16:52:00.001-08:00

Today you can’t turn on sport’s radio or a sport’s channel without hearing details and commentary related to the Miami Heat’s Coach Erik Spoletra’s comments that team members of the Heat were “crying” after a tough loss to the Chicago Bulls yesterday afternoon.

As I listened to some of the commentary and repots, I was struck by the fact that many people were laughing, and for lack of better term, making fun of the Miami Heat player who were crying. Saying things like, “if there is no crying in baseball, then there is definitely no crying in the regular season of basketball.” (Spinning a line from the movie “League of Their Own.)

In most commentary I have heard on the matter, there is one overwhelming theme: men aren’t supposed to cry unless…(fill in the blank with some dramatic event).

Rewind to my Saturday night, I am standing outside after a spiritual experience at a local Christian camp in Southern California. From the direction of the bathroom, two of my high school guys emerge, arms on each other’s shoulders in tears.

As I began to talk to them, quickly it became obvious that God was breaking open some deep hurt that they had tried to push down. As tears came from their eyes they both tried hard to mask them, even saying things like, “I hate crying” or “I just have to stop.”

I finally looked at both of them and said, “It is okay to cry.”

If either of these teens were to turn on a sports channel or radio station today they would hear a much different message about what is or not okay for a “man” to do.

As I processed all of this, my mind could not help but drift to scripture’s shortest verse, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35).

Standing outside of Lazarus’s tomb, Jesus cried over the loss of a friend.

Now I know you can’t emotionally compare the loss of a basketball game, a deep spiritual response from teenagers, and the death of a friend. Yet, all these experiences share one element: tears.

As I listened to a local sports radio show during lunch today, an interview with Lakers’ star Kobe Bryant came on. Of course, only three questions in, the Miami Heat’s crying came up. Bryant responded to a pointed question by the interviewer by saying something wonderful, “all people respond differently.” Adding, "If guys are crying in the locker room, guys are crying in the locker room. That doesn't mean they're chumps. That doesn't mean they're soft. It doesn't mean anything."

While, Bryant admitted that he would not of cried over a basketball game, he added, “That is just not me.”

Bryant knows something that some guys forget, we all respond differently to situations and that doesn't make us less of a man.

When dealing with teenage guys we need make sure that we do not communicate to them that a “real man” pushes down his emotions and does not cry. We have to remember that all people react differently and that crying is not bad. Crying is an emotional response to a feeling. When we push down that response (tears), we end up having to push down what is causing that response (the hurt). Not only is this psychology not good for the students, possibly leading to anger, but also it can lead to deep hurt later.

I was meeting with one student who noticed they started crying over what they called, “little things” and was having trouble sleeping. As we continued to talk, what emerged was that they were pushing down deep hurt for so long, that their body was now reacting in order to try to deal with their hurt they had pushed down for so long.

Revelation 21:4 states, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

This verse shows us that we have a God who is in the business of healing, not only physically, but also emotionally. The reality is that the God does not “wipe away tears” and do away with crying, because crying is “bad.” Tears aren’t a part of the heavenly reality, because there is no need for them anymore, because at that point in the story all of creation is healed. In fact, it is through the wiping away our tears that God heals us.

Therefore tears are not bad, they are a part of the healing process. That is why Jesus wept, because through crying he was healed (not that his divine side of Jesus needed to be healed).

In the same way, when we cry, we are healed. And maybe, just maybe; in those tears, God is in the process of healing us.

What Teens See As We Talk About Rob Bell

2011-02-28T18:03:00.001-08:00

The world of Christian tweeting and blogging has been up in arms over of this weekend’s reveal of Rob Bell’s new book “Love Wins.” Now I am not going to weigh in on the theology behind this book. Instead, I want to ask the question, what does this mean for our youth? And is there a teachable moment within all of this conversation?

We all know we live in a postmodern pluralistic world, in which are teens are told daily that they should adopt this type of worldview. Some have argued that the best way to counter act this movement is to teach better and stronger Christian theology. Now don’t get me wrong, I believe that teaching Christian orthodox theology to teens is a must in today’s world, but I also believe that teaching them to ask questions and enter into conversations with those of a different worldview is also essential.

While in college, I was a part of and lead, a yearly mission team to Brigham Young University where we entered into theological conversations with Latter Day Saint college students. During these dialogs, we were a part of many deep theological conversations and many different topics. As equal as important, were the times when we were not talk theology, but played ping-pong or volleyball, because it was in these times that we became more than “Mormon” or “Evangelical Christian.” Believe it or not, it was in both of these types of moments that friendships were formed, faith was developed, and that God moved.

When I was done with my last year of college, my friend and I drove out to Provo, Utah and spend some time with Latter Day Saint friends we had made on the previous spring break. During our four days with them, we ate together, played a lot of volleyball, and talked deep theology. I remember at the end of one of the three-hour theology conversations I had with one of my L.D.S. friends, my friend was very frustrated. Not with me, but at our conversation, so she hugged me and excused herself. The next day we met up for lunch and with a group of people, and believe it or not, we continue our conversation right where we left it that night. Two years later, I got an invitation to her wedding.

As an outsider looking in at all of the conversation that has happened around Rob Bell’s new book I have been discouraged, because all l I see is a lot of condemnation, a lot of apathy, and a lot of defensiveness. As I sat on my computer reading blogs and tweets from “respected Christian leaders,” I could not help but think, it is no wonder our kids are leaving the church, we look like a bunch of angry birds fighting over a piece of bread. Why would teens want to be a part of a community that acts in this way? Where is this community that Jesus prayed for asking, “may they be one as we are one.”

When I talk to teens, the main concern that they have in talking to their friends about Jesus or standing up for what they think is morally wrong, is being viewed as intolerant. Now, we can throw around phrases like, “it’s not intolerant, it’s truth,” but whom are we kidding? Condemning someone to hell, or trying to prove we are “right” is not Christian; it is more Pharisaical.

Yes, today’s teens need good orthodox Christian teaching, but they also need to be taught how to be in conversation with those who might believe different then them without being seen as “intolerant” or “unchristian” (for those who are wondering, yes this is a play on the word and book “unchristian” by David Kinnaman). The reality of it is, is that we are no longer in a modern world were if we prove we are “right” people will flood into our churches. There needs to be a relationship formed first. As cliché as it sounds, “people don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”

If teens were to see what is happening on twitters and blogs around the Christian world, all they would see is arguing, not caring and not Jesus: and guess what, they are turned off by it. Teens need to see a community and church that isn’t arguing with itself as we all seek God. They need to see a diverse community, who in their confession of Christ seek God who is revealing himself to his creation, together. A community that realizes it is not about what we believe, but what God has done and is still doing.

So ask yourself, when teens look at my actions, and me what do they see?

2011-02-28T17:59:00.001-08:00

Is the Practice of Remembering Forgotten?

2011-02-21T17:04:00.001-08:00

Today our country celebrates Presidents Day, to remember the deeds of United States’ forefathers George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. While this day might just be an excuse for many in the U.S. to shop and have a day off, this day’s intention is remembrance. Yet, I wonder if remembering is something that we have forgotten how to do?

In the Christian faith remembrance is something that walks somewhat of a fine line, because of the redemption of Christ, who takes away our sins. For that reason, Christians are encouraged not to remember the “sins” of their past because they have been forgiven and transformed, yet we aren’t suppose to forsake the practice of remembrance.

In the Old Testament Jacob has this encounter with a man. Now some believe this man to be just a man, while others believe this man to be an angel or Christ himself. Who the man is, isn’t the point. The point is that within this experience, Jacob has an encounter with God that changes his life; seen by the fact that the man changes Jacob’s name to Israel.

Jacob was a man that had a hard time remembering God’s promises, has seen throughout Jacob’s life. So what happens in the process of Jacob’s encounter with God? He is hurt by the man and left with a limp for the rest of his life. It is as if God is saying to Jacob, I will make sure you never forget this event, because within this event I have redefined you, I have given you a new name.

In the Lutheran Church, and in most Reformed churches, people are baptized as infants. During the baptism parents, sponsors, and the church body confess that they will help raise this child “in the faith.” The beauty of this event is that within it is the confession that we cannot save ourselves; God is the one who saves us. The hard reality of this event is that one cannot personally remember it. In my church, we have instituted milestones to help children remember God saves them in their baptism, but there is something to be said for remembering your own rebirth and encounters with God.

I have been thinking about his a lot lately, partly because I think it affects the theology of Confirmation, and partly because I have noticed that many of my own students and families have a hard time remembering their own baptism or the confessions they made on their child’s baptism Sunday.

Today I went to a local mall to purchase some running shoes, which were on sale because of the President’s Day holiday. As I checked out, the man behind the register and I started talking. Within our conversation I stated, “It is really busy today.”

He replied, “Man it has been busy all weekend.”

As I left the store I had a thought, even a national day of remembering has been made into a day of consumption and busyness (like some other famous holidays, ie. Christmas). I wondered to myself, how have we as a nation forgotten how to remember? Has the practice of remembering become totally forgotten?

Honestly, I think it has, and I think the scary thing is that it has affected our church more than we would like to admit.

When I talk to any youth pastor in Orange they tell me that one of the main reasons that students do not attend their youth groups is because of busyness. Even in my own church, we have full attendance in our Jr. High program, because it is tied to Confirmation. Yet, what I have noticed is that as soon as students are confirmed, church and youth group take a back seat to everything else (school, sports, hanging out with friends, or TV). What is ironic about this, is that confirmation is suppose to be a way for a child to “remember” and “confess” faith in a God who came to them as an infant, but as soon as they are confirmed they and their families seem to “forget” and go on with their lives.

So in conclusion I ask, how might we take back the practice of remembering what God has done for us? Because as we can see from the story of Jacob, when we encounter God he changes us, affects us, and calls us to remember; even if he has to force us too.

The Search for Intimacy, or Meaning?

2011-02-14T18:17:00.000-08:00

Yesterday as I got in my car to run to the store and grab some stuff for my wife for Valentines Day. As I started my car the radio came on broadcasting the usual FM setting, NPR. I was quickly surprised at the conversation that came over my stereo, as the interviewer asked the interviewee, “So, you send flower, notes, and even write songs for people who call and ask for them.” It turns out that for a small payment, you can send yourself flowers, love notes, or even a personal love song made by someone sitting behind a desk. As you might guess Valentines Day is one of the company’s largest moneymakers.

As the interview came to an end, my mind became a little sad. I thought about all of the people who would sit lonely in their homes, longing for any human connection. I thought about what brings someone to send himself or herself flower or a love note, just to feel loved. Then my mind took another turn, it drifted to my high school students who I sat with earlier that afternoon at a local restaurant. I could picture one girl sitting in the group texting her boyfriend, while another talking about how they wanted to ask a girl to be their valentine, then it came to me we are all looking for meaning in the form of intimacy.

This year our youth group has been asking the question, where does God’s story and yours collide? Behind this question is the assumption that God not only cares about our story, but also wants to affect it, to change it.

During a worship night a couple weeks ago, we put up two large pieces of art paper. One with the phrase “God Is,” and on the other “I am.” As the night came to an end, I got up and walked to the pieces of paper. What I saw when I read the phrases strung across that was both honest and beautiful. As I stepped back to get a better view of the large paper hung on the wall, at the center of the “I am” paper was a triangle with a circle around it. In the center of the of the triangle was the phrase, “child of God.”

Now, this phrase was no less or more beautiful then the other statements, but reading it I couldn’t help but smile, because in it I saw God’s movement. At some point along the way God had revealed himself in a powerful way that not only provided clarity, but meaning and definition. This person realized that at the center of the Godhead there is life, community, intimacy, and meaning.

I have to wonder if somehow we have missed the mark in youth ministry at how we communicate God’s intimate love. I think we have fallen prey to offering programs, not Christian community that flows out of the life of the Godhead, community that not only offers meaning, but intimacy.

Here is the scary reality, until we provide that life-giving community, students will look elsewhere. And to be honest, who can blame them.

For that reason, I end with a question. How is your ministry working to become a God bearing community, that offers a live giving community that flows out of the Godhead?

A God Who Suffers With Us?

2010-10-11T13:31:00.001-07:00

There are times in life when communities experience a time of great suffering. Why suffering seems to happen all at once, I do not know. Maybe once someone we love is suffering, we become more aware of the suffering around us? Or, maybe suffering really does come in threes and that is just the way that God made it?

Honestly, I really don’t think there is an answer. Within the last couple weeks my community went through a great time of suffering. When those around you experience suffering in such a great way it brings up all-to-familiar questions. Why does a loving God allow suffering? Why can’t God just take of this suffering away? Why me? Why now?

Recently I was reading a chapter from Jesus Christ for Today’s World by Jürgen Moltmann, entitled, “The Passion of Christ and the Pain of God.” (Do not worry; this has nothing to do with Moltmann’s panentheistic views of God, creation, or redemption. Throughout the chapter Moltmann perfectly outlines a view of God that allows how we have a God who loves us so much that he suffers with Son and his people. Moltmann writes, “The history of Christ is the history of a great passion, a passionate love. And just because of that, it became at the same time the history of a deadly agony.” (1)

Within the passion of Christ, from Gethsemane to Golgotha, we see a Christ who does not struggle with himself, but who struggles with God. Jesus asks many of the same questions and makes many of the same pleas that we ask in times of pain and suffering, including “take this cup of suffering from me” and “why my God have you forsaken me?”

It is with the passion that not only Christ suffers, but God also suffers. In order for Christ to take on the shame and sin of the world, God had to turn his back from the Son, so that Christ could take on the sins of the world As Paul states in Romans 8:32, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all…” In Christ’s death, “God suffers the death of his Son.” (2)

The book of Hebrews paints a beautiful picture of this reality stating, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). If we in fact have a high priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses, I ask what other time in our life are we weaker than when we are experiencing suffering and pain?

Some are uncomfortable with a God who suffers in this way, yet, as Moltmann clearly points out, if we do not believe in a God who suffers, then the passion can only be viewed as a human reality, not a divine one.

Moltmann then progresses to a place in his theology of suffering where some are uncomfortable with; he states that God so loves us that he enters into our suffering with us and suffers as we do. Some believe that suffering is not “appropriate for God,” as if God is supposed to fit into our modernistic ontological framework.
However, Moltmann approaches this theology through the framework of love and apathy. He believes that if God is a God of love, then he has to be able to empathize with those whom he loves, even in the midst of their suffering.

I am not yet sure if my theology allows for all that Moltmann’s theology might entail, but I have to admit that there is a small part of me who longs for a God who suffers with me, who feels what I feel, who experiences what I experience.

One thing that I do know, we have a God who comprehends what it is to suffer. God has gone through the pain of losing a loved one, had a child turn their back on him, and felt the pain of being alone.

I don’t know about you, but that is a God who I want to worship; a God who is also a high priest who can sympathize with me, especially in times where I am suffering.

(1) Moltmann, Jürgen, Jesus Christ for Today’s World, (Fortress Press, Minneapolis, 1994), pg. 31
(2) Moltmann, pg. 37

It is Like Breathing

2010-09-27T14:05:00.000-07:00

Creating space needs to be like breathing. I know what you are thinking; this does not make sense at all. And as of now, I am not sure it is really supposed to, but bear with me.

The other day I was talking to a student about life, family, and school. As the conversation went on I became aware that there was something that was not being said. Going with my gut I asked, “Is everything okay?”

It was as if I had opened a box to something that someone had tried to keep hidden. The student started to tell me how overwhelmed s/he was feeling, about school, family life, sports teams, and even church.

As the student stood there in the middle of an outdoor mall, holding a sugar-filled drink, I could see that s/he was holding back the tears that were trying to force their way out of his/her closed heart.

Fast-forward to four days later, I am setting up what can only be explained as a preschool room by day, turned youth room by night, which will soon be bustling with high school students. As one student after another enters the room, I feel as if each step that each one takes is heavy-laden with something unspoken.

I am still not sure if this feeling was some divine reality that God’s Spirit was speaking to me, or if my emotions from four days earlier were being stirred.
Then it hit me, what have we done to our students? In youth ministry we constantly talk about “creating the space for students.” Yet today I realized, maybe all of that space we had attempted to create was on our terms, not God’s.

These thoughts continued clouding my mind as I left a meeting with a couple of youth pastors and para-church leaders in the city that I do ministry in. As I was walking out I asked a friend, “Where was Nick* today?” His response was quite telling, “some people just can’t fit this into their schedule.”

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am all about schedules. In fact, I try to religiously keep to my routine on a daily basis, but I began to wonder, what if God doesn’t keep to our schedules?

In Acts 2 the followers of the resurrected Jesus were sitting in a room, simply waiting for God to move. They were just waiting, nothing else.

As much as I joke with my wife about being a “friendly person,” because she was raised within the Friends denomination, I think the Mennonites might have been on to something. You see, a practice of the early Friends churches was to enter into the church building and sit, waiting to hear from God. Once someone was moved to speak they spoke, and then the silence continued.

As a Lutheran I have heard over and over again about how “high church” is too ritualistic, but I ask, what church is not? Do we not all have our rituals, whether it involves the Lord’s Prayer and weekly confession or not.

Now back to my interaction with that student: it turns out that somewhere down the line this student’s life had become so scheduled and planned that s/he no longer felt that s/he could be a teen. S/he did not have the time to have fun, to laugh with friends, to sit and watch TV, to sit and do nothing, or even sleep. It is no wonder so many students live out their relationships with others over text message and Facebook. These are the only modes in which they can communicate with their friends since schoolwork, sports, clubs, activities, the expectations of adults in their life, and might I even say “church,” have robbed them of their time to just “be."

I have no idea what it might look like to create space for teens to experience God. In reality there are probably very qualified people to comment on that, but something I do know; allowing time and space for teens to be teens is just as important as breathing, because without it, our teens will die.

*The name has been changed for the protection of the individual.

Back and Running

2010-09-27T14:04:00.000-07:00

A lot has changed in my personal and professional life over the last couple of months. With change comes the need to evaluate and step away from things that are not necessary. For a while this blog was that for me, but now, because of the promoting of friend, this blog is back up and running.

Weekly I will be posting thoughts in order to hopefully plant thoughts, create conversation, and encourage you to find how God might be calling you to manifest his Kingdom. Blessings friends.

Music of 2010, so far.

2010-07-12T18:02:00.000-07:00

I have been gone for a while. There are many reasons for that, but the greatest of them would have to be because of life transition. But...I will be back soon.

To start here are some CD's that some of my students have been listening too a lot lately.

Gorillaz: Plastic Beach
Eminen: Recovery
Drake: Thank Me Later
Vampire Weekend: Contra
Local Natives: Gorilla Manor
Mumfor & Suns: Sign no More
She & Him: Volume 2
Band of Horses: Infinite Arms
Frightened Rabbit: The Winter of Mixed Drinks
Big Boi: Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
30H!3: Streets of Gold

What have your students been listening to lately?

Discipleship: What Identity has to do with it.

2010-03-30T23:25:00.000-07:00

I do not remember everything that I have ever heard from the pulpit, but for some reason some stuff just sticks. One statement I heard when I was visiting a church while I was in college sticks in my mind. The preacher with conviction yelled from the pulpit, “the Old Testament is about law and the New Testament is about love!” Even then, as a sophomore in college, something did not sit right within me regarding this statement, but at that moment in life I could not really put my finger on it. Throughout my life the Old Testament was always talked about in reference to “the law,” the “sacrificial system,” or the “old covenant” and how Jesus came and did away with “all of that.” Yet, I always wondered if it was that simple, or if something was being overlooked. I always asked, why is there such a difference between the Old and New Testaments?

My transition of thinking all started in seminary while sitting in an exegesis class focusing on the book of James and 1 Peter. In both books I continued to read about how the Church was a “chosen people” (1 Peter 2:4, 9). Years later it finally came together while I was doing my devotional in the book of Jeremiah.

In the book of Jeremiah, chapter 12, God says, “I said, Obey me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people, and I will be your God…The LORD said to me, Proclaim all these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Listen to the terms of this covenant and follow them. From the time I brought your ancestors up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again, saying, ‘Obey me…’ They have returned to the sins of their ancestors, who refused to listen to my words. They have followed other gods to serve them. Both the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken the covenant I made with their ancestors” (context is from 12:1-17).

What hit me at that moment was that once someone comes to faith in God it has been, is, and always will be about one’s identity being changed. From the time that God brought Israel out of Egypt and they worshiped him, they became “God’s people.” The identity given never had anything to do with what the people did; it was about what God did for his people. The people of Israel were “God’s people” because they where in covenant with God and worshiped him. It was only when they worshiped, followed, and served other gods that the covenant was broken and Israel was no longer God’s people.

In what has been deemed “the church age,” meaning the time post-resurrection, this reality still has not changed; we are God’s people because of what he has done. God acted and we believe and follow him. In that belief our identity changes, we become sons and daughters of God, the people of God. Just as Henri Nouwen so eloquently points out in In the Name of Jesus, just as when Christ was baptized and a voice came from heaven saying, “this is my Son in whom I am well pleased.” The same thing happens when a new believer comes to faith, a voice calls out from heaven, “this is my son or daughter in whom I am well pleased.” While the voice might not be audible as it was in the gospel accounts, this does not change the fact that God sees a person this way once they come to faith. Paul confesses this same reality in a different way when he states in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” The new is here is not to come, but it is here now. That is the beauty of conversion, at the point of the confession of faith people are made new, they take on a new identity.

Looking at Simon’s confession of Christ as the Christ in Matthew 16 one can see that Simon’s confession results not just a spiritual rebirth, but a full identity shift. It is after Simon states “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16), that Jesus looks at him and saying, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter…” (Matthew 16:17-18a). Jesus changes Simon’s name to Peter showing a change in Simon’s identity from who he was before to who he now is. In the Hebraic mindset the name held within it one’s identity. When Jesus changes Simon’s name, he changes Simon’s identity. He is no longer Simon, he is now Peter.

Now this is where reality meets the lie of dualism. In a dualistic understanding our faith, or spiritual reality, is separate from our bodily, or non-spiritual reality; yet, this is a false understanding of faith. If it is true that in conversion identity changes, it is not only the spirit that changes, but also the body, the day-to-day life, and everything that changes. Within conversion someone becomes a new person, both physically and spiritually, both outward and inward, both at church and in the routine of your day to day. As Dallas Willard points “…if we understand that the ‘inward positive reality’ and the ‘external positive manifestations’ are not two separate things, but one unified process in which those who are alive in God are caught up in their embodied, socialized totality” (The Spirit of The Disciples, Dallas Willard, pg. 78).

Becoming a follower of Christ changes everything, not only our spiritual relate to relationship with God, but our identity and everything we do, are, and will be. May you find hope that in Christ you are new, that in Christ you are a son or daughter of God, and may you live out that reality in all you do.

(Next week we will turn to discuss our consumer culture and how it fights against our identity.)

A Break...

2010-03-09T18:26:00.000-08:00

There are times in life where breaks are required because other things in life that are more important come up. This is one of those times. For that reason I am taking a break from the blog world for a little while. I do not know how long it will be, but I have some people in my life that need my energy more than this blog does right now. Hopefully the break will not be to long, only two weeks or so. Until then my friends...

Discipleship: Why Dualism is Not so Good

2010-03-02T21:59:00.000-08:00

Last night I was sitting with my future wife talking about what we had both read in our last personal devotionals, when she looked at me and said, “I don’t think faith and works in the Bible have ever really been separated.” To be honest I sat there for a while and amazed at my future wife’s proclamation I begrudgingly said, “I think you’re right.” The reason I was so apprehensive to agree with what my fiancé had just said was because I realized not for the first time, but yet again, how messed up my own life was. How I had somehow fell fallen victim to that which I hated, separation.

In the long process, in which I am just one person among many who continues to seek to discover why the church in the United States lacks so many disciples, I have come to two conclusions. The first is the dualism separating the spiritual from the physical, which despite what some might believe has plagued the church rather than helped the church. I do not say this to start some debate about the separation or lack there of between the body, spirit, and/or soul, but just to discuss what duality taken to the fullest extent has done to our church community. Secondly, there is a lack of individual understanding among people today, which is directly related to dualism. Thirdly, consumerism has been allowed to breed because of both the first and second issues, but is not necessarily a result of them.

In the simplest terms dualism is the separation of two different parts, one from another. In a Biblical spiritual mindset, dualism did not exist when it came to how the spiritual affects the physical. This is why when Jesus came he did not just speak and work in spiritual terms, but worked to heal and restore the physical. In the world of Jesus, the spiritual and physical where directly related, which is why in Jesus’ world someone was not “mentally-ill,” but possessed by a demon. Take the story of the mute man in Matthew 9:27-34, who was thought to be demon possessed, not just mute for physical reasons (I am not saying that a demon did not cause this man’s muteness, I just using this story for the sake of proving my point). In today’s word things are interpreted differently, mute persons are mute because of physical reasons, not spiritual reasons, thereby separating the physical and the spiritual from each other.

This dualism plays itself out in more practical terms as well; for many across the country, what happens on Sunday morning at church has little to no affect on their life outside of the building they meet in on Sunday. As one mom recently said to me, “it is hard trying to balance religion, school, and sports.” In a first century mindset this sentence would have never been said; in fact, if someone said it they would be labeled philosophically crazy. Religion was not something to be balanced amongst the rest of one’s life; religion directly affected one’s entire life. Take what Peter says in 1 Peter 1:13-16,

“13Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

As Peter sees it, once someone has been given grace and become a child of God, one is no longer to “conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.” The grace of God literally changes the reality of that person who was not, but now is a child of God, and now they are to “be holy, because I (God) am holy.” Peter does not give a suggestion from the pulpit, but outlines an expectation of the reality that he expects followers of Jesus to live like. Think of Saul before he became Paul, when Jesus showed himself to Saul on the road to Damascus; this event changed everything in Paul’s life, even his name. Throughout scripture, name changing is a sign of a spiritual transformation that has taken place. Think of Jacob in the desert before he meet his brother Esau; after Jacob wrestled with a man and declared that he “saw God face to face,” his name was changed from Jacob to Israel (Gen 32). These experiences with God changed the identities of both Saul and Jacob, just as our spiritual experiences with God should change our identities; yet for many it does not.

The reason for this is because somewhere down the line people begin to separate different aspects of their life from one another. Even marketers have picked up on this reality, which is why the slogan, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” makes so much sense to people. As sad as it is, most people are already practicing this type of separation out in some aspect of their life. Whether it is who one is at work vs. at hour or who one is at school vs. at church. At times, it might not even be very apparent. A person looking at porn usual employsthe ability to separate the reality they create in their minds from their everyday life in order to escape into a new world for a little while. Duality allows us to separate different aspects of our life in order to allow ourselves to become comfortable with the reality we have created for ourselves. The issue with dualism is that it disconnects aspects of one person’s life from other aspects of that same life, allowing a person to almost operate as different individuals in different instances. This can create, and has created, a scary reality for many in today’s world. Yet for our purposes, dualism allows people to disconnect what happens in a worship service from the rest of their life outside of their worshipping community.

Next week we will see how dualism also interacts with identity and consumerism, in order to finally see over the next couples weeks, how the church in the United States might work to create a discipleship culture.

"Go Forth and make Disciples..."

2010-02-23T14:12:00.000-08:00

No matter how many times I try to envision the scene, I feel like my imagination and empathy always falls short in some way to bring the moment of the great commission to life. After what must have felt like days after Jesus had resurrected from the dead, Jesus departed from his disciples of three years once again. I can only imagine that this moment, right before he is about to ascent to heaven had played out in Jesus’ mind for years before it happened. I am sure that he planned the timing and emotion behind every word that he would say to his disciples before he would ascent on that faithful day. I think that is why these words must have had such a powerfully affect on the life’s and hearts of the men and women who heard them, because they is no doubt that they took every word with the utmost seriousness.

In the gospel of Matthew it this scene unfolds like this, Jesus standing with his disciples and followers realizes that the time has come, he must depart from his friends and mentorees of the past 3 years. As he walks to the prefect place he speaks, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28: 19-20). What the disciples of Jesus did next is assumed by the gospel, they went forth and made disciples just as Jesus told them to do. The command behind Jesus’ words must have been profound. In fact, what is interesting about the Greek in this text is that just looking at the English translation of the text one would assume that this passage in Greek would be littered with imperatives, yet it is not. The only imperative in the whole text is found in the world matheteusate, which translated means “make disciples!” Because of where this word falls within the text, the best way to imagine Jesus saying this is to think back to when you were a kid playing in your room with a toy. Just as you are about to cast your newest toy airborne across your room toward the window, your mom who has just been talking to you in a normal tone quickly raises her voice, “No, don’t do that!” The writer of Matthew wants a majority of our attention to be drawn to this word. He wants us to see that the most important thing that Jesus has just said is to go and make disciples. Jesus realized that without the process of making disciples the church could not grow, the gospel of the Kingdom of God would not be spread.

In the book of Acts, the follow up to the gospel of Luke, the scene unfolds a little differently. Jesus has risen from the dead and is about to ascend to heaven, but first he commands his disciples, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). While there are no imperatives in this text, the emphasis is on “you will be my witness…” There is a future expectation of what Jesus’ disciples will be. There is no vagueness, or the invitation to be a witness; it is expected. In fact, the throughout the rest of Acts, the writer shows how a small band of fishermen, merchants, a tax collector or two, and others went forth and were witness of Jesus’ gospel to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. In fact, the author puts emphasis on each point where the gospel reaches toward the next epoch as Jesus followers spread across the global and share the gospel as witness to the Kingdom of God.

The question I have to ask is why this has all changed? What has lead great spiritual thinkers like Dallas Willard to conclude, “We believe in our hearts that we should be Christlike, closely following our Lord. However, few of us, if any, can see this a real possibility for ourselves or other we know well” (Dallas Willard, The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives, pg. 12). Or we think to ourselves, “Jesus could not have imposed anything that hard upon us. And beside, we’re in a period of grace—we are saved by grace, not by anything we do—so obedience to Christ is actually not necessary. And it is so hard, anyway; it cannot be expect of us, much less enjoyed by us” (Dallas Willard, The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives, pg. 2-3). How did it become like this? Why are there so many in the church in the United States that have not been discipled? Why are so many failing to be Christ’s witnesses to the ends of the Earth?

Let me first say, I do not have all of the answers to these questions, but I hope that you will join me over the next few weeks as I hope to provide some answers to why the church in the United States is failing to create a discipleship culture in youth ministry and the church and what some steps might be to change that.

Slowing Down: A final Thought

2010-02-16T14:43:00.000-08:00

It has always been my dream to drive the coast from Morrow Bay, California to Seattle, Washington over a two to three week period. This dream took root when I was in high school, while sitting in a car on the open road with my closet friends. Starting my junior year, two of my closest friends and I would take off from somewhere in Southern California and just drive up the coast for a long weekend, surfing were we decided the surf was good enough to stop. While we spent most of our time driving from surf spot to surf spot, these are still some of the most pleasurable times in my life to this day. I have thought about why these trips where so enjoyable many times, and over the last three weeks, ten years after these trips started, I came to a conclusion.

Three weeks ago, while sitting in my office before submitting myself to the craziness that comes with Junior High Youth Group, I was reading one of my new favorite magazines, Good. The quarterly winter 2010 issue is entitled “The Slow Issue.” Throughout the issue writers from all walks of life discuss the beauty of slowing down. It was this issue that first inspired my idea to slow down and as I read through the magazine over the last three weeks, the piece that stood out the most in this issue was an art piece. In left center of the page, multiple images of the coast of California were displayed, with a small paragraph below stating,

There was a time, not that long ago, when traveling through the United States meant pleasant days on the blue highways, smelling the air, seeing the scenery, and stopping at the nearest watering hole for a freshly cooked meal of the local specialty. Then came the interstate highways, and many-horse powered engines, and an ever-increasing speed limit. Now, we get places much faster. But what if you took a slowed-down version of a trip, at a pleasant crusing speed, with rest stops that offered more choice than simply McDonald’s or Burger King? We took just such a journey by meandering north from Los Angels along the coast. What we found can be seen over the next few pages. (Good Magazine The Slow Issue, Winter 2010, pg. 54)

As I started to look over the many pictures that littered the page, my mind drifted back to my high school years on “Highway 1”. I realized the reason why I enjoyed that time in my life so much was because during those long weekends I allowed myself to hang out, relax, and just slow down.

Over the last three months, previous to taking three weeks to slow down, I had been held victim to running through life from here to there, from one thing to the next, not allowing myself the time to slow down. I thought to myself, how did I get here? I knew all of the right answers and the way life was suppose to be lived, but putting my knowledge into practice was another issue. After much reflection I realized that I thought I could get away with running at full speed. Over the last three weeks I have realized that I was wrong. Even Jesus, who was God on earth, took time to slow down, and I a mere man was in ministry running like I was in some marathon and I am pretty sure that there was no way this is what Paul meant when he talked about running a good race in Galatians 5:7.

After this realization I sought to try to discover ways I could apply my three-week journey into a realistic lifestyle of slowing down. Over the last three weeks, while I did not post much I sought to help a little by posting some “food-for-thought.” I encouraged you to carve out a specific time to slow down, but no I urge you to make slowing down a normal part of your life. When the art of slowing down permeates throughout your entire life, the time you spend doing mundane things, like work, become more fruitful.

After much thought I want to over you some ideas in how you might try to make slowing down a normal part of your life.

Eliminate something: Every person has stuff in his/her life that needs to be stepped away from; even if just for a short time. It is so much easier to add stuff to our life before we cut things from our life. Never add something without first cutting something first. Even if yo are not adding something new to your life, it might be helpful to think about what God might be calling you to stop to make more time for your own spirituality. You might ask yourself what is causing you more hurt than it is helping you, or if at this point in your life you might want to strongly consider taking a temporary or indefinite sabbatical from one commitment.

Unplug yourself from your gadgets: While blackberries and iphones can be a blessing, they can also be one of the biggest curses in life. Try to block out a significant amount of time where you turn off your phone, do not check your email, are not on your favorite social networking site, or do not watch television, and just be. Sometimes slowing down means not allowing your self to become slaves to your own gadgets.

Make a meal with loved ones, and then share the meal together: It is no secret that fast-food is not good for you. One, because of what makes up the usual fast-food meal, and two, because when someone grabs fast-food, they are usually rushing from one place to the next with little time to spare. Taking the time to make a meal with loved ones not only slows you down, but it allows you to spend quality time with people who love and refresh you.

Stay in bed, or at least at home, all day: At times slowing down means doing nothing, and I mean nothing. Well okay, eating, going to the bathroom, and getting up to grab the impromptu board game or deck of cards is okay. If you are married, this is even amazing to do with your loved one or family.

Clean up your living space, and rearrange if needed: While this might feel like work, cleaning can also be therapeutic for some out there. In fact, having a clean space can help reduce your anxiety, and rearranging some things might make your life easier.

Go outside and do something active: It is a fact that the sun’s rays provide much-needed vitamins to our bodies. On top of that, being active helps to reduce stress levels and makes you a lot healthier holistically.
Create a place where you feel you can escape: Everyone needs time by themselves to just be alone with their thoughts and their God, even if you are married. Find a place where you can be alone and relax in order to recover from what life brings your way.

Read a book: Turn off everything—your phone, television, computer, or whatever else might distract you—and pick up a book and get lost for a little while.

Drive until you get lost: As I stated in the being of the blog, getting away can be one of the best ways to slow down. Not only are you getting away from everything that usually causes you to run at marathon speed, but it also helps you to mentally detach from reality. (Just make sure you have enough gas before you head out and maybe a GPS.)

Sit in silence with God: Sitting in silence allows your mind to process information. In the quiet of your own minds, you might even begin to recognize some things about yourself that you never knew before. Before beginning a time of silence, ask God to guide your mind. You could also pick out a passage of scripture and spend some time meditating. (Remember this is not prayer time, this is silent time)

Pray: Even as someone in full-time ministry, I have noticed that my prayer life sometimes becomes too quick and to the point with God. Try to view your time in prayer with God more like spending time with a loved one or mentor, this might help you to see prayer as a conversation between you and your creator, rather than just voicing a list of requests to a far-off being.

Spend some time in God’s word: Everyone spends time in scripture differently; some read, study, and journal for their quiet times, while others just read and pray. To be honest, I am not sure whether one is more spiritually beneficial than another one is. Find out how you best receive from God’s word and spend some extra time doing whatever that might be. Maybe that means reading a little more? Maybe that means doing a little more reflection? Maybe it means journaling a little longer? Or just maybe that means reading a little less, and focusing your reading on just one verse? Whatever it means for you to be in scripture, just be.

To end, I truly hope you spend some time and slow down this week, the next, and for the rest of your life.

Slowing Down (A Three Week Experement)

2010-02-12T16:32:00.000-08:00

Silence continuing till Tuesday 2/16/10 because I was away at a spiritual retreat this last week. But here is a quote that might give you a clue to where we will be going in the weeks to come.

"Nondiscipleship costs abiding peace, a life penetrated throughout by love, faith that sees everything in the light of God's overriding governance for good, hopefulness that stand firm in the most discouraging of circumstances, power to do what is right and withstand the forces of evil." - Dallaw Willard, "The Spirit of The Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives, pg. 261

Slowing Down (A Two Week Experement)

2010-02-04T11:31:00.000-08:00

Rest as a part of creation.

26 Then God said, "Let us make human beings in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, [a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

27 So God created human beings in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." And it was so.

31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

Genesis 2
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

Slowing Down (A Two Week Experement)

2010-01-28T12:16:00.000-08:00

Slowing down can be hard at times, but without having a heart of solitude can we really be present as we minister or serve others in our community?

"Without the solitude of heart, the intimacy of friendship, marriage and community life cannot be creative. Without the solitude of heart, our relationship with other easily become needy and greedy, sticky and clinging, dependent and sentimental, exploitative and parasitic, because without the solitude of heart we cannot experience the others as different from ourselves but only as people who can be used for the fulfillment of our own, often hidden needs." ( Henri J. M. Nouwen "Reaching Out: The Three Movements of The Spiritual Life", pg. 43)

Slowing Down (A Two Week Experement)

2010-01-26T12:24:00.000-08:00

In response to Good Magainze's latest issues entitled, "The Slow Issue," and how it revealed some things to me about Christian spiritual disciplines; we are slowing down the process of this blog over the next two weeks. Instead of being one large blog entry post on every Tuesday, over the next two weeks there will be multiple blog entries building up to one large culminating entry.

I encourage you to reflect on what you read, meditate on the scripture passages that will be posted, try to apply it as you see fit, and enjoying living a little slower over the next two weeks.

"One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles:" (Luke 6:12-13)

Urban Tribes: A Communal Culture Shift (#3)

2010-01-19T16:37:00.000-08:00

In the previous two weeks we have discussed a working definition for urban tribes, as well as what the Bible and church history believe about topics those in urban tribes are concerned with. During this week, we will look further at the last two steps of Gordon’s Lynch’s model by entering into a “mutually exclusive conversation,” asking questions of both perspectives and looking to see what new insights might be gained through our theological reflection of Urban Tribes.
Mutually Critical Conversation

Single Life

Urban tribes are made up solely of single individuals. By existing in their current form, urban tribes reinforce that it is okay to for an individual to be single for a majority of their life, if not for their whole life. Within current society, this is not something that many in the Church are willing to be okay with. But singleness should not be viewed as a middle ground between what was and what is to come, as both urban tribes and those in the Church view singleness. The Church, as well as urban tribes, needs to understand, as Paul did, that singleness is just as much of a call on someone’s life as marriage is. A life of singleness is a viable option, and should be respected within our current culture.

Within urban tribes, singleness has become a way to serve self-interests through the purchasing of material objects and/or participating in a self-gratifying community. Rather, Saint Paul argues that one is called to singleness in order to better serve Christ. The apostle even takes it as far as to state that an unmarried person can be concerned about the Lord’s affairs, or how to please the Lord, but a married person is concerned about the affairs of this world, or how to please their mate, meaning that their interests are divided (1 Cor. 7:32-34). Therefore singleness is not to be taken advantage of for one’s personal gain, but instead for the gain of the Kingdom, in the same way all people have been called.

Family

Urban tribes are calling the Church to redefine families based on a tribal idea, rather than a traditional view of family, such as the nuclear family. Single people cannot gravitate toward this definition of family because they do not fit into its constraints and usually their experience with the nuclear family was not good. Urban tribe members have made an important statement, that family is not limited to those in your bloodline, it also includes those who care for you, who you care for, and those who help to define you. In fact, this definition is very similar to the examples of family provided in the Bible. The main thing lacking from an urban tribe member’s definition of family is that it rarely includes any who are non-single people. Within the Biblical view of family all members of culture are included: single people, as well as those in couples, mothers, fathers, children, teens, and the elderly.

The Community

Urban Tribes challenge the current definition of family, crying out, community can no longer be defined as it is within American Christian Churches, as a group of individuals who gather in a church building once a week. The institutional Church needs to hear what urban tribes are saying and redefine community as a group of friends and/or family who live in community together. Within urban tribes one’s community supports who a person is and what they are about in order to help them find their own calling or meaning in life. Community is not about the roles that a person plays, but about how individuals work together to love and support each other. It is a persons community that connects them to the city they are living in. Single individuals are important to communities and should not be shunned away from them.

However, the Church can challenge urban tribes to be a part of heterogeneous and homogenous groups. Scripturally and theologically speaking, singles should be allowed to participate within a community where they are able to connect with others who are going through similar experiences, as well as be a vital part of communities that are not only made up of other singles. It is important that singles, families, the elderly, children, and teens dwell together in community, just as they did in the early Church. Families and the elderly can provide support that singles need in order to mature in life, while singles can help to provide mentoring to children and teens, as well as to provide support and encouragement to the elderly and those who are married. The Church can help communities such as urban tribes see that God should be the binding force between all who dwell in community together. As this binding force, God brings people together as a representative community, exemplifying love that God brings together a community in such a way that they become a representation of who God is.

Dating and Marriage

One mantra heard within the urban tribe community is that it is important to be careful about who one marries. Many urban tribe members have seen their parents’ marriages fail and are very cautious when considering giving themselves away in marriage. This might raise the question for Christians; to whether or not they need to become more cautious about whom they marry. Those in Urban Tribes might wonder why the divorce rate of Christians is the same as those who do not identify themselves as Christians, especially when the Bible views marriage as a lifetime commitment between two people. At the same time this conversation could be reversed, the Biblical view of marriage as a commitment between two people can also serve as a conversation piece within urban tribes, directing members toward the covenantal relationship between Christ and his Church. This type of relationship can also point urban tribe members toward the covenantal relationship between Christ and his Church. With this covenant in mind, one could pointing out that divorce exists because it is a part of the sin and depravity that exists within the world, further bringing clarity to why this has become such a cultural phenomenon within current society.

New Insights for the Church

The church in America can no longer look down on singleness if it wants to survive in today’s culture. Due to the rise of “never-marrieds” and single families, the church must open its doors to singles in a different way. Singleness needs to be viewed in light of Paul’s theology, as a calling given by God to individuals, much in the same way that marriage is. Single and college bible studies are no longer enough, and we cannot afford to separate singles from families and families from singles; the church must find a way to incorporate singles into the larger body.

The topic of community is much of the basis of discussion between urban tribes and the Church. For many, the America Christian Church community is understood as a group of individuals who meet in a building once a week, while within urban tribes community is defined as groups of singles who live together in an urban city during a time of transition between what was and what will come. Neither of these definitions of community are sufficient; community should be defined as the family of God. We can no longer allow ourselves to be defined as only individuals but should allow ourselves to be defined first and foremost by God, and then by our relationship with others. This type of community should reflect our identity in Christ; with singles, traditional families, and children united under God.

Challenging the “traditional” definition of family is essential due to the rise of broken marriages and families. Urban tribes, as well as early Church definitions of family, call today’s Church to see that blood is not the only thing that makes people family; rather any in need may be called family. At the same time, the church cannot afford to completely do away with our traditional views of family because they still play a part in our community and self-awareness; for instance, a child without a father may continue to desire a “father-figure.” Instead, there needs to be a redefinition of family that allows for traditional typology, with a broader working definition, allowing others to fulfill needed typologies, while also allowing singleness to be a viable option. (Notice I did not use the word “roles,” as to assume that traditional gender roles are in need of protection, but that is a conversation for another time).

Christian communities should mirror urban tribes in providing family-like guidance in dating relationships, as well as approving of dating partners. At the same time, churches should find ways to support singles if they do not decide to marry or date. Marriage should not just be viewed as something to be achieved, like a promotion to the next step in life. Marriage should be seen as a calling in life, just as singleness is a calling. Marriage is more than just the start of a new family, it is a representation of the relationship that Christ shares with his Church; like Christ and his Church, the two individuals become one.

Conclusion

On a personal note, as I approach my wedding date, I will be leaving behind a community of single friends who have supported me thus far and joining the leagues of the marrieds. As I move closer to this date I cannot help but think about what I have learned over the past few years of single life that has and will continue to benefit the Church. I have been in a world that many in the Church view as foreign, and I am a part of a generation and a culture that is changing the sociological make-up of our country; if the Church does not open their eyes to the change that is going on in current culture, thousands of singles will be left behind. Cultural items, such as urban tribes, have much to bring to the table of theological dialogues; urban tribes show us much about community, single life, families, dating, and marriage that the Church needs to learn from. At the same time, the Church also has much to offer to those who live in the urban tribe community. The Church holds the keys to the Kingdom of God, and to a life where people are called to find their true identities within something greater than their communities, or their selves, rather in God.

Urban Tribes: A Communal Culture Shift (#2)

2010-01-12T14:50:00.000-08:00

When looking at urban tribes through a cultural theological lens, it is important to provide a working definition of theology, which is the process of the community of God seeking truth about God and his relationship with creation through revelation within a cultural context. Theology is first a normative discipline; as Peter Hodgson states the primary focus of theology is “Theos” or “God,” making God the subject of knowing, or the absolute reference point. Theology does not exist in a vacuum; it must be a contextual discipline, which focuses on the universal questions of creation. Theological reflection is necessary in order to apply theology in real life situations, contexts, or in cultural reflection because we are not provided with a set of “ready-made” answers that can be imposed on all “peoples, contexts, and societies. Therefore, we must understand that the answers theology provides are shaped by our cultural “language, symbols, concepts, and concerns.”

Since theology involves answering questions to issues in our current cultural context, it should also involve asking questions about “how true, good, or constructive” a culture’s particular “values, beliefs, practices, and experiences” are. Cultural theologian, Gordan Lynch, proposes that to do this one must ask the following three questions: Does culture reflect a true picture of God, suffering, evil and redemption in light of revelation? Does culture manifest , “just relationships between people,” allowing communities to live authentically and promote the well being of humanity? To what extent does culture offer “constructive experience of pleasure, beauty, and transcendence?”

The revised correlational approach recognizes that Common Grace exists within creation and that truth and goodness exist outside a particular tradition or worldview by critically approaching a cultural item and identifying the positive aspects, while challenging what is damaging about the said item. The first step of Lynch’s model requires one to examine the cultural issues, idea, or material in order to understand the meaning of this aspect of culture “on its own terms without bring in any religious judgments.” That is the practice I underwent last week in my review of the book Urban Tribes. The second step of Lynn’s (should this be Lynch’s) model focuses on looking at the Christian tradition to identify similar concerns and issues that Urban Tribes addresses. In order to do this I have broken up concerns and issues into four main topics: singleness, family life, community, and dating/marriage.

Singleness

Over the history of the Church the single person has played an important role within the Church community. Jesus heralded that marriage is no longer a duty in the community of the kingdom of God, a radical new understanding during Jesus’ time for some (Matthew 19:10-12). From the beginning of the Church Paul advocated for the role of the single person as one whose attention is undivided, one who can focus on the affairs of the Lord (1 Corinthians 7:32-34). As the Church community grew under the Catholic Church, singleness was made mandatory for priests, bishops, and popes in service to the Lord. Celibacy became respected by communities when single members of the community as Church members held high power. During the Reformation many of Reformers denied the Catholic ordinances of mandatory singleness for priests, bishops, and others members of church leadership. For unknown reasons this concept soon spread and singleness quickly became taboo in the post-reformation church community. In fact, Rodney Clapp argues in his book Families at the Crossroads that this belief is still continued today in many denominational communities. Therefore, today in the church there are many of singles who find themselves ostracized from faith communities because of the family focus of many church programs and leadership, as well as the overall church community.

Family

The family has taken many shapes over the course of the life of the Church. At the time of the birth of the Church, the family looked more like a tribal family unit then today’s nuclear family. When studying the gospels it appears that Jesus believed that his family was not primarily his blood relatives, but his family was composed of those who share his obedience to the will of God (Matthew 12:49-50). In fact, Jesus warns his followers that he did not come to bring the family unit together, but instead to divide it, “father against son,” or “daughter against mother” (Luke 12: 52-54). Taking these two verses together, Clapp has argued that Jesus calls his church to be a family of families, made up of those who follow Jesus as Lord. Peter in his epistle also continues Jesus’ message of redefining the family unit when he uses the phrases “Universal Church” and “Family of God” to refer to the church community (1 Peter 4:17). Paul also uses this family imagery when he calls believers “children of God” or “heirs of God,” something everyone in the first century would have associated with the Hebrew or Greek family unit (Romans 8:16-17, 9:8; Phil. 2:15). The writer of Hebrews even continues this new understanding of families, when he or she states that if disciples are not disciplined, they become illegitimate children of God (Hebrews 12:8). The Church understood that the promises of God transformed individuals into God’s literal sons and daughters, thus creating a new family. The Church understood that the family of God is more important than the cultural family. When the Church became a part of the Roman Empire under Constantine, the Christian idea of family began to look more like the current cultural understanding of family one found themselves in. The Church somehow lost its understand of itself as a family of God, and understood itself more as a religious organization. Today the Christian idea of family is the nuclear family, which consists of a heterosexual couple and their children, in which the husband maintains authority within the household and the mother manages the home and children. It is interesting to note that even in today’s society our family unit looks a lot like our own culture, which is shaped by capitalism and nationalism as Clapp argues.

The Community

The members early Church referred to themselves as the ekklesia, which is translated “church” in English. Early in Christianity the Church extracted their understanding of who they were to be from the fact that they believed that they now existed in a new age, during the reign of the Kingdom of God. The use of this Greek word suggests that the early Christian community saw themselves as a people brought together by the Holy Spirit, bound to one another through Christ in covenant as God’s people. This type of community did not just contain one current demographic of people, but rather a mosaic of individuals such as singles, families, elderly, and slaves. In the New Testament we find three names authors use to refer to the ekklesia, which all relate to each member of the Trinitarian God: the nation of God, the body of Christ, and the temple of the Spirit. Theologians have suggested that the ekklesia is a representation of God, who dwells in community bound together through the Spirit. As time went on, the Church declared that its essence is contained in four marks—apostolicity, catholicity, unity, and holiness. The Catholic, Orthodox, and other high church denominations raise apostolicity as the highest of the marks. During the Reformation, some theologians shifted the focus of “the essence of the church” towards the Word and sacrament, where the more radical reformers developed an ecclesiology that became known as congregationalism, asserting that the true church is made up of those who stand within a voluntary covenant with God. This movement toward covenantalism shifted the church toward a local understanding of church, instead of a universally understood reality. It is this covenantal ideology that has greatly affected American churches today. Today many church members understand the church to a building more than a group of people who find the identity within a universal metanarrative. Some Christian movements, including the Emergent Church, are currently challenging congregationalism ideals of church, but it is yet too early to see what affects these challenges might bring.

Dating and Marriage

The Bible does not speak directly about dating, and throughout Church history the Church has usually followed the marriage/dating structure of whatever culture it exists in. In fact, dating is a rather new invention of society as it moved towards a more consumer-driven culture. In centuries past marriages were arranged by parents, mostly for the economic benefits for both families. In the United States, even in the church, individuals are allowed to date others in order to find a suitable mate. Once one finds a desired mate of one’s choosing like one finds a new car or house, one makes a covenant to be married with that person “till death do they part.” In the New Testament marriage was viewed as a reflection of Christ’s union with the Church; (Ephesians 5: 31-32) it is in this holy communion that the two are bound together as “one” (Gen 2:24). It is this view of married is still widely held by many church denominations today.

Next week we shall look at the final two steps of Lynch’s cultural theological model in hopes of finding out what urban tribes can teach the church and what the church can teach those who find themselves in urban tribes. Until next Tuesday.

Urban Tribes: A Communal Culture Shift

2010-01-05T11:55:00.000-08:00

As I sat at a Christmas party with some of my closest friends and loved ones I could not help but feel at home. The feeling was not because I was in a current town I had once known as home or because the smell or song reminded me of a pastime, instead I felt at home because of the people I was with, my friends. In the book Urban Tribes: Are Friends The New Family?, author Ethan Watters discusses a social trend that emerged sometime around the early 1990s, one he has experienced, as well as studied, and refers to as “Urban Tribes.” While this phenomenon has gone almost unidentified by anyone within the Institutional Church, it has been well recognized by the rest of our culture. In fact, the church has done little to nothing to respond to it, so much as that many within urban tribes who will call themselves Christians, do not want to be in anything that looks like an Institutional Church because they feel their needs go unmet by the church community. Instead, “church” for many of them is within their tribal community because they believe this type of community looks a lot more like the New Testament Church than any Institutional Church they have been to. This is because it is in urban tribes, not in the church, that individuals are finding acceptance, meaning, and community.

So what is an urban tribe and what does this trend mean for the Church in the coming decade? (As a side note: anyone who is in ministry of any kind, especially youth and adult ministry needs to pick up this book, read it, and ponder how this social trend might affect his or her own ministry) urban tribes as Watters describes them are communities of “single-friends” who live in different urban communities around the world. How urban tribes form is unknown, their beginning seems to be more like a game of connecting the dots where friends connect with friends, who connect with even more friends, until a core group of friends is constructed. While some friends connect through work, others connect through college or living together. Not all members of one tribe are defined by one activity or trait, but many tribe members are living between post-college life and pre-family life, delaying marriage into their late twenties, thirties, and forties. It is impossible to simplify what urban tribes are, since their size, composition, rules and rituals vary radically. Tribe members seem to live in a constant pursuit of the future, living without an identity, stuck between childhood and marriage. Members of urban tribes are asking many of life’s big questions, as well as living unsure of or even without their own metanarrative while wanting to know there are others in similar circumstances.

As it relates to marriage and family, members of urban tribes do not have strong enough ties to their families to continue living within proximity to relatives. Instead, they are waiting to start families of their own having lived outside the home for six to seven years by the time they are 25. Members cannot point to one reason why they have chosen to postpone family life, and neither can Watters. Some people believe that many have postponed family life because they have seen how their parents’ generation fell apart, setting records in divorces rates, drugs use, adultery, and other forms of self-destructive behavior. Therefore, urban tribe members distrust the adult community and are trying to create a new adult self, distant from their parents’ generation. Others point to the fact that individuals have more free time now, that some have found themselves divorced at an unexpectedly early age, or even that women are freer to work in whatever field they choose, instead of being limited to working in the home. A more reasonable catalyst would be a combination of all of the above, almost as a type of stained glass mirror that individually brings different colors to the picture, yet when assembled together presents a larger piece of art.

Community and friendship rule all for those in urban tribes. Watters argues that the moral values of urban tribes are contained within the friendships and support groups that members create around them. He noticed that urban tribes have high clustering coefficients, which are found by dividing the number of people who know each other by the total number of people who could possibly know each other. A high clustering coefficient allows for reciprocal, positive relationships, which are entered freely. This high bond allows each member to support every other member of their tribe, as well as give each member of the tribe their own freedom to accomplish whatever they wish. Watters believes urban tribes are most like families in their expression of love during activities that carry meaning. It is a tribe’s friendship history that helps the group maintain a group identity; this history also helps the tribe to introduce new members into the tribe, as over time a new member becomes a part of the history of the tribe. Friendship in tribes may be broken down into friendship or personality roles such as the advice giver, the comedian, the deal negotiator, the ones in need, the mother like figure, and the social director yet, all friends are on a level playing field and bring an equal amount of importance to the group. During group functions individuals will separate off into smaller clusters of three to four people and gossip about their lives. Watters believes that these small groups of gossiping clusters allow for group members not only to pass along important information, which allows members to get to know each other, but that gossip is an act of expressing alliance to the membership of the group.

In urban tribes friendship plays an essential role in defining an individual. They see their selves in their friends and they see themselves in each other. Watters argues that friends do not necessarily reflect one’s true self, but an idealized notion of who a person is; therefore, friends are good at encouraging one another, but not as helpful at promoting needed change. Unlike many peoples' experiences within their family lives, tribes provide a positive environment for members at their current juncture in life by challenging one's self-loathing and providing the support necessary for a person to further discover who they are. For instance, while mom and/or dad might be asking why one is not married at 30, urban tribes do not ask this question, but care for the individual and support them for where they are in life. urban tribes bring something to the table that many families do not, acceptance. Therefore instead of traditional family relationships, it is through their tribe friendships that members learn to be comfortable in their own skin. The devotion that tribe members show one another helps teach members the devotion they want or believe they should give to their future significant other, if they even chose to marry.

Urban tribe communities help to connect tribes to their city through social responsibilities. Unlike the traditional “American way” of belonging to one organization, such as the Boy Scouts or the local PTA, urban tribes participate in social action through a “society of friendship.” Through the a society of friendship tribe members connect to one another spreading the word of need through existing networks and are then motivated to participate in social action through their strong friendship ties.

Many members of urban tribes are in a constant cycle of dating, moving from one person to the next, yet always staying true to their tribes. While many members find value in the institution of marriage, not many are moving quickly to get there. Tribe members are no longer idealistic about marriage, but have started questioning the marriage practices of the generation before them, feeling that many of their parents jumped into marriage too quickly. Many members are therefore looking for their “soul mates,” or at least someone that will provide as much support to them as their tribe has. If a member is dating someone, the approval of tribe members holds greater value than that of their family. Once a member marries s/he will then leave the tribe for their new mate. Even though it was not intentional, most tribes realize that a married person’s attention turns from the tribe to their new mate and their free time is spent with their significant other, rather than with the tribe. Even if tribes last for decades, they eventually will significantly change or break apart as members get married. Sociologists as well as many people still believe that many of these “never-marrieds” will one day be married. There has been a recent shift in tribal communities where marrieds are trying to extend tribal relationships into married life. Marrieds have also begun to form married urban tribes where majorities of people within the tribes are married. Now the larger destroyer of urban tribes seems to be location and children instead of marriage.

Next week we will explore Urban Tribes through a cultural theological lens in order to see what the Church can learn from these communities, as well as bring to these communities. Until next week.

The Redemption of Old, The Beginning of New

2009-12-29T20:25:00.000-08:00

With the New Year approaching I have been thinking a lot about newness, in fact, newness is a major theme throughout the Bible. At every New Moon festival the holy offering and the sin offering were presented before God for the house of Israel as a sign of a new beginning (Numbers 10:10; Ezra 3:5; Nehemiah 10:33; Ezekiel 45:17, 46:1-7; Hosea 2:11). The Israelites saw signs of blessings in the harvest of new crops and wine, as well as the birth of new animals and children (Deuteronomy 7:13; Psalms 4:7; Proverbs 3:10). With each new birth or harvest Israel was to offer first fruits to God as a sign of thanksgiving for what he had provided (Deuteronomy 12:17). In the book of Psalms the Psalmist sings a “new song” to the Lord as a special sign of worship to God for the things he has done (Psalms 96:1, 98:1, 144:9, 149:1) In the prophetic books the tension between what is typical and what is new signifies either a curse or blessing brought against Jerusalem or Israel by the prophet through the metaphor of “new wine drying up” or “new wine” being brought forth (Isaiah 24:7, 36:17, 62:8; Jeremiah 31:12; Hosea 2:8-9, 4:11; Joel 1:5, 1:10, 2:19; Haggai 1:11; Zechariah 9:17). It is in the prophets that we first read the phrase “a new thing,” “new covenant,” and “new heaven and new earth” (Isaiah 43:19, 48:6, 66:22; Jeremiah 31:22, 31:31).

In the New Testament newness is strongly tied to the Kingdom of God (Matt 13:52, 26:29; Mark 1:27, 2:22; Luke 5:36-39, 22:20). Paul picks up on the theme of newness being tied to the Kingdom of God connecting Christ’s coming, death, and resurrection to the concept that his followers are made “new” (Romans 6:4; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15, Ephesians 2:15, 4:23-24; Colossians 3:10). Others, as well as Paul, interpret Christ’s actions as a coming of what the prophet of Jeremiah speaks of in 31:31 as the “new covenant” with the people of God (1 Corinthians 11:25; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Hebrews 8:8, 9:15). In Luke 22:20 the gospel writer tells how Jesus interpreted his own action as a sign of this “new covenant,” spoken of by the prophet Jeremiah. Christ’s actions ultimately will bring forth the coming of the “new heaven and new earth” originally spoken of in apocalyptic texts such as Isaiah 65 and 66, Ezekiel, Daniel, and further developed in the New Testament by Jesus in Matthew 24 and Luke 21 and by other New Testament writers in passages such as 2 Peter 3:12-14, and the book of Revelation.

When one does a quick study of newness in the Bible, what emerges is not a picture of destruction as some have thought, but a picture of recreation and redemption. This recreation is not the end, or death, of something or someone, but salvation from death. In the gospel of John Jesus speaks about this rebirth, which is identified as a birth from above in a stricter translation from the Greek text in chapter 3. As Paul states in 2 Corinthians 5:17, all who confess Christ are a “new creation, for the old has passed away and the new has come.” In fact, within the Christian faith baptism signifies the metaphorical death of an individual’s past and the rebirth of their new life. Ultimately, this sacrament is not a sign of death, but a sign of redemption; in the same way we are not destroyed but recreated and redeemed.

What has recently struck me about God’s redemption is that it is found in God’s “new creation,” not in the destruction of it. In God’s own way, with the coming of his Kingdom in the ministry and life of Jesus, God is building on what is currently been created and being done in the lives of his creation by the power of his Spirit in hopes of redeeming it all. This is not to say that God is monitoring our past sins or hardships in hope of punishing or destroying us so that he may one day put everything back together again better then before. Instead, he is working within our current world and lives in order to redeem them and make both anew. Christ died so that we God’s creation would not have to, but that it could be resurrected to new life. Upon Christ’s resurrection he was not brand new in a way that no one could recognize him, but his body was resurrected in an eternal form. In the same way this heaven, this world, and our bodies will be resurrected in their eternal form upon Christ’s final return.

As the New Year approaches and the 2000 decade comes to an end, I would like to think that God will continue to work in the same way he has throughout all of history, to redeem his creation. God is not looking to condemn, but rather to redeem his people. Therefore, my prayer is that in the next years and decades I will not condemn myself for my past actions, but I will be redeemed and made prefect by the one who died and resurrected so that his creation would not suffer the same fate.

So in the New Year may you not look to condemn your past, or the past of others, but to redeem it, for redemption does not stop at death, but continues past death through to resurrection. Therefore, my hope is that you look to find redemption from your past and that you begin to participate in the redeeming work of God who hopes not to destroy, but resurrect his creation.

Kingdom Work in the Most Expected Places

2009-12-22T10:31:00.000-08:00

I have always found it interesting that even though one might have read a biblical passage many times, s/he can always gain new insight after every read. This happened to me last Sunday as the lector read the passage from the lectionary. She read the following passage:

39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!"

46 And Mary said:
"My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors."
56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.
Luke 1:39-56(TNIV)

What hit me as the lector read was how unlikely both Mary and Elizabeth were to be chosen to bear John the Baptist and Jesus. Elizabeth, a woman believed to be barren and past the age which is thought to be able to conceive a child; and Mary, a teenage virgin, betrothed to a lowly carpenter. What probably made no sense to the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, made prefect sense to God. He chose to use two women who no one would have ever expected to fulfill his promises in the world.

As I sat there and listened I could not help but wonder who God might be choosing to work through today’s world that we, the Church, might never expect. Maybe it could be the homeless person who you pass on your way to work daily? Or maybe the rapper who spoke for and inspired a group of people, but who tragically died far to early? Or maybe, the teenager sitting in the “youth pew” doodling, who just wants to be asked how her week was? Or maybe the widower who comes to church in his Sunday best every week, who no one pays attention to, but who has so much wisdom to give?

This Christmas may you look for Jesus all around, and may you find him in the most unexpected places. I promise if we take the time, slow down, and look, he is there in the smiling faces of children and teens, in the wrinkles that grow with age, in the hungry stomachs of those on the streets, or in the cries of the silent. May you truly see Jesus as he builds his kingdom through those you would never expect.

Merry Christmas!

The Dawn of the Hipster? (Part 2)

2009-12-15T10:24:00.000-08:00

Every countercultural movement has a story behind it, a story driven by a set of questions and concerns, which are perceived by its followers to be unanswered by the previous generations; hipsterdom is no different In the article “Hipster: The Dead End of Western Civilization” the magazine Adbusters argues that hipsterdom is “an artificial appropriation of different styles from different eras, the hipster represents the end of Western civilization – a culture lost in the superficiality of its past and unable to create any new meaning.” Yet adbusters is wrong, hipsterdom does not mark the end of Western civilization, instead it echoes something much greater, the postmodern death of metanarrative.

When a person becomes stripped of their cultural metanarrative, they are left to create their own. Usually what results is a collaboration of what they know, or to borrow a line from the Adbuster’s article, “an artificial appropriation of different styles from different eras…a culture lost in the superficiality of its past and unable to create any new meaning.” When meaning becomes relative to individuals, creating anything of substance becomes artificial because its foundation is subjective.

The questions that drive the hipster movement have concern individual’s search for meaning. This is seen in their willingness to shed their individuality; all for the sake of feeling like they are a part of anything bigger than themselves, yet, at the same time trying to hold on to any part of their individuality in a search for autonomy. One example from the Adbusters article reads, “Standing outside an art-party next to a neat row of locked-up fixed-gear bikes, I come across a couple girls who exemplify hipster homogeneity. I ask one of the girls if her being at an art party and wearing fake eyeglasses, leggings and a flannel shirt makes her a hipster. ‘I’m not comfortable with that term,’ she replies.” Raised in a culture where metanarrative is relative, the girl is uncomfortable with the term because she is still unwilling to let any metanarrative define her; well, anything but what she sees as her own individuality, which in fact is not so individual after all.

What the girl, as well as most hipsters, fails to realize is that an individual cannot identify himself or herself in a vacuum, in fact whether people admit it or not, they cannot escape the metanarrative with which they were raised in. That is why even in their process of destructing their personal metanarrative they reach for know past metanarratives to create something “new,” seeking to find meaning. People find their identity within communal metanarrative; they need others to help them construct their meaning and individuality. Take a baby for instance, if a newborn is left by itself, only kept alive through being fed, the baby will be severely developmentally delayed because they have no way of learning how to talk, walk, sit up, or execute other vital human processes. People need the support of others to help them create understanding, in fact people search for community wherever they can find it. In the book Hurt, Chap Clark discusses the reason why teens, and might I add even college students and adults, seek parties full of drinking, sex, and drugs, is because they are in such need of community that they will seek any community that they feel a part of.

Take for instance the following quick interaction with a 17-year-old boy at a party documented in the Adbusters article:

"He’s 17 and he lives for the scene!" a girl whispers in my ear as I sneak a photo of a young kid dancing up against a wall in a dimly lit corner of the after-party. He’s got a flipped-out, do-it-yourself haircut, skin-tight jeans, leather jacket, a vintage punk tee and some popping high tops.
"Shoot me," he demands, walking up, cigarette in mouth, striking a pose and exhaling. He hits a few different angles with a firmly unimpressed expression and then gets a bit giddy when I show him the results.
"Rad, thanks," he says, re-focusing on the music and submerging himself back into the sweaty funk of the crowd where he resumes a jittery head bobble with a little bit of a twitch.

The reason this teenager lives for the scene is because it is the only community he has; these are the only people that help this boy create meaning, and give him a metanarrative to live by. In a postmodern world where metanarrative is under attack, hipsters are forced to search for the meaning of life, who they are and why they are here amongst late dance night parties, beer, and drugs as they scream out, “help me find who I am, why I am here, and what this life is all about.”

The metanarrative of salvation can be the identity-forming story that helps to answer the questions those within hipster culture are asking. The one distinguishing element one must have is an authentic life-changing element of Christianity. Post-modern students can see through phony unauthenticity like it is glass. Unless your faith translates into life changing action you will not have a voice among the generations to come. On top of that, today’s teens and college students needs to see a faith that not only changes you as an individual, but affects and changes the world around you. Something that I have failed to mention until now is that while Hipsters are artificial, they do have a heart for social change. For most part this is because they are looking to be a part of something bigger than themselves; yet this also means that unless you are involved in issues that are affecting the world, you will not earn a voice among this community. Basically, Hipsters want to know that the answers you are providing them are concerning something bigger than your individual self. The days of accepting Jesus as your personal savior are gone; the teens and youth of 2010 and beyond want to know if your Jesus is a part of something bigger than your personal little life. They want to see if your Jesus metanarrative can answer their questions about life, community, and global issues. If those you call yourselves a Christ followers cannot and fail to communicate the life changing metanarrative of the gospel by the way you life, then those in the Hipster community, and to all teens in coming years will not hear one word you say. The youth of the future have grown up in a world where they have not seen Christianity affect anything but moral reasoning. Youth need to see a faith that goes beyond morals to a lifestyle that looks much like that of which Jesus talks about in the Sermon on the Mount or Luke outlines in Acts 2: 42-47. At the same time, the youth of today and the future will require a non-judgmental faith where forgiveness and grace are daily realities as they struggle though adolescents to find who they are in Christ Jesus.

Therefore, as another decade comes to an end and a new one begins, may the Church be the one who lives out the metanarrative of God authentically as it reaches out to those who are searching for meaning amongst new counter-cultural tends, party crowds, and artificial communities.

2010 and Beyond, the Dawn of the Hipster?

2009-12-08T12:02:00.000-08:00

Peering through the dark used-to-be-alley, turned local music venue hangout outside of one of Orange County’s many small music venue stand hundreds of teens whose heads emerge as mountains from an encircling cloud of smoke, while all sharing a can of PBR. Dressed in skinny jeans, plaid or V-necked shirts, these teens are taking a quick smoke break before then next band goes on stage. To the common eye some might just associate these teens with the local “emo” crowd, but these teens know that “emo” has come and gone and there is something new emerging. Whether any of these teens will admit it or not, they are a part of a new indie music, fashion conscious, socially driven cultural movement that has been termed “hipster.” Just like the “emo”/ “scenester” crowd of the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, the “hipster” crowd has emerged in the later 2000's asking new questions and seeking new answers as we move into a new decade.

Most likely this term “hipster” is used because by cultural watch dogs, because of this cultural movement’s similarities to the 1940s hipsters, who followed the then emerging jazz movements of their time. Frank Tirro, in his book Jazz, defines a hipster of the 1940s as, “an underground man…he is amoral, anarchistic, gentle, and over civilized to the point of decadence.” In 1940 most hipsters belonged to upper-middle class society but sought to mirror those in the urban New York Jazz community, seeing something in the midst of the urban Jazz crowd they felt lacked from their upper-middle class upbringing.

Today’s hipsters no longer belong to one social class, or even one specific ethnic group, but come from all walks of life and ethnicities searching for meaning and asking questions. The people of this subculture, who might just be looking to be “cool,” are far from the hipsters of the 1940s; they are simpler than some think. In fact, today’s hipsters take many subconscious cues from their 1940 counterparts; some might even argue that they can be defined as decadent, just as their former brothers and sisters. In an Adbusters article “Hipster: The Dead End of Western Civilization,” Douglas Haddow argues that “hipsterdom” is a stripped down version of prior countercultural movements that is unable to create anything meaningful or new. While Haddow is quite critical of the hipster movement, he is correct in stating that most hipsters appear to be a “homogenous group” who are seeking to discover their own sense of identity and meaning, rather than pursuing anything greater. Yet, within this subculture social issues are of utmost importance. Riding around on fixed-gear bikes to their favorite new ethnic veggie eatery or organic coffee shop, sporting their newest non-sweat shop clothing find, hipsters care just enough to not make any really difference in the world. Their ideals shared around smoke filled circles are the extent of their political and social involvement, which is lack luster, especially compared to countercultural movements of the past. Therefore, the question has to be asked whether or not much of their social mindedness might just be a way that they distinguish themselves from others, while creating their own cultural homogeneity.

Much like the “emo” movement of the late 1990’s, hipster culture is slowly moving into high school and junior high youth culture. In fact, as Paste magazine demonstrates, today’s hipsters’ roots can be traced to the college emo music and scenester culture of the early 2000s. It is yet to be seen how corporate America will market the hipster counterculture moment to the masses. Will they alter and destroy the essence of the questions being asked by those who are within this counter-culture movement as they did with emo culture? The masses of record companies, Hot Topic, and Spin Magazine turned a movement grounded in finding a emotional connection to what was happening in their world, especially in light of being raised in the 1980’s world of men-as-emotionless-beings, into a money market of darkness, cultural depression, and self-affliction. Companies turned questions of “what do I do with what I feel?” into be this, purchase this product to help you find the answers. Only time will tell what hipsterdom will become as it moves forward into the next decade; it could totally disappear or it could become the next “big thing” for our students. What the church needs to do is to pay attention to how this movement will affect our students and families in the coming years. The answer to that question lies within the questions being asked by the communities in which the movement arises. Next week we will take a deeper look at these questions and seek to discover biblically based answers.

"The Blind Side," Redefining What Family Is.

2009-11-30T23:20:00.001-08:00

Currently in the United States, the ideal family unit is generally consists of two parents who have 2.5 children. What most Americans have failed to realize is that this understanding of what a family is has only existed post-industrialization (word choice?) in the United States. Prior to Industrialization, families were much larger and included grandfathers, grandmothers, aunts, and uncles. Much for the reason is because a majority of families had to farm land, which takes a lot of people to do well, or each work jobs to survive. For instance, my grandfather grew up on a farm in Minnesota and had 16 brothers and sisters. His parents had so many children because they each helped in caring for the farm in order to pay the bills and live off their own land. When the depression hit, my great-grandfather, after losing everything, killed himself. My grandfather’s family was broken up and sent all over the greater Minnesota area to family and friends who could take them in and care for them. Before he was a teen, my grandfather was sent off to live with his uncle and aunt, who worked another farm in the area. After the passing of his father, my grandfather’s understanding of family was changed for the rest of his life; he no longer saw his family as those who were his parents or blood siblings. While it was hidden under a tough exterior, underneath existed a man who believed family was more than one’s blood relatives.

This weekend a movie based on the true story of current Baltimore Ravens player Michael Oher called The Blind Side arrived in theaters around the world, which also raised questions about the contemporary definition of family. Set in Memphis, Tennessee around 2003, the movie is about a black boy from a poor urban area who is taken away from his mother at the age of seven by child-protective services. The boy bounces in and out of foster homes and homes of people who welcome him in, until he is invited to stay with a white family. At the beginning of the movie, Michael enters a predominantly white private Christian school in Memphis on a sports scholarship, after the father of a friend he is staying with convinces the school to enroll him. Michael soon hears this helpful man and his wife fighting about the strain of having him in the house, and he finds himself back on the street, with no where to go and temperatures nearing freezing.

At this pivotal moment Michael’s story changes. After seeing him walking in the rain, Leigh Anne Tuohy, a woman who has two children at Michael’s school, invites him to come stay the night at her house. Over time, Leigh Anne and her family invite Michael to join their family as their son, as they beginning to fall in love with a boy they never expected to. By the end of the movie Michael has moved from being a boy who they care for, to being a son and brother who the family loves as their own.

As the movie comes to an end, Leigh Anne, played by Sandra Bullock, speaks about a boy she read about in the paper who was a great athlete who was killed on his twenty-first birthday. Leigh Anne raises the question, what if someone would have cared for this boy, as the Tuohy’s had cared for Michael; would his life have looked different?

While there are issues within the character Leigh Anne’s question, such as, should only those who are “good athletes” or those who show promise be helped out of their situation, I think the question is getting at something important. If we reform her question to ask, What if others had cared for this boy, a normal boy who had encountered unfortunate life circumstances? Maybe even taken in by a family as their own child? How would this boy’s life have been different?

That is the question I believe needs to be directed right at the church. Jesus states, “whoever cares for the least of these, cares for me” in Matthew 25. Jesus even states in a world where children are seen as the lowest ranking members of the cast system, “let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom belongs to such as these” (Matthew 19:14). Jesus calls his people, his Church, to care for those who society and culture has made outcasts, the lowest of the low. Is the church missing its call to care for those in need? It is so easy to drive into urban areas, care for those in need for a day, two days, or even a week, but what about caring for those in need daily? What about rescuing a boy or girl who is living in poverty and turmoil daily?

What about redefining what we believe a “Christian family” is? After all, Jesus redefines family as those who “do the will of his father are his brothers and sisters” (Matthew 12:50). Peter even calls the church the “family of God” (1 Peter 4:17). As the Church invites those who are in need in and askes them to become a part of the family of God, the Church redefines what it means to be family.

In the movie, while the coach is convincing the board of the school to admit Michael, he appeals to them by stating, “What does this banner say? It says Christian!” Many Christians are willing to tattoo, wear shirts, or put stickers on our cars like banners that tell the world they are followers of Jesus. But how many of us are willing to let our lives, including how we spend our money, how we care for those in need, and how we define family, be banners that tell the world we are followers of Jesus? My feeling as I look at the church is that a lot more people are okay with purchasing a Christian bumper sticker or t-shirt, before even thinking about changing how they would define family, in order to care for those who Jesus states, “when you care for the least of these, you care for me.”

It is the church’s call to care for, show compassion toward, and take in those who are need. It might not look exactly as it did for the Tuohy family, but I think when we start to redefine our understanding of what family is, like the Tuohy family did, we will see those in our community and around the world differently.

More Resources for the film The Blind Side at: http://www.youthworker.com/youth-ministry-resources-ideas/youth-culture-news/11617089/

Black Friday, "Want" Vs. "Need" (Part 2)

2009-11-25T18:39:00.001-08:00

How should the church respond to all of this, outlined in the previous blog entry? After all, this is main question we should be asking ourselves if we are followers of Jesus. The church’s response to a culture of consumption lies within finding a balance between one’s “needs” and one’s “wants.” At the same time, we must take into consideration the stewardship of our money, especially in a time of great need in our world and country. Godly stewardship commands that all of one’s belongings are truly God’s, rather than one’s own.

Looking at “needs” verses “wants,” biblically speaking, God provides for the things we “need,” not for the things we “want.” Jesus, in Matthew 6:24 states, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” In this verse a person’s basic needs are addressed; Jesus outlines that God will care for this people, and therefore, we are not to worry about our basic needs. It is important to also remember that there are people in the world that are without these basic needs and it is the church’s job to care for these people. In fact, this is exactly how God hopes to care for those who are in need in the world. God calls his Church to take into consideration those who are in need in their community and world when contemplating how to spend their money (Matthew 25: 31-46, Acts 2: 42-47). Caring for those who are poor is the topic of greatest concern in all of scripture, with over 3,000 references to the topic of poverty; this should be one of the Church’s greatest concerns.

When it comes to “want,” especially in the United States, it is easy to mix up “needs” for “wants;” and let me be the first to say I struggle when drawing the line between the two. It is helpful to ask yourself if you are really in “need” of a certain item or if you just “want” that item. When the line between “wants” and “needs” becomes blurred it is easy to become controlled by your “wants.” For instance, when annual cell phone contracts are up for renewal and the old cell phone is in fine working order, meeting our needs, how many of us, including myself, just go and purchase the newest phone, satisfying our “want”. Somehow, we have convinced ourselves that we need a new phone, when in fact we probably do not. It is even more questionable when we start purchasing everything we “want.” Soon before we realize it, our “wants” become what controls our behaviors and desires. Jesus reminds us, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money” (Matthew 6:24 TNIV). This might seem like a harsh stance for Jesus to take, in fact, I am sure there are many people who have somehow skewed this text to make it say what they want it to. Yet, it seems pretty plain to us, if a person is serving money, material objects, stuff, and/or anything that will parish, they are not serving God.

Ultimately, that is the key. Are you serving God or money? How has control over your stuff, your money? When it comes to this holiday season, are you purchasing stuff just to fill someone’s or your own stocking? Are you taking into consideration those who are in need in the world? Are you serving money or God with what was never yours in the first place?

You see, despite what commercials tell us, material objects cannot fix your family, but God can. Clothing cannot make you get into the holiday season, but focusing it on God can. Providing your family with what they want will not make your or their holiday better, but seeing your holiday as a time to worship God can. As a Christian, I am embarrassed to know far to little about other holidays, but I can say with great conviction that there are no holidays that will occur this season that are focused on what people “want,” the stuff being exchanged, or the gifts given. Holidays are about celebrating what the creator has done for his creation. When God stepped into time he intervened in a salvific way to redeem his people. Therefore, as we sit on Thanksgiving and look through all the Black Friday ads that fly across our television screen or litter our newspaper, let us ask ourselves, is my God being honored this holiday season with how and where I am spending my money? Are my “wants” controlling the way I view this holiday season? Or, is God asking me to change, to do something different this holiday season?

May all of you have a blessed Thanksgiving with the people you love, and may you also remember it is not about what you have as much as who you serve. God Bless.

Black Friday, "Want" Vs. "Need" (Part 1)

2009-11-23T23:37:00.000-08:00

While sitting on my couch staring at the TV after a long day during the first week of November, I was awakened from my mindless coma by what could only be explained as an explosion of noise, colors, and music blaring from the screen toward me. Without knowing what had just happened, and feeling a little attacked, I caught a glimpse of the “Gap” logo and the sound of cheery holiday voices before it ended. I quickly grabbed my computer and looked up the commercial in order to fully comprehend what I had just experienced. After a couple of views I no longer felt attacked, but was strangely frustrated. (If you haven’t seen the commercial please view it here now or you will be confused with what will follow). I wasn’t frustrated by what can only be described as holiday pluralism at its best, what upset me was what followed. From the TV screen, within an advertisement, this was stated, “eighty-six the rules, you do what just feels right, and you do whatever you wantukah and to all a cheery night.” Then a simple message flies up on your screen, “ready for holiday cheer…‘Gap’.” Feeling confused and frustrated all at the same time, I wondered…when did what we want start to control us? When did doing what we want equal a cheery night? And when did Christmas and the holiday season become all about us? As the I thought, the answer became clear, when our wants become our god.

The Friday following Thanksgiving is traditionally known as “Black Friday,” one of the biggest shopping days of the year. Black Friday receives this title because of the assumption that companies move from operating in the “red,” or deficit, to in the “black,” or profit. Usually this is the biggest shopping day of the year. People wake up early or do not sleep at all in order to stand in line for the special deals. This Black Friday will most likely not be any different, but some things have changed. Has this holiday season approaches, many people living in “the red,” or should I say, living in debt. This reality has a direct relationship to another thing that has changed, the marketing strategies of major companies this Christmas. Companies are no longer trying to sell consumers products that they “need” or even “want,” they have gone so far as to sell products as happiness, or a type of instant cheer. It is as if by purchasing products from major companies consumers will not only be happy, but that these products will solve everyone’s personal issues.

This is not an uncommon strategy in the marketing world, in fact there is a name for it—branding. Just think about your average beer commercial. Normally you will see a group of “pretty people” gathered together all drinking a certain type of beer (I am not condoning or opposing the drinking of alcohol, I am using this sample commercial because they are generally the best known among consumers.) The main idea these commercials are trying to communicate to consumers is that if you drink this beer you will have as much fun, be around and maybe even be as “pretty” as these people are.

Other commercials are meant to inform us about a product; take for instance the MGD 64 beer, “with 64 calories in one bottle.” The point of the commercial is to one, inform consumers that this product exists, and two, to tell us that if we drink other competing products we are taking in more calories. Therefore upon a trip to the market to purchase beer one will think to themselves, “oh yea, MGD has that new beer with only 64 calories and I do no want all the calories that come with other alcoholic beverages, so I will buy MGD 64.”

This year’s commercials are taking a step in a new direction; they are no longer just selling you a product, they are telling you out rightly what to do to make your life better. Just like in the “Gap” commercial, telling you to “do whatever you wantukah, do what just feels right.” (On a side note, I hope that Jewish people around the world are upset by the insensitive combination of want and Hanukkah. In reality, all companies are trying to do is to sell you their product so that they will no longer be in “the red.” If one was to translate Gap’s message to the consumer, it would read something like this: spend money on what feels right, buy whatever you want, it does not matter if you are lacking in funds, after all, it is all about holiday cheer.

Take for instance the following “Best Buy” commercial for the holidays. (Link) As the “Best Buy” employees/ carolers sing to you, they create a scenario in your mind where there is conflict. They then proceed to solve the conflict by telling you that if you purchase this computer package, all your family computer issues will be solved. They sing to their listeners, if you buy this product there will be “no waiting, and no fighting, and shouting, no bad biting… only love and hugging, and a sweet loving family!” The genius of this commercial is that Best Buy creates a scenario, develop its plots, and solves issues with no characters at all except the ones you create in your own head. Through this strategy, no empathy is required on the part of the viewer in order to understand the message. Storytelling with no character development or faces, allows the audience to create their own characters, made up of their only family. Therefore as the story unfolds, the viewers literally will play out this conflict within their own family life, at the end seeing the resolution “Best Buy” wants them to see. In reality is it pure psychological genius on the part of the marketers at “Best Buy,” yet what strikes me is what causes the issue in the first place, want. During the commercial the fight in the family occurs because everyone wants what they cannot have. Instead of solving the issue by teaching your kids to be patient and share, “Best Buy” tells us that all our wants can be fulfilled, only for the price of $1199. When did parenting becoming about fulfilling everyone’s wants, over raising children who where patient, kind, loving, and sharing?

So what if consumers are so in debt that they cannot afford to purchase products all at once? Well, K-Mart has solved that issue for you, just use their layaway purchasing demonstrated in this commercial. All you have to do is pay a little each week, further allowing consumers to go into debt. What the commercial does not tell you is that “the Service Fee ($5) plus Cancellation Fee ($10), or 10% down payment (whichever is greater) is collected when merchandise is put into layaway” per item you contractually enter into. (content.kmart.com/ue/home/Kmart_Layaway.pdf) This means that you are, in fact, paying more for the items you are purchasing than if you just bought them outright. Yet, K-Mart does not really care about that, all they want is for you to purchase their products so that they will get out of the “red,” no matter if you fall deeper into the “red.” So, in reality, what commercial is saying to consumers is that it does not matter if you cannot pay for everything outright, having gifts for the holidays is far more important than financial stability.
(Part 2, coming Wednesday morning)

Alter The Ending, finding Redemption & Love

2009-11-17T00:37:00.000-08:00

On the way to the beach on Sunday for a service day, helping our students learn about creation care, a student grabbed my iPod and started from A going to Z looking at all of my music. Every time he came across a band he knew, he called out, “you like…?” The student was surprised by how many bands we both listen to. What followed was a twenty-minute conversation about music between the students in my car and myself. What emerged, other than the similar bands we both like, was this student’s love for music, but more importantly, how much music helped this student process his own life. Music has that ability; through listening to the experiences of another, we minister to our own experiences.

One music genre that gained popularity among adolescents during the early 21st century is called “emo,” short for “emotional rock,” birthed in the 1980s and 90s with bands such as Rites of Spring and Sunny Day Restate. Emo wasn’t allows synonymous with depression and self-affliction, as many of today’s students believe, in fact in the late 1990s it was a genre of rock blowing up in the independent and Christian music world. In 1998 with the rise of this new rock music genre, a small Florida band of Christians named Further Seems Forever, emerged on the music scene, with a lead singer, who according to Andy Greenwald, the writer of Nothing Feels Good, would become the face of emo. You might have never even heard of this small Christian band, Further Seems Forever, but over their time as a band, from 1998 to 2006, they had three different lead singers, three studio albums, and where a part of Tooth & Nail Records. Yet, all of their accomplishments pale in comparison to their former singer, Chris Carrabba, who later became the founder and lead singer of Dashboard Confessional.

Dashboard Confessional’s beginnings were meek and difficult; Carrabba began by going on punk tours with friends, playing solo between sets with nothing but an acoustic guitar, a stool to sit on, and his voice. Soon, the short quiet boy with a great voice and unique song writing ability from Florida started getting big. After recording the small and unknown album entitled Drowning EP, Carrabba, was signed to the pop-punk record label Drive Thru Records and released “Swiss Army Romance” in 2000After signing and putting out his first album Carrabba left Drive Thru Records and signed with Vagrant Records for unknown reasons. It is on Vagrant Records that he put out his then groundbreaking record, The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most, with the single and newly full band verse track “Screaming Infidelities,” Dashboard Confessional’s first radio hit. Soon Carrabba’s voice became the sound track of heartbroken college and high school students all over the country. With Dashboard Confessional’s fame on the rise Carrabba’s ended his solo act ended and became a fun band re-recording solo songs, writing a new EP, and even appearing on MTV’s Unplugged.

The rest is history; the boy with simple punk roots was a national artist with videos on both MTV and VH1. Carrabba’s original followers cried out heresy when he recorded his first album with an electric guitar, A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar, in 2003. Whether Carrabba’s originality was lost when he “blew up,” when Dashboard Confessional became a full band, or it was that the band had been copied too much, no one can really say, but something had changed. What became clearer and clearer to everyone was that he was no longer the original inventive artist he once was when playing his randomly tuned acoustic guitar with passion. What Carrabba and his band mates called “maturity,” was interpreted by listeners as another “top 40 hit” put out by the recording industry. Carrabba even ventured back to his acoustic roots with 2007’s The Shade of Poison Trees, but it fell short and sold almost 90,000 less in the first week of sales than his last “marketable” album.

It has been over two year since Carrabba has released anything, but this week he released his new record Alter the Ending. The vaguely entitled album offers a new direction for Carrabba; while The Shade of Poison Trees offered a glimpse of things to come, “Alter the Ending” is Carraba’s most mature album to date, lyrically. No longer does he cathartically deal with the antics of his past relationships like a 17-year-old high school boy, he lyrically searches for answers in his past.

The first song of the album will most likely catch most listeners by surprise; entitled “get me right,” in the song Carrabba returns to his roots, not musically, but spiritually. In this song Carrabba seems to not only be making peace with his past, but is also seeking to return to his maker, crying out, “I made my way home, limpin’ on broken bones, out of the thickest pines, across the county line, onto your wooden stairs, I know you can repair, I know you’ve seen the light I know you’ll get me right.” While at first one can conjecture whom Carrabba is speaking of, throughout the song it becomes much clearer as he calls out, “Well, Jesus I’ve fallen.” With authenticity that any pastor would love to hear from his/her people, Carrabba sings, “I’ve struggled so hard to believe, I’ll meet my maker, I need my maker, to cure me from my doubting blood and drain me of the sin I’ve loved and take from me my disbelief, I know it should come easily, but it remains inside of me.”

This spiritual turn is not new in the post-emo-punk music scene. In 2006, long time emo-pop-punk band Brand New released the song, God and the Devil Are Raging Inside Me, as a part of their single “Jesus Christ.” Brand New has released albums that are not typically “Christian Music,” and rather has defiant spiritual overtones dealing with issues such as death, anger, community, and yes, even Jesus himself. Brand New’s biggest change came during their headlining tour in the fall of 2008, when they announced from stage “that they only wanted to tour with people who they ‘want to be around’ and who are healthy to be around”. Since then Brand New has gathered a community of Christian tour mates, including bands like mewithoutYou, Thrice, Anathallo, and Jeremy Enigk, even taking the up-coming “Christian”/spiritual band Manchester Orchestra under their wings.

Carrabba’s new CD differs from the others that have come before is because he has created an album that invites his listeners to journey with him through his process of searching for redemption. Dashboard Confessional’s album is not what I would call “Christian,” or even “spiritual,” it is a step in a new direction. Carrabba still openly talks about the “sin” he struggles with, especially in the song, “The Motions.” In the song, Carrabba confesses how the chemicals released during sexual activities control much of his actions, confessing, “if this is chemical I am not ashamed to be owned by the impulses of science.” He even states in “No News is Bad News,” “what makes you so sure that our sins are the start of something holy divine?” Since his break out hit “Hands Down,” Carrabba has leaned toward sexually driven songs, referring to his escapades with girls. One has to wonder through how many of these songs Carrabba is recounting his search for love and redemption amongst the opposite sex, instead of in God. (See lyrics to “get me right” and compare themes of love and redemption)

Approaching the end of the album, in the song “Water to Bridges,” Carrabba sings out, “this weight, these words are tearing me apart, that’s enough for a back to break, that’s enough for a lot to take. And I have been paying for it since I drove my girl away. And that’s the song of a solemn man, I’ll make the best of the best I can…” What is revealed in this concluding song is a man who is searching his past in hopes of salvation; crying out “save me from the grey life, I have paid the price with my soul. Oh, save me!” Finally the album concludes with the words, “it is hard to belong to a girl or a song in the case of a selfish believer, it is strange to be lost, stranger still to belong on the strings of a twisting line... from the path from the grass to the grave I will love you still, and when the sand turns to glass and all that left is the past, I will love you still.”

Whether or not this album is Carrabba’s Christian re-birth is not the point. The album Alter The Ending goes beyond the catergory of “Christian music.” What emerges is a man struggling to find redemption and love through searching his past. This is the beauty of this album; it is true to life, even a Christian life. There are many teenage boys and girls who are seeking to find love and redemption from their past and in the mist of their mistakes. “Alter the Ending” is a CD that can help students process their pasts, presents, and futures in hopes of finding redemption. I encourage you to guild students through this CD, ask them questions, discuss, and find meaning in the words and melodies of a man who is seeking discover the same things they are, love and redemption. Blessings in all you do my friends.

Four Aspects of a Safe Youth Environment

2009-11-09T23:25:00.000-08:00

On the first week of a new job, as I was introduced to the whole youth group, I opened by telling a story. The story I told was my story including I grew up, how my home life affected me, the things—both good and bad—that I did in Junior High and High School, how I came to faith, my journey with Christ and his Church after my conversation, and how I am happy to now be a part of that new community.

I opened with a story because one of the most important steps to creating a safe place has a lot to do with stories. As Dean Borgman in his book Hear My Story: Understanding the Cries of Troubled Youth reminds us, in a way every person’s life is a “story in progress”. God is a God of stories. Throughout scripture we find the unfolding of God’s salvation story: how God created, enters into relationship with his creation and works to redeem his creation Every person’s life story is deeply connected to the story of God’s work in the world. As ministers of God’s kingdom work, the church is to participate and join the work of God in the unfolding of his story of salvation.

Within the move from modernity to post-modernity we have seen a deconstruction of cultural shaping meta-narratives. In other words, post-modern philosophies have worked to break down and question cultural-shaping and religious-shaping narratives that work to form those cultural or religious communities. At the same time, post-modernism has highlighted the individual narrative over and against meta-narratives; meaning that an individual’s experience and background are more important in determining his/her religious beliefs and values. Experience is believed to be the god of one’s own beliefs.

Now imagine that an adolescent-aged student, who has grown up with this cultural understanding, is a member of a church where s/he is unable to wrestle through how scripture has anything to do with his/her experiences and story. More likely than not, a student’s experience will outweigh and overtake any moral, philosophical, or inspirational message that s/he hears preached from any pulpit. This means that if a student associates pain with God or the church in any way, s/he will see God or the church as the one who causes this pain. However, the opposite will happen if someone connects happiness and joy with God or their church experience.

This is where creating a safe place plays a vital role in establishing relationships with students. On my first Sunday at a new church I shared my story, and by doing this, I invited the community of students into my narrative. I shared my struggles, joy, triumphs, and myself to the students of my church community and welcomed them to become a part of my story. These students can no longer sit in the audience with questions of who I am, where I am from, what I am all about, or why I am a part of this community; they now know. By opening up my own life, I also communicated to each person that here, in this place, authenticity is important. (It is essential to remember that students are not your accountability partners, so be open but do not burden them. As a youth leader you have a responsibility to care for each student, not have him/her care for you. Your level of openness must be appropriate and is at your discretion. Through telling my story, I allowed the students to see that it is okay to struggle with faith, to raise questions, and to be real with others. The most important component of sharing my story is that I chose for this to happen in a safe place, communicating that this is a space for each student to do the same.

Creating a safe place for students does not happen overnight; it takes a long time and a lot of prayer. It is important to remember that many of the students in your youth group have been hurt by adults; and therefore, will be guarded against being hurt again, which is in part why it takes time and prayer. It is important that you pray that God will open up the hearts of the youth in your community. Remember, we are joining with the work of God who is already at work among our students. Take the time to be open to and to get to know your students; the more time you spend with them, getting to know them the more comfortable they will feel around you. This is also why it is so important to take time to be with your students outside of youth group; teens need to know that you care in order to feel safe. The best way to show students that you care about them is to spend time with them.

When you are spending time with adolescents make sure you have a predetermined reason or plan for what you will do; this will save you from spending too much time talking about nothing important. The goal of meeting and hanging out with students is to invite students to open up and share their story with you. If you are spending time talking about football or cheerleading the entire time, you are not using your time wisely, and you are being a friend, not a pastor. When going to meet with a student, unless a drastic event or incident comes up, make sure to have a ending time in mind, as well as a subject matter in mind. Throughout the meeting it is important to allow the student to feel like you do not have an agenda right out of the gate; take time to check in with them. If you do have an agenda, make sure to be clear about this when asking the student to meet. If s/he asks you to meet, make sure to allow him/her to direct the flow of the conversation, meaning s/he will talk at least 70% of the time. It is fruitful to take time to learn and practice the skill of directive listening; it is a good skill to have when entering into a counseling-like session. At the same time, directive listening allows the person to feel safe because they control the conversation topic, and you are there to help them process. Remember listen and become a learner before you speak. Take the time to invite your students to invite you into their story by listening. Only when we listen do we earn the right to speak.

During my transition of leaving my previous church community, I made sure to introduce someone to the guys I had been meeting with over the previous years, who would continue to make connections and be a support to them. During this process some of the boys opened up to this new person quicker than others, but there was one guy who still did not feel comfortable being completely real with the person taking my place when I left. After sitting down with this student a couple months after I left, I realized that he was scared of being judged for his shortcomings. Due to this student’s past, he has a lot of baggage he continues to struggle with, and when this student backslides into his old ways he needs to be shown a lot of grace from those around him.

There are many students much like this one, who need grace much more than they need judgment; in fact, it is impossible to create a safe place for students if judgment outweighs grace in our communities. If a student comes to you after falling, use it as a teaching moment where God’s grace can be seen, after all that is what Jesus did, just like in the story of the women caught in adultery. Every time a student comes to you, may you show him/her the same grace that Jesus did on that fateful day. Many students, because of their age, will displace their feelings about you onto God; if you are judgmental, so is God in their eyes.

We have covered four important aspects of creating a safe place: authenticity, taking time to get to know students and their stories, taking time to listen before talking, and remembering to be a conduit of God’s grace. While there are many other aspects that can help lead to creating a safe place for students, these are the four most important that translate no matter what your context is. Remember in a post-modern context safety is one of the most important environmental factors in developing a youth ministry that works to authentically reach students for Christ. Blessings as you look to see how these aspects might best work in your own youth ministry context.

KRS-One & Buckshot Preach

2009-11-02T16:03:00.000-08:00

Over the last month and a half I have been regularly updating every Friday, as some of you might have noticed that follow every week, I did not update this last Friday. Much of the reasons for that are because of some personal changes that have been going on in my life. A week ago God called me into a new church where I will now be serving. With this shift I have had to pick up and move my life to a new place and community.

Now for what this means for redeemingcreation.blogspot.com. I will still be continuing to blog here and nothing really will change expect the day blogs will be posted. From now on blogs will be posted on Monday's instead of Fridays. I still hope that all of you will continue to follow and participate has God leads you.

Next Monday I will return and continue on with the topic of creating a safe place for teens, but for this week I invite you to listen to a new voice and dialog. Below is a youtube video of a song on the new album called "Survival Skills," by KRS-One and Buckshot, two influencal Hip-Hop MC's who have been in the Hip-Hop game for a long time. In the song "Think of All The Things Featuring K'naan," the rappers discuss and provide a great prospective on parenting issues for both urban and suburban areas.

Good questions to ask yourself while you are listening:

What they are discussing?
Why is it an important topic in today's world?
How present is this topic in my faith community and my local community?
How is the topic which this song deals with represented in your community?
How, if at all, does this song communicate gospel principles that your community needs to hear?
What can we learn from what this song?
How might we use this song as a topic of dialog in our church communities?
How does the gospel of Christ interact with this song?
What does this mean for how I approach youth ministry in my context?
How might we help to work for the type of change this song is asking for as a church community?

(Warning song does use strong and suggestive language)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3Wb6vWdWus

Special Topic: "Where The Wild Things Are"

2009-10-23T14:18:00.000-07:00

“Tell me a story…” the words of a broken mother to her child rang out as the boy lay underneath an old computer table gently tugging on his mother’s nylons. He began to share a tale of tall buildings who wandered the world and a tribe of vampires whose will seemed to be to live in peace with their tall friends. Yet as the narrative unfolds the listener is told of a boy vampire, who looking to prove himself, bites one of the tall buildings only to have is own teeth broken against its harsh skin of steal. The boy vampire’s hopes were soon dashed to the ground, now he would be perpetually made fun of as the vampire with no teeth; his life forever changed, he is now an outcast, all because of a simple bite.

The imagination of boys around the world has been highlighted in children’s books and stories for ages, though no book captures this better than Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. Through the use of words and pictures, a boy named Max’s imagination comes to life in a far off land where he is king of a group of characters only known as “The Wild Things.” Yet, this weekend the long time beloved children’s book came to life in the movie adaptation of the book directed by Spike Jones.

In the movie Max is a boy about the age of eight who comes from a single parent household who is caught somewhere between reality and his imagination as he seeks to deal with the things that life has brought his way. One night while trapped in his imagination he requests his mom’s attention for what seems to Max as a routine trip to outer space in his combined fort and spaceship. Max’s hopes for his mom to join his journey are ruined when he finds her downstairs on a date with a strange man. What comes next might only seem like the antics of an eight-year-old boy, but are so much more. Not knowing quite how to deal with the emotions rushing to his mind, Max complains, yells, stands on a table, and hurts his mom by biting her. Somehow the boy’s story of the vampire comes to life, and in biting his mom he causes himself to be an outcast within the family. In reaction to the combination of him hurting his mom and her subsequent yelling at him, Max runs out of the house, down the street, into a forest, onto a boat, and off to a far away land.

On an island which seems the be the middle of the no where, Max stumbles upon “The Wild Things,” which can only be described as monsters who are character representations of aspects of Max’s emotional state. These monsters have been living in this distant land for many years as friends. Despite their friendship, it seems that they cannot get along. Carol, one of the Wild Things, persuaded his friends to crown Max as king, convinced that his presence would bring peace and harmony. It is this gesture that brings Max and Carol together as friends who will work collectively to bring to life Carol’s dreams.

Despite Max’s best attempts, things do not work out; the anger, resentment, and frustration live on. Carol, broken by the fact that his hopes for peace have failed goes on a rampage to rid the world of Max, whom escapes his bitter end with the help of K.W., who hides him from Carol. It is in the hiding place of K.W.’s stomach that Max experiences the power of imprudent anger.

Upon this realization Max recognizes he must return home to reconcile his relationship with his mother. Yet, first working to reconcile his own relationship with Coral, he returns to Coral’s place of hidden imagination, making a heart out of sticks with a “C” in the center, which is a sign of friendship and love between the two. As Max sets off for home he is celebrated, as well as missed, by all of the Wild Things expect Carol. Upon finding the heart, Carol runs with all of his might to see Max off. When he arrives at the beach Max is already cast off on his journey, but Carol cries out his love for Max with a yelp and Max turns around with a smile, communicating his love back to Carol in a reciprocated howl.

Max reaches the coast and begins running home as if in a race against no one to get to his mother. Max arrives findings him mom sitting, looking as if she had been crying for hours. Seeing each other, both Max and his mom embrace with needing no words, only physical comfort. During the hour and a half theatric experience a story of the hurt of today’s society, the self-realization of a young boy, and the collective redemption of all of the characters unfolds amongst the tale of a boy within his imagination.

There is something hidden within the adventure that unfolds on the screen that the Church needs to hear—a message of redemption. Max’s redemption, both within himself and with his mother, comes about through a type of inner searching. Yet, we as the Church know that the redemption of humanity comes about only by the movement of God, within his people, through the power of the Spirit. Sadly, many times people miss what God is doing because they are too preoccupied with other things. This is why it is vital to create time to spend with God, in order that he might search us and show us the places in our lives where we are in need of redemption. With all the noise and distractions that plague our culture daily, there is a necessity for intentionally taking time to let God take a hold of our imagination; to take our mind, heart, and soul on an adventure of self-awareness and redemption. Throughout the gospels Jesus goes off by himself and spends time with his father, allowing himself to be shaped by God. Take one minute and think about the adventures within himself the spirit of God must have taken Jesus on…through the pain of lost loved ones, through the excitement of friendship, and the disappointments of humanity. There is no place where this type of adventure becomes clearer than in the garden of Gethsemane. It is here that Jesus comes face to face with the reality of what will happen on the cross, the pain and beauty of what is about to take place. Can you imagine the adventure that occurred within Jesus during that time—the characters, friendship, problems, joy, pain, and realization of redemption that must have happened within our Lord?

When we allow ourselves to be in solitude, to let our imagination go, and get on the boat to a far off land; we allow the Lord take us on an adventure within our own hearts, minds, and souls. The movie does not address where he went or what truly happened to Max, if he really journeyed to a far off land or whether is was a figurative adventure, but that is not the point. The point is that wherever he goes, or does not go, Max finds redemption, both within himself and with those who are a part of his family and community. May you allow yourself to go on an adventure, to quiet yourself, empty your mind, and allow your Lord to take the reigns on a path to redemption.

Something Teens Need, A Safe Place

2009-10-16T23:50:00.000-07:00

Over the last week, maybe because of the topic of this blog, I have begun to notice the need people have for a safe space. By a safe space I mean a place where one can be with others, have one’s needs meet, and feel comfortable to be oneself no matter what one is going through, happy or sad, joyful or depressed; everyone needs a place where they can just feel safe. For many this is their own home, but what I have noticed as of late is that this safe place for many in our country, especially adolescents, is becoming more limited. Instead of families being what David Elkind calls, “child-centered,” where the well-being of the children is put first and parents sacrifice to meet their needs; families have become “adult-centered” where the well-being of the adult elevated above the children’s.1 For many years the home was a place of safety where children were cared for and loved, but the home does not have the same feel that it once had because children are on longer the focus of family life; the needs and wants of the parents are instead. This is further heightened once a child becomes a teen as they struggle to find his/her own identity within a place where their needs are put on the back burner, replaced by their parents desires. This creates a residence that no longer brings feelings of peace and safety, encouraging self-discovery, but instead feelings of loneliness, discomfort, and tension.

When I lead a focus group of high school students, a majority of the students confided in me that they felt they had no place where they felt safe and no one they felt safe around. One student commented that he did not trust anyone, “not even his best friends.” I was surprised when a sophomore pregnant teen confessed that she wouldn’t even tell her darkness secrets to anyone—not her mom, dad, or her boyfriend of 3 years, who was the father-to-be. I am not sure why either teen felt this way, but what was obvious was that they did not feel safe enough to be honest with the people in their lives.

Many teens today feel just as these two did; they hide everything because they are scared of letting others see deep inside themselves. Many feel that if they reveal their struggles they will be judged, others believe that no one really understands what they are going through, while others just lack trust in any adult or friend, and therefore lock all of their emotions inside. For instance, one student I worked with for 4 years had never met his dad and lived with his mom for his whole life. After getting to know the student it became clear that he never opened up to the men in his life because he did not trust them due to his experiences with men in the past. It took almost 3 and half years for the young man to start opening up to me just because I was a male, when he opened up very quickly to almost any woman in his life.

The environment that people grow up in affects them. Sadly, today kids are treated more like their parents’ play toy instead of a real person. Parents make their children play sports they do not want to, pressure them to be good at all they do, to get straight A’s in school, want them to look and be prefect, give kids anything they want just so they will leave their parents alone, and when a child finally confides their parents, the parents make the children’s issues more about themselves than their own child. On top of that many parents have bought into the myth that kids just want to be left alone. It is not that kids want to be left alone; it is that they need someone to seek them out. It is for reasons like these that many teens do not trust adults today, but sadly teens need adults to be involved in their lives.2 It is no wonder that depression is hitting kids younger and younger.3 Teens have become isolated from the adult communities they need more than ever.

As we have seen over the last couple of weeks, youth need adults to care for them. In fact, Chap Clark, professor of youth, family, and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary believes that for a teen to best navigate through adolescence they need at least five adults, who are involved in their lives, truly care for them, and point them toward Jesus.4 This is why in his book, Disconnected, Chap and Dee Clark urge parents to invite others to be involved in the process of raising a child.5

At the same time, adults must realize that youth regularly need time and space just to be youth. They need a safe place to struggle, mess up, learn, and grow where they will not be judged, but be loved and coached. Youth need to have fun, mess around, and be teens; we cannot rush teens into adulthood because this is another way of abandoning them. The important thing to remember is that this safe place is within an adult community, not away from one.
This is where the Church comes in. The Church needs to create and be a place where teens can feel safe and cared for, where they can struggle and be teens. Youth group plays an integral role in this process. Youth group can be a place where they can be with others in community, have their needs meet, and feel safe. (Next week we will explore how the church might become that safe place for youth and talk a little about what that place might look like)

1 Elkind, David, Ties That Stress: The New Family Imbalance, (First Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1994), 38-62
2 Clark, Chap and Dee Clark Disconnected: Parenting Teen in a Myspace World, (Baker Books, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2007), 35
3 Twenge, Jean M. Ph.D., Generation Me: Why Today’s Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled and More Miserable Than Ever Before, (Free Press, New York, 2006), 107
4 Clark, Chap, Introduction to Youth Ministry, Fuller Theological Seminary, Fall of 2007
5 (Clark and Clark, Disconnected, 178 – 193)

A Tale of Two Experiences: What To Do?

2009-10-09T13:02:00.000-07:00

Church was not always this way, separating youth from the adult community as is seen in the two different examples given below. Looking at the New Testament Church one can see that there was no separation of youth, children, or adults from each other. In fact, families all participated in church together. In his book, Families At the Crossroads, Rodney Clapp takes his readers even back further into the Bible, venturing back into the time where Israel was ruled by its own judges, not kings. Clapp argues that families knew nothing of the privatization of today’s world; instead, as in Joshua 7:17, several households, consisting of married groups of people, formed clans, which then constituted a tribe. There were many reasons for this grouping of families, such as survival and industry, as in Judges 6, but these clans also participated in caring for helping children develop their faith in God (Deut. 6:4).

In the time of the Church things are to operate a little differently according to Jesus. In Mark 3:31-35, Jesus redefines the definition of family as: “whoever does the will of God.” He even goes further in Matthew 10:35-36 to state, “I have come to turn man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, your enemies will be those in your own household.” Jesus continues to say in verse 37, “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.” Within the Kingdom of God and the Church, families are redefined. They no longer are made up of what we know today as the nuclear family; instead family is anyone who confesses Jesus as Lord. This is where the Church comes in. The Church becomes the people who are to raise and disciple the new believer, child, and/or teenager. Theologians Stanley Hauerwas and William H. Willmon take Jesus’ words and draw out its theology, arguing that the Church is to be the family of God, within which both faith and ethics are to be developed.

So how can a church change this? How can we help students feel connected and become connected to the adult community? Well, first let me say that knowing that things need to change is the first step. Now that you see why things need to change, the second step is getting the rest of the staff, and maybe even the elder board, to see why things need to change also. Remember, change, especially in the church, even with staff members and elders, is never a quick process; it takes time, patience, prayer, many conversations, and discernment. In a way taking this step is ultimately asking your church’s culture to change, and people do not like to change, especially when you are asking them to change what they have become very comfortable with. Therefore, it is important to direct change and cast the vision to your church community. Remember change needs to happen in the heart before it can happen within the community. Therefore it is important to be in prayer and asking God’s guidance throughout this process because he is the one that changes hearts and minds for the glory of his kingdom, not us. At the same time, it is important to discern based on your church’s theology, tradition, and culture how God might be calling your church community to start becoming more youth friendly. While you are talking to the pastoral staff and elder board, you should also begin to start conversations with the student body and working to change the culture in your youth ministry itself. Students may be uncomfortable with the idea at first because it is so out of the norm for them, so take baby steps. I have found that a good first step is starting conversations with youth where you do a lot more listening than talking. In many cases the answer lies within the issues. What I mean by this is, ask your students why they do not like coming to “big church,” and trust me, if you have an honest relationship with them, they will be brutally honest with you. Use this information to see what might need to change in order to get youth to want to become involved. Don’t use names, but this information could also be a helpful tool in helping your staff or elders to see the need for change.

Once you start to work to change hearts and minds for Christ’s kingdom, move forward with programs little by little, but remember don’t just program change, pray over it, preach it, and live it. All programming should reflect a larger purpose, God’s. The programs should be things that get students and adults to interact with one another so that they get to know each other and build relationships with one another. One example is doing a church workday and pairing up teams of adults with teams of youth to work on things together. Another example is doing a church basketball league where you create teams of four with two adults and two youth.

After you feel like progress is being made and youth and adults are connecting and hearts are changing, take the step and start including them in the processes of Sunday morning services. If you start with this step, it might feel too quick for some people in the church, that is why I suggest trying to do this further down the road in the process than at the beginning. Getting youth involved with the community during the church service not only helps them create ownership, but they are also able to see themselves as a part of the church community, not just the youth group. Some churches feel that it is best not to hold youth group or youth bible study while a main church service is going on so that youth can be a part of the service every week. Ultimately, while I think this is best, it is at the discretion of your pastoral staff to discern for your community.

Let me say at the end that I am not advocating that youth lose their own space, because in many ways that is just as important as helping to develop an adult community for them. In fact that is subject we turn to next week. Creating space to care for youth in our community and how we can work to meet their specific needs.

But until then, remember what we have covered over the last three weeks, and that youth are in a place in society and culture where they have never been before. Therefore the church must join in God’s redeeming work in the world, helping him redeem his youth through the work of the spirit in the church. As a youth leader it is your job to serve, leads, casts the vision, and create the goals for the future of God’s youth. The hope is that youth will become a vital part of the church community, that they will organically develop relationships with adults in their community, and they will grow and develop in adults who love and follow Jesus. May this way of doing church becomes such a part of the culture that it is prayed for, preached, and lived out in every aspect of the community’s life together.

A Tale of Two Experiences (Part 1)

2009-10-02T16:15:00.000-07:00

I visited a church on Sunday that I never been to before. Entering into a new church community for the first time can be somewhat awkward. It seems that all churches develop a routine over time that is foreign to anyone who first visits. As my fellow visitor and I walked to the front and found our seats close to the front middle, 3 or 4 different people greeted us on our way. Once in our seats we patiently waited for the service to start. As people began to file in, greet their friends, and find their seats we couldn’t help but notice there was no large section of youth sitting together in the back corner away from any adults who they might have come with. Instead the youth were everywhere: back at the power point station, sitting next to their parents, kicking back among adults who looked nothing like them, and up front in the worship team. As the service continued on it was clear that at this church the youth were not just passive observers. Before the sermon a student got up and read the passage for the day, another prayed a prayer for the community, and a student even helped administer the Lord’s Supper! I could not believe it, I felt as if I had walked into a different church universe.

In high school I was sort of the star kid in youth group, not to toot my own horn, but I was. Anyways, even as the star kid I was never asked to participate in the adult church service, as I was not allowed to, and maybe even forbidden to. Instead every Sunday morning after the youth group, I either ran off to the beach, telling my pastor I could find more connection to God in the water then in a boring church service where I was expected to passively sit and listen to another sermon, when I had just come from listening to one or I sat passively in the back of the “big service” because my youth pastor promised to buy lunch if we went the “big service.” Needless to say, I was very disconnected from anything or anybody in my church other than those involved in the youth ministry. And after graduating from high school I went off to college and I did step inside a church, unless my parents forced me, for 3 years.

Sadly to say, today many youth feel the same way or similarly to the same way I did in high school. Looking back I realize that the reason I hated going to “big church” was because I did not feel like I belonged. I did not feel like the pastor spoke in my language, I did not feel like anyone cared if I was there or not, and I never was asked to become involved in the service at all.

(More to come soon :)

Adolescent Abandonment, Not in the Church?

2009-09-25T17:13:00.000-07:00

As seen below, the story of Holden provides an image of youth abandonment. In the shadow of youth such as Holden lies the question: is there such thing as adolescent abandonment within the church?

For the good part of youth ministries past, the youth have been placed into what can only be described as a “youth church service,” far away from the “adult service,” further adding to youth abandonment because youth are again being forced away from any type of adult community. Research has shown that while youth services fulfill the needs and desires of youth to have their own safe space where they can be youth, it has a massive side affect, it can future disconnect youth from the church body. By the time youth graduate from high school many do not feel a part of the larger church body. So therefore, upon graduating from high school and being forced into the “big church service,” students do not feel like they belong.1 Upon entering into the larger church service, youth quickly do not feel at home because not only do they not see the person they called pastor for years, but they do not see anyone that they know or anyone who knows them. For anyone, entering into a church where they know no one can be lonely, but it is even lonelier for a person going through the transition from high school to post-high school.

It is both heartbreaking and mindboggling that one of the loneliest places for youth; a place where they feel almost completely disconnected from adults, is within the church. One would think that the church should be a place where students can feel completely welcome and embraced, yet sadly; the intuitional church looks much more like society. Therefore, it is no wonder that once youth are cast out of youth group into the larger church body; they flee toward any type of community that will invite them in.

In the book, Hurt: Inside the World of Today’s Teenagers, Chap Clark states that through his research he has found that one of the main reasons youth go to parties is because they are seeking community with others. This should break anyone’s heart.2 Why is it that youth have to venture into the dark places of high school and college parties to find community instead of into the church?

May the church be a place where youth find community, not only with other students, but also with adults. May the church not be a place of abandonment, but of hope and God’s redemption displayed by the body of Christ, our Lord.

(In the next posting we will explore how the church might change to no longer be a place of abandonment.)

1 For great information and research on this topic see http://fulleryouthinstitute.org/college-transition/
2 Clark, Chap, Hurt: Inside the World of Today’s Teenagers, (Baker Academics, Grand Rapids, 2004), 158- 168

A Tale of Adventure, Abandonment, & Truth

2009-09-22T22:38:00.000-07:00

Kicked out of his prep school because of his grades, Holden Caulfield, age 17, is traveling around New York City killing time before he will return home for Christmas break. For a majority of Holden’s life he has bounced from prep school to prep school for one reason or another, but mostly because of his struggle to find any drive to do well in school. Holden is afraid of returning home too early because he is worried how his parents will react because he has been kicked out from another school. Holden therefore decides to go on an adventure that leads him from his school into the city of New York and eventually back to where it all started, his home. Behind the antics of this seventeen-year-old are deep hurt and pain that stem from his parents’ or any adult’s lack of involvement in his life. The adventures of Holden Caulfield, as told by Holden himself in the book Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, have become a tale all to true.

At first Holden appears to be a child crying out for attention by acting out against everyone and everything in his environment. Yet, as the reader continues, the character of Holden becomes much more complex. While the reader can never really tell if Holden’s tales are truly what they appear to be, through Holden’s depiction of his own story a teenager who is searching for true connection with another, looking for his purpose in life, trying to discover grace, and find love. In fact the boy character goes to extreme measures for even human interaction, even buying a prostitute one night, just to have someone to talk to. It is never clear why Holden is the way he is, but there is a clear lack of adult influence, community, and trust in his life. One point in the story that this becomes very clear is when Holden, while seeking a place to stay, turns to an old teacher, who after giving him advice about life, does something that makes Holden feel taken advantage of. While it is not clear whether Holden is justified in his feelings, what becomes evident is his total lack of trust in all adults. In fact, this one event leaves Holden with the desire to run further away from the life he has known and the parents who raised him.

As I read I could not help but think of today’s youth and how much of their hurts and desires are perfectly depicted within Holden’s character. I was reminded of a time when I sat down and had a conversation with some youth during a visit to a local high school during the school’s lunch time. As I sat there and listened to the cries and hearts of ten youth who told me about their disconnection from any adults in their life, use of drugs and alcohol to feel something and have fun, their lack of trust even in their closet friends, and their desire for grace and love from anyone willing to hear broke my heart. I remember thinking to myself, how have we allowed this to happen? Many of today’s youth have drifted far away from just the antics of a person going through adolescence, but are now dealing with much more. Current youth are being forced to cope with the hurt and pain that has been passed from generation to generation, still left unredeemed by the only one who can redeem them.

During my reading of J.D. Salinger’s book I began to see the faces of the youth in my community in the tales of Holden, in the hurt, pain, and abandonment of a boy on the run in search of adventure and someone, anyone, who might show him love.

May the Church be that person. May the Church be the one’s who give hope to the hopeless and show love to those teens who need love. May the Church join in the work of God in the world and manifest the Kingdom of God in world of today’s teens.

My Hope: A conversation

2009-09-15T18:28:00.000-07:00

Let me introduce myself, my name is Steven Johnson and I have a heart for youth, families, and the church. I don't really call myself a visionary, but I have visions for the church. I don't really believe I have the best ideas, but I have good ones. I don't think I know all, but I know some things. All I am is a person who loves God, works hard to love and serve others, and has a passion and call to serve youth and families. This is why I write. This is why this blog exists, for ideas, conversation, thoughts that circle around the topics that effect youth and families in today's world. My hope is that somehow this blog will be used by God as he furthers his Kingdom in the world. May you, whomever you are, join in the conversation with me...and may his Kingdom come.