In the week or weeks ahead I will be posting the following (so I hope you will stay tuned):

Book reviews of a couple of fairly recent reads: The Great Giveaway by Fitch, The Search for God and Guinness by Mansfield and finally Book, Bath, Table and Time by Edie.

I also will be doing a post on Youth Ministry and the place of baptism in our theological and practical approach.

Finally I will be doing a post in the near future on A Prepositional Gospel 2.0.

Here in the east many are bracing for some serious weather - if it is affecting you - be safe and enjoy the “break” as the weather limits your activities. If your team is in the Super Bowl - well enjoy. I am anticipating a great super bowl menu, a shoot out of a game, and a few choice adult beverages.

“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.” -John Ruskin

Peace!

Most mornings I head to the barn to feed and turn out the horses (from mid-Fall through early Spring). It was a cold morning this past winter when I was heading through my routine - I walked the 250 feet from my back door to the barn past the front pasture; I fed the horses their grain; I broke the ice off the watering trough; I put out flakes of hay for the horses to graze on in the front pasture and I was turning my wife’s swedish warmblood out into the front pasture when I heard my wife’s voice (over my iPod) and saw her frantically waving (that by the way was not part of our morning ritual). My wife was trying to get my attention - because apparently as I went through my morning routine I failed to notice the 30 foot tree that had fallen through the fence in our front pasture (25 feet of it, at least, was IN the pasture on the ground).

What, was I blind?

How could I have missed it - once I saw it - I couldn’t see anything else?! I had walked past the fallen tree, I had been in the pasture filling the trough and putting out hay - yet I had never opened my eyes beyond my own footsteps to see what had transpired in the night. Going through the motions with little to no engagement. Unaware and distant from the moment - can you say, “not present.” I wasn’t blind; I was just lacking any awareness and attentiveness to my surroundings (or is that the very definition of being, “blind”).

After that incident, (after coming to terms with, “How didn’t I see that!”) I began to reflect on, how often am I “going through the motions” and how much do I miss?

I am working on living in a more alert fashion. I am trying to slow and to live with a greater appreciation for the present. It is a slow process. It is sort of ironic that next month I am leading a spiritual retreat for folks on this very topic. I think I am learning that God often leads me to such opportunities - not because of what I can offer - but because it is how he can teach me.

I hope to hear and obey the words of Benedict in the Prologue to his Rule:

“However late, then, it may seem, let us rouse ourselves from lethargy. That is what scripture urges on us when it says, the time has come for us to rouse ourselves from sleep. Let us open our eyes to the light that shows us the way to God. Let our ears be alert to the stirring call of his voice crying to us every day: today if you should hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” [St. Benedict’s Rule, A New Translation for Today, Ampleforth Abbey Press, 1997. p. 11]

I want to continue considering the legacy of Youth Ministry - I am wondering in our current regime, “what are we passing on?” In the first post we looked at what we are leaving students in the area of content. I suggested maybe we need to revisit the tradition of the Catechism. (Read the post here)

In this post I would like to raise (or rant about) the question of: what are we passing on through our approach to youth ministry as it relates to ecclesiology?

How are students leaving our youth ministries thinking about, The Church? Are our youth ministries grounded in a healthy image and theology of The Church? I believe this question is vital in measuring or evaluating the health and value of our ministry to youth. The likelihood of a young person being a part of the Church in the future will be tied I think in large part to this question.

My observation is that in youth ministry we have not done a great job in helping teens be aware of the importance of participation with all the people who are part of the Body of Christ. Equally I don’t think we have helped students see their necessary and unique role in the local expression of The Church. I think we do great at getting kids to come to a church building and be active in the church building (via attraction-al activities; great programs; etc.) - but too often these are age specific experiences sequestered from the rest of what is taking place in that community. In my mind this doesn’t do the church (the priority of and purpose for) justice. This is a very truncated and impotent view of the church (the church as a building or a place to hang out with people like me).

Isn’t the church about being Christ’s body on earth? Isn’t the church mandated to continue the work of Christ in announcing and demonstrating His Kingdom on Earth? Isn’t the Church the gathered people of God - all His people a diverse group (of all races, shapes, ages, and gifts) of sinners in process of becoming saints? Isn’t the Church about gathering to communally demonstrate and celebrate the goodness, greatness and glory of God and then scattering to be the hands and feet of God in the midst of our community?

So what are we passing on to students about the church through our youth ministry? Are they getting it? My prayer is that we will pass on a vibrant picture and experience of the Church so they don’t decide to pass on it when they graduate.

Peace.

This prayer of St. Teresa of Avila kept going through my mind as I was writing so I add it here for all our benefit:

Christ has no body now on earth but yours,
no hands but yours,
no feet but yours,

Yours are the hands with which he is to bless men now.

Laying awake in bed this morning I began to consider the question of this post. What are we passing on? In youth ministry are we passing on the Christian Tradition? What does that look like? I guess I am really thinking about the so-called conservative or evangelical brand of youth ministry - what is the (real objective and measurable) “tradition” or legacy we are handing over to our students.

Even when I am old and gray,
do not forsake me, O God,
till I declare your power to the next generation,
your might to all who are to come. [ Psalm 71.18]

When I think of that passage I wonder - what are we leaving the next generation with? (3 reasons to wait? have a quiet time? funny anecdotes? memories of other cultures?) As I was thinking about this I again was struck with the memory of reading Christian Smith’s book, Soul Searching. One of the factoids that I can’t escape is that after interviewing a bunch (that is a technical term) of adolescents about their beliefs - the most theological statement that emerged from his hours and hours of interviewing was, “Jesus died for me.”

This can’t be our heritage.

As a person involved in Youth Ministry - this can’t be the fruit of the hours and the energy and the resources that have been given and sacrificed.

Can I suggest that we return to the legacy of passing on a tradition of Catechism?

Let’s provide youth with a bit more substance than, “Jesus died for me” (that may be a good start but do students understand why Jesus had to die; and do they understand the obligations involved in appropriating that death?) - and augment that with helping them understand the meaning and memorizing the words of:

The Great Commandment
The Ten Commandments
The Lord’s Prayer
The Apostles Creed

Then let’s ensure they understand how to approach and participate in the Sacraments.

Any thoughts?

I often remind myself as I serve in youth ministry that what seems ordinary and mundane (a simple prayer; a routine Bible study; a retreat; another gathering) is the very thing that God can use as a burning bush in someone’s life. I read a story this past weekend that once again encouraged and reminded me again - “with God any old shrub will do.” God doesn’t need intricate programming or precise and perfected presentations - God uses regular, routine and upright efforts to bring life altering change. Listen to this story:

It begins with a teenager going to a Christian camp to hang out with his girlfriend and “horse around” for a week. Sound like anyone you know? I am sure a few kids come to mind - kids you may have wished you had the foresight to leave at home! Keeping the motives of this young man in mind - listen to the rest of the story in his own words:

“But one morning, we were asked by our cabin leader to go spend a little time in prayer before breakfast. So I wandered out of our cabin, down a hill, alongside a basketball court, and through an open field, and then I walked over to the campfire area, climbed a short incline, and finally sat next to a tree, and prayed what my cabin leader told us to pray: “Lord, fill me with your Holy Spirit.” I wasn’t particularly open to spiritual things, but for some reason I said that prayer as our counselor advised. The Lord to whom I prayed that prayer caught me off guard. To quote the words of John Wesley, ‘My heart was strangely warmed.’ I don’t remember what I expected to happen (probably nothing), but what happened was surprising. That prayer, or should I say the answer to that prayer, changed my life. I didn’t speak in tongues, I didn’t ’see Jesus,’ and I didn’t ‘hear God.’ My eyes didn’t twitter, and I didn’t become catatonic. When I prayed, something powerful happened, and I went to breakfast a new person. Within hours I knew what I wanted to do for my life.”

The author goes on to explain his journey from being a regular kid attracted to girls and sports and “enjoying life” to becoming a young man with a voracious appetite to read, study and understand the Bible. This “hunger” to understand the Bible didn’t wane and prompted the author to dedicate his whole life to this pursuit. He is now considered a leading scholar in the area of the Synopic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) and is becoming a popular author. The subject of the story is Dr. (Yo) Scot McKnight, and he recounts this story in his new book, The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible.

Youth ministry is important work. It is God’s work. Yet, maybe it is not as “hard” or as “complex” as we make it? Let’s help others engage with God using ordinary (even simple) words and leave the extraordinary results up to God.

Today no ancient wisdom; but nonetheless it is wisdom as old as the earth. The wisdom comes from an unlikely place and yet that is often the place where we find true wisdom (I Corinthians 3.18, “Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a “fool” so that he may become wise.”) So today we turn to find wisdom in a little known Christian Alternative band. I uncovered this little gem while working in a church as an associate pastor and it was the music of these artists that I often turned to in times of pain, feeling misunderstood and finding myself amidst the pressure and the glass house of expectations that can accompany public ministry.

I often led our youth in worship singing this song. At first the teenagers enjoyed the novelty and the intrigue of the verses of this particular song - it felt out of place to be singing many of the words as part of our “worship” in church. Yet, over time the song became one that led us to some of our most deep and transcendent experiences of worship. More than one time the song ended and a holy hush filled the room; time stood still and we were one with our Maker.

I think of this song often - each time I turn on Skype and see that message about “breathe deep” and many times the refrain of this chorus fills me up as I walk amidst God’s creation.

So may this universal message of God’s wide mercy and extravagant grace remind us of our privilege to know and encounter God and our need to be His agents of restoration to all people.

Breathe Deep (the Breath of God)
from The Lost Dog’s debut album “Scenic Routes”
Music and lyrics by Terry Taylor

Politicians, morticians, Philistines, homophobes;
Skinheads, Dead heads, tax evaders, street kids;
Alcoholics, workaholics, wise guys, dim wits;
Blue collars, white collars, war mongers, peace nicks.

(repeat chorus)

The Lost Dogs performing “Breathe Deep” on Cornerstone Mainstage 2008 (Bushnell, IL)

I was at a youth meeting recently at a local church and leaned over to a good friends and whispered, “Prayer as a crowd control.” He happened to be a veteran youth worker, and a huge grin formed over his face as he nodded repeatedly.

Have you ever done this? I know in years past I was “guilty as charged.” You just hear the phrase and you know of what I am speaking, right?

You walk up in front of a crowd of students (or other audience) to welcome or to introduce someone or the next item on the agenda - and no one seems to be listening. You try again, repeatedly attempting to get folks attention (seconds of failure turn into a minute) and people start shushing and saying, “quiet down.” Then it happens. You raise your voice just a bit and utter the magic words, “Let’s pray.” You pause and bow your head. Just like that - shuffling stops, voices diminish and a stillness sets over the crowd.

Prayer as crowd control…

Prayer isn’t about controlling others. Prayer isn’t about pushing our agenda or a technique to acquire what we want - but too often we use it in such a fashion.

Let’s make a resolution - no more prayer as crowd control - instead let’s work harder at gaining the attention of our audience with other techniques. Let’s leave prayer as a means to give God our full attention and to align our lives to His will.

On earth, as it is in Heaven.

peace.

I often hear folks wrangle and worry about the rate of teenagers who once they head off to college, head out of the church. They quote statistics and studies about how this crisis could become the demise of the church. Fear of losing “our kids” and strategies to “bridge the gap” and retain young 20’s has probably raised lots of money and sold books and programs as the problem du jour - but is that the solution? Now, while I agree there is a problem (the church is growing old and failing to retain the young) I am not sure that I agree with the cause of the problem or the often suggested solutions. It is true that once young people are out on there own they often don’t go to church… but I wonder were they ever a part of the church in the first place?

Are kids leaving the church? Or has the Church left kids? The answer is, “Yes” but the crux of the issue is the latter. I think it is worth considering if the church has a place for young people. Oh, I know churches spend untold amounts of money on facilities, staff, programs and snacks to keep children and teenagers active, busy, and happy; but are they a part of the life of the church? Are they a valued and integral part of the larger life of Christ’s Body the Church? It seems children and young people are merely active in the church while their parents participate in the life of the Church? I have been wondering lately if the issue with young peoples exit from the church is a result that teens are a part of a youth ministry; but fail to be part of the life of Christ’s Body. That the loyalty of young people is often to a youth leader and their Christian friends; but they don’t understand or see the need to be connected to the mission and life of Christ body - the Church. One could even say, kids aren’t leaving the Church because the Church never had them.

So I am suggesting to you that our young people aren’t missing; the Church is missing in our youth ministries?

Project Renovation is a ministry venture from Lancaster Bible College led by Rick Rhoads, that I have had the privilege of serving with. In my opinion Rick and his team are an exemplary regional ministry and doing a great job serving, loving and caring for youth workers in Central PA, MD, and DE! There primary focus is the development of the youth worker - so through prayer, spiritual retreats and equipping conferences The Renovation Project attempts to fulfill its purpose. The times I have had the pleasure of serving with “the Project” I have been overwhelmed by the care and hospitality they have demonstrated. So it is no surprise that I am looking forward to the youth conference that Project Renovation is hosting on Saturday October 18! Mike King, president of YouthFront, will be the keynote presenter addressing the topic of “Presence-Centered Youth Ministry.”

If you are from the mid-atlantic states it may be worth checking out the Presence-Centered Youth Ministry Conference on October 18 (9 AM - 4 PM). It looks like it will be a quality day of training with some good elective options (and it is not very costly)!

I will be teaching a seminar at the conference; I have been preparing it to share at a couple of conferences I will be attending - I am looking forward to presenting what I am learning! I am calling the seminar, “On The Matter of Monks: sketching a youth ministry for today.” (Although in full disclosure - the folks at Lancaster didn’t want to freak people out - so no mention of monks is being made in the advertising! I instead refer to “transformative faith communities” or something like that.) I describe this seminar in the following manner:

In this seminar the participant will consider the history of Christian Monasticism and it’s implications for ministry with and for youth today.

• What is Ancient-Future? (Defining and discussing Key Terms to guide our learning)
• Why Monasticism? (What do Monks have to say to kids, anyway?)
• A Brief History of Christian Monasticism?
• A Monastic Matrix (lessons and qualities of transformative ministry)
• Sketching Youth Ministry for Today
• Q&A

If you happen to come by the conference - please say hello!

I have mentioned that of late I have been doing a bit of tree work on my property. After living here in Western Pennsylvania for the last four years my wife and I have started to see the way to best manage the land we have and it involves a bit of tree removal. But not just cutting down the trees mind you - but also removing the dreaded STUMP, as well. From experience, now I can tell you that is no small feat!

It all began with taking down some tall trees… and then the real work began - cleaning up all the limbs and timber. And then you have to face - THE STUMP. We tackled the stump by digging up as much soil from around the base of the stump as we could muster. In an attempt to expose the root structure. Then it was time to cut out as many of the roots as we could find - using a chainsaw and an axe. Then we let physics attempt to do it’s thing - by hooking a chain to the very top of the stump and then connecting it to the base of a nearby tree with a come-a-long; we attempted to pull up the stump.

Let’s just say, while it worked - it wasn’t as easy as one would hope. After cutting out all the exposed roots that we could get to - it still took some serious cranking, digging, more cutting (as more roots became visible) and muscle to get the roots to “let go.”

A little photo essay reviewing the process:

A Stump.

Exposing the Roots

Cutting the Roots

Cutting the Roots 2

Pulling it Down!

OUT!

As I went through this process it struck me… it takes an awful lot of work to expose and undo a root system. It was tiring process. There were times I wondered silently if I would ever get the stump out. Then I began to be encouraged; the youth worker in me kicked in and I realized this is what my work has been and still is all about. As a parent I began to feel more confident in my work - for again; this is what my “job” has been about the last 17 years. I have been about work that is unseen - working on helping young people develop below the surface. It has been about encouraging and nurturing root systems.

And what I learned while trying to get a stump to let go; roots are pretty tough!

Take heart and have faith.