I am about 40 pages into a book called, The God-Hungry Imagination: The Art of Storytelling for Postmodern Youth Ministry by Sarah Arthur (Upper Room Books, 2007).

I am appreciating Arthur’s work so far. I like some of the ideas related to why youth are struggling to find the church relevant. I am also resonating with much of what Arthur says about ’story’ and the importance of it within the formation of our youth.

I am anxious to see how Arthur will use ’story’ to address two key struggles that she mentions as being critical to the “…profound reorientation of the way American Christians approach both corporate ministry and personal faith.” The two struggles are: 1) Loss of the communal story or a “metanarrative” and 2) a failure of the imagination. (pages 25-26)

I am also anxious to see how Arthur will expand on her suggested responses to these two struggles… She suggests two chief responses… 1) Reclaiming the imaginations vital role in spiritual formation and 2) Reclaiming the church as the living story. (page 29)

Arthur gives what I think is a good and helpful definition of imagination. She says that “…imagination is the image-making faculty that allows us to see and experience things that aren’t ‘immediately present to the senses’.”

Here is the money quote for me so far…

“While defenders of Christianity attempt to barge through the front door of reason by arguing ‘the case for Christ,’ the Holy Spirit has been slipping unnoticed through the back door of imagination and effecting spiritual change from the inside out. Such seems to be happening without our permission or even notice, and it’s time we started paying attention.” (page 39)

I frequently consult with churches, elder boards, staff teams, search teams, individual youth workers, youth ministry organizations and recently I have even had the opportunity to do some ideation, strategic thinking and scenario planning with the training division of a fortune 500 company.

I choose not to make my living at consulting, although at times I have entertained the idea, unlike my friend Mark Riddle. There are consultants (advisers on specific projects, themes or issues) and then there are consultants like Mark and others (guides who can advise on themes/issues as needed but go beyond giving advice and help work out a process for change in a more holistic way). The “process” consultants are far and few between.

Most of the time I find that consulting is hard work. It is great fun, but really hard work. Nothing really comes easy to the consultant. Consultants (good ones) need a myriad of skills to be successful. I think there are really three biggies and to be honest I think they are really intuitive or natural abilities. I supposed they can be learned at some level but as it relates to the following three skills I think one either has it or she doesn’t — which is why people like Riddle are far and few between.

The three biggies are… A) the ability to develop relationships, B) the ability to see the whole picture (systemic issues vs. symptom issues) and C) the ability to provide a clear way forward to achieve the stated goal(s) until completion.

Most consultants make a good first and second impression because they are “relational” people. But it is the ability to develop relationships or cause them to evolve for the good of everyone that keeps the consultant working. I find that most people don’t want to do the hard work of developing the relationships — even relational people.

Most people can see a problem or identify what is broken, that is the easy part. Finding the root cause of the problem is much harder. A good process consultant has the ability to identify what lies below the surface. Uncovering the chief cause(s) is critical to successful consulting.

Also, recommending suggestions to achieve goals is only the beginning. The ability to provide a clear plan and path to completion is yet another. Most can see A and Z but they have no idea how to get from A to Z.

Yesterday I took an “unknown number”. I rarely do this. I was expecting a call from my insurance guy, I thought it might be him, so I took it. It wasn’t him. Instead, it was a youth worker I met at the National Youth Worker Convention in St. Louis. He is a cool guy and it was good to connect with him again. I grabbed some coffee with his youth staff when I was in St. Louis which is how he had my number I suppose.

He was calling to ask me how he could be a consultant. “I feel like I am better at helping people do it than an I am doing it”, is how he framed up his thinking. I was kind to him. I listened to him tell me all the reasons why he would make a great consultant and then I encouraged him to take a couple of weeks and really think about his statement above. I also told him that I would give some thoughts on my blog… so, (name) here they are!!

I have found that people like the idea of consulting but one they get into the thick of it really don’t like the work of it — it is harder than just doing the work. Why? Because as I said, a process consultant not only maps out the next steps, she walks alongside the client until the work is done. A process consultant has a dual role.

This youth worker’s call was the 4th call in the month of December in which I have been asked, “What does it take to be a consultant?” In light of that, here are a few things to think about for those of you who want to be a consultant…

1. Do the hard work of assessing your skill-set. Don’t assess who you are and what you offer as a would-be consultant on your own. This is where a lot of people think they can be a consultant but later realize that consulting isn’t what they thought it was or maybe even they are not the person that they thought they were. You must become aware of your skill-set by allowing others who work closely with you to identify your strengths and weaknesses. Don’t believe the lies you tell yourself. We all think more highly of our gifts than we should. Get the opinion of the people who work with you. The people who work with you stand to be more objective about you than you will be…
2. Ask yourself this question… “Do people seek my input now?” If people are not coming to you for your insight, evaluation, problem solving, etc. now, chances are you are not seen by others as the resident “consultant”. If you are not the “resident consultant”, in most cases, you shouldn’t expect to be the traveling one either…
3. Know your areas of expertise. There are probably three to five areas (maybe more, maybe less) that you could possibly consider yourself an expert in. Good consultants are not “one-size fits all” type people. Rather, a good consultant knows what she is good at and what she isn’t and provides help to others within those clear boundaries. If you try to be all things to all people, you will quickly reveal your lack of expertise…
4. Remember this… consulting is more about listening than it is telling. Are you a good listener? Can you be quiet long enough to get the feel or the pulse on a situation? Listening and serving are two very important traits to remember and be about as it relates to being a good process consultant.
5. The money that you may make as a consultant isn’t based on ideas and problem solving. The money you make on consulting is based on achieved outcomes and goals… things that “work”. If you don’t want to walk the long road with others, sticking your neck out on the line while you walk, then you can’t be a consultant. Remember this… good consultants have a dual role. On one hand they create a plan based on sound ideas, etc. and on the other hand they get people or groups from A to Z. If you want to keep getting paid for consulting, what you suggest and help implement must work…
6. Lastly, with number 5 in mind, know that when you are a consultant you are not only the expert you are the excuse. In other words, if things don’t work out in the end, it won’t be the clients lack of execution, it’ll be solely based on your ability to negotiate the plan and navigate people through its completion. You will either be the expert that worked out or the excuse that didn’t.

So, there you go… from one part-time consultant to those of you who want to be one. I suggest to you the brief and honest ideas above to think on before you leap into the world of consulting.

“Being a peacemaker is part of being surrendered to God, for God brings peace. We abandon the effort to get our needs met through the destruction of enemies. God comes to us in Christ to make peace with us; and we participate in God’s grace as we go to our enemies to make peace.”

(Glen H. Stassen and David Gushee, Kingdom Ethics)

“The peace intended is not merely that of political and economic stability, as in the Greco-Roman world, but peace in the Old Testament inclusive sense of wholeness, all that constitutes well being … The ‘peacemakers,’ therefore, are not simply those who bring peace between two conflicting parties, but those who actively at work making peace, bringing about wholeness and well-being among the alienated.”

(Robert Guelich, Sermon on the Mount: A Foundation For Understanding)

Mike King and I did a podcast together a few weeks ago in our studio at YouthFront. We talk about the merger between Sonlife and YouthFront, our hopes for the future and we talk a bit about our upcoming gathering in April with Brian McLaren on youth ministry called Prelude.

You can download the podcast at our Studio47 website HERE.

It seems as though almost everyone associated with youth ministry is talking about the use of story – including myself. And why not, who doesn’t love a good story? I love that we (the world of youth ministry) are talking about story — especially as it relates to helping students engage with God’s story and ultimately his mission. In my opinion, there isn’t a better method of communicating than through the powerful use of story or parable.

I first became intrigued with the use of “story” as a learning method when I read my friend Mark Miller’s book called, “Experiential Storytelling” like 4 years or so ago. Then as a part of my master’s degree I went to a week long seminar in Dallas lead by a guy named J. O. Terry and some others. I was introduced to the Chronological Bible Storying (CBS) method that at the time seemed revolutionary to me. Later I learned that CBS had been around for several decades and utilized by a number of mission agencies like, New Tribes Mission, the Navigators, International Mission Board, etc., mostly in illiterate contexts and for the purpose of sharing the gospel.

I became more deeply intrigued and much more familiar with CBS after working with my friend Mike Novelli. Mike has done extensive research and work in storying (as it is commonly called by those who use story as a learning method) and was really the first person I had met that used the CBS method effectively in his youth ministry.

While at Sonlife, Mike and a team of others created and developed two new events for students that use storying as the chief learning method. One event is called “Merge” and is for high school students and the other is called “Awake” and is for middle school students. Both of these events have been tremendously helpful. Almost weekly I get emails from youth workers and students from all over North America that are filled with stories of life transformation. Currently, Mike is training youth workers in the art of bible storying through his organization called Echo. If you haven’t heard of what he is doing, you should look him up at www.echothestory.com.

In the last few days I have received a few emails from youth workers who are experimenting with the use of storying within their ministry context. Some are creating film shorts and others are writing their own narratives from Scripture that bring together God’s epic story in a way that helps their students understand God more deeply. One of the youth workers that I have been in conversation with is writing a musical for her youth ministry to perform at their annual year-end church-wide fund raiser. She is basing the musical on seven episodes of God’s story that we teach in our Enroute Youth Worker training.

Of course if you were at YS’s NYWC you know the theme was “storyline”. Student Life did a seminar on story called BLUR that I heard didn’t really go over that well and I taught my Story, Signs and Sacred Rhythms seminar (which I also heard, from a few, didn’t go over very well either) J. I just came across a blog post by someone named Drew over at http://collectionofcrumbs.wordpress.com/ who is one post into a five post series called, The Power of Story in Youth Ministry. There is a new book out (that I haven’t read yet but have on order) called, The God-Hungry Imagination: The Art of Storytelling for Postmodern Youth Ministry by Sarah Arthur. Story is everywhere in youth ministry – and I love that it is!

I am concerned about one thing, however. I am concerned that we as youth workers will stop at the use of the method. I know youth workers and I am convinced that our uses of story as a learning/teaching method will be creative and compelling as youth workers are some of the most imaginative people I know. However, I am concerned that we might stop at the “newness” of the approach or technique and therefore fall short of helping our students encounter and develop a narrative theology.

Even if our use of story is powerful and it provides a fresh way of communicating who God is to our students, until we allow narrative theology to inform our way of life, we’ll be discussing the same issues we are today 5, 10, 15, 20 (you get the point) years from now. What will change us? It isn’t leapfrogging from the story of God and the methods we use to introduce our students to it to the systematization of theology as we have come to know it. I am wondering if one of the biggest challenges we face in youth ministry today isn’t the relocation away from a systematic, informational approach to youth ministry (as a starting point) and a movement toward a narrative, informational approach to youth ministry (as a starting point).

More on this in future posts…your thoughts to this point? I would love to hear what you are thinking about as it relates to the use of story, God’s story (and mission) and narrative theology.

Mike King and I are hosting a small(er) gathering of youth workers at our YouthFront South Camp this coming spring — April 23-25. This gathering is in cooperation with Brian McLaren and his Every Thing Must Change conference.

I am excited about this gathering for a couple of reasons. First, it will be only about 200 youth workers. This will give a us a chance to provide an intimate environment. Second, it is designed to be collaborative, experiential and diological in nature. Third, Brian McLaren will be with us and I love having him stretch my thinking. Fourth, it is being held at our camp which has been designed to assist people into deep levels of union with God with its open and sacred spaces. Finally, we’ll dialog around important issues such as the gospel, worship, spiritual formation and social justice.

You can download the brochure here:

prelude.pdf

You can register here:

http://www.youthfrontzone.com/index.cfm?
PAGE_ID=3582&EXPAND=

From the BBC news website:

“When it comes to being tactile, the British are notoriously, well, hands-off. So what leads hundreds of people to travel to a giant hall in London all for a hug?”

I found the linked article below to be very interesting. I was mostly intrigued by the reporters own take on this Indian spiritual leader…

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7130151.stm

This season always makes me wish for peace,
Or dream of it at least, as I ignore
The signs of its receding from the world:
The headlines’ promise of another war,

Or dream of it at least, as I ignore
An unkempt man who begs for change, who keeps
The headlines’ promise of another war.
The rich against the poor, it’s me against

This unkempt man who begs for change, who keeps
Reminding me of my humanity.
The rich against the poor–it’s me against
The forces of injustice, all alone.

Reminding me of my humanity,
My coffee burns my tongue. It hurts to drink
In bed last night, I dreamed this happy dream:

My coffee burned my tongue, it hurt to drink
Because I’d nearly died from thirst and then
In bed–O last of nights!–I dreamed. This dream
Was like my dream of peace, except peace won

Because there was no death, no thirst. And then
The world was pure again, receiving gifts
And giving them. I toss the man my change.
This season always makes me question peace.