“Facts and reason alone do not stand a chance against a story because both depend on story for their power. It is naive to think one has arrived at one’s views and values solely through unbiased consideration of objective data. Data are never objective because they are always gathered by story-breathing human subjects. All facts are inert and useless until they have been interpreted, integrated into this narrative or that.”

From Daniel Taylor’s “Tell Me a Story: The Life-Shaping Power of Our Stories” (Bog Walk Press, Page 80)

Yesterday I spent the morning over at Youthfront South (our HS camp) training our college staff (some of them pictured below) in the art of storytelling and facilitating conversations. Much of what I have come to understand about the art of storytelling has come from Mike and Caesar over at Echo The Story.

Originally we had Mike Novelli coming in to do the training but schedules got complicated as they tend to do and so we weren’t able to have him. I enjoyed doing the training but it would have been great to have Mike with us.

At Youthfront we are experimenting with and implementing the concepts that I am writing about in my upcoming book, Story, Signs and Sacred Rhythms at camp this year (and for years to come we hope). Actually, we are bringing the concepts into all that we are doing in our training of youth workers, at our ministry site in Mexico and in all of our other local ministry expressions here in Kansas City.

The book has been extremely fun to work on. I am nearly finished with it. The manuscript is due later in the summer so I am thinking about it and writing a bit almost every hour of the day.

The basic idea of the book is to resource those of us (paid youth workers, volunteers, teachers, coaches, parents, etc.) who are consistently creating environments of spiritual transformation with 1) an understanding of what constitutes healthy, valuable environments, 2) a framework or approach to spiritually guiding students within the environments that we create (using a process that begins with helping students engage with God’s story and ultimately ends with helping students develop behaviors and expressions that live out God’s intended ways) and 3) practical tools to help us “environmentalists” implement the proposed approach.

I look forward to interacting with you on the ideas and concepts in the book. I will be doing a seminar at each of the YS conventions this coming fall around many of the ideas in the book so maybe we can connect there to chat about it too…

We have (Youthfront/Sonlife) been doing some work with Barefoot Publishing. Barefoot is what I (a non-expert in the pub world!) would call an emerging publisher. They have been around for a while but I think some of their most recent products have really helped them emerge from being viewed as an average publisher to a innovative, expanding publisher.

I really love their new series of products for students called, Undercurrent. HERE is a link. Most recently I read, “Living Justice” by Jamie Gates and Jon Middendorf. This is a great book to give to your students on the topic of justice. Along with the product they have a free download — a discussion guide for small groups, etc. — on their website.

The book is only about 80 pages and it covers a lot of ground in a very engaging way. I love how the book begins. Within the first two pages there is a lasting tension created using two, very to the point and relevant examples of divergent perspectives on God, justice, and our role in God’s mission. Very thought provoking…

I have become good friends with Jeff Edmondson, the publisher. We are working together on a couple projects — one in particular I am really excited about. We are launching a new weekend missional living training experience for students in 12 locations across North America in the Fall called, Reveal: Joining in the Activity of God. Good stuff. More on that later. Anyway, in the meantime, you might want to check out Barefoot’s line of products for your students.

I am reading a book called, The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative by Christopher Wright. Dave Rahn a friend and mentor was the first person to recommend this to me nearly a year ago. I have finally have gotten around to making it a priority.

I have read a lot on the mission of God the last few years. I haven’t grown tired of the subject by any means but I have grown tired in this respect; most of the books on the mission of God (just the ones that I have read) have been more about how to live out God’s mission via the teachings of the NT, almost completely neglecting the importance and significance of the OT. Wright’s book is different.

Wright is helping the reader see the theological priority of God’s mission through the readings and teachings of both the OT and the NT. Wright says,

“My approach has been rather different. I have tried to identify some of the underlying themes that are woven all through the Bible’s grand narrative–themes that are foundational pillars of the biblical worldview and therefore also of biblical theology; monotheism, creation, humanity, election, redemption, covenant, ethics, future hope. In each case I have then tried to pay full attention to their Old Testament roots before moving through to see the New Testament development, fulfillment or extension in each case. Most of the chapters therefore include reflections drawn from both Testaments, sometimes moving backward and forward between them.” (from the Introduction)

Wright’s book is over 500 pages. That is a lot for me — maybe for most. I am, however, committed to reading the entire thing as I hope it will accurately inform the book I am currently writing. Also, I am hoping to post what I am learning every now and again too. What would be very cool is if others of you wanted to read the book along with me (or those of you who have already read it) and make comments to my posts or I’ll make comments to your posts. Whatever…

One more quote from Wright:

“Fundamentally, our mission (if it is biblically informed and validated) means our committed participation as God’s people, at God’s invitation and command, in God’s own mission within the history of God’s world for the redemption of God’s creation.” (pg.22-23)

In the last chapter of my book, A New Kind of Youth Ministry, I make an attempt at trying to help the reader get a start on the process of re-culturing their ministry or leading change. Some have wished I would have done more to outline the components of the re-culturing process and others have expressed a desire for me to have been a little more prescriptive. At that point in the conversation I usually push back hard trying to communicate the difference between being prescriptive and being descriptive.

Truthfully, I think the gap between those two ways of passing on ideas (prescriptive vs. descriptive) is where a fair bit of tension in youth work lies today. I contend that most youth workers don’t want a formula for what will work or a prescription given to them. Rather, most youth workers want to create their own environments for spiritual transformation. Youth workers want to create an environment that is contextual and customizable.

I also contend that out of fear of being seen as or considered formulaic and prescriptive the pendulum has swung from people passing on ideas that are ‘right’ to passing on ideas that are really quite ‘ambiguous’. I know I am guilty of that. In the ambiguity of the ideas lies a tendency then to only deconstruct former or old ideas. Therefore, one never really gets around to reconstructing anything new or different. We eagerly say, “It isn’t that!” and then others around us ask, “Well, then, if it isn’t that — then what is it?”

So, rather than trying to prescribe new ideas that only push people away I would rather try to describe new ideas. Describing new ideas seems to keep people engaged. Describing ideas then, also attempts to give others a framework in which to being reconstructing something new or different unique to who they are — not in the way of another.

I confess that a lot of my thinking as it relates to managing transition and leading change has come from John Kotter. Kotter’s book Leading Change and then later The Heart of Change truly influenced my thinking around how to effectively lead a change process that ultmately allows for the construction of something new. Kotter describes 8 essential aspects to leading effective change that you must know. Since it his content, I will forgo naming the 8 aspect here.

Kotter wrote a fable (along with another guy named Rathgeber) called, Our Iceberg is Melting. It is a fantastic story of a colony of penguins forced to change. Re-teaching the essential aspects to leading effective change from his previous book, Kotter creatively gives the reader a humorous and yet profound description of what leading change looks like.

We all manage change. Within the scope of our churches and youth ministries (organizations, etc.), we are called to lead change. We are called on to continuously put forth the effort to create the best possible environment(s) for students and leaders to engage more deeply with God and his mission. We are environmentalists! We owe it to our students, volunteers and parents (employees, etc.) to begin constructing something new or different — something that attempts to achieve the highest degree of spiritual impact. It can’t always be about deconstructing or naming what it isn’t … at some point we must begin growing something new.

As we cultivate the new, embracing the chaos and uncertainties of change along the way, we must have some sort of a plan. Kotter’s litte book, Our Iceberg is Melting, gives us a descriptive plan and can help us begin or continue to describe to our students, volunteers and parents the path in which we are guiding our students down.

My flight to Kansas City was fogged in on Sunday so I had some extra time to finish reading The God-Hungry Imagination: The Art of Storytelling for Postmodern Youth Ministry by Sarah Arthur.

Here is the bottom line with this book… I think it would be super helpful for you to read. Like most books, not every page is going to leave you with something to underline, highlight or immediately implement. However, I think that there is enough good stuff in this book for your thinking to be stretched and enough for you to think and talk about with your peers and volunteers.

I feel like Arthur has hit on a really important and a largely missing element to the spiritual formation of adolescents — the use of the imagination. Not only does Arthur make a proposal for the employment of the imagination she leaves the reader with a solid understanding of what it is, what it isn’t and how to help our students engage it more.

I really like how Arthur ties the imagination and the use of story together. She does a very good job of helping the reader understand what story is and why story works and give some (not enough) examples of how to use it.

Arthur says that clichés are “dead metaphors”. I really like that thought… I also really like this quote:

“If we embrace the classical definition of the imagination as a faculty of the intellect, it would certainly seem plausible to suggest that someone could have imaginative intelligence, here defined as the intuitive ability to discover and express meaningful relationships and patterns between otherwise unconnected ideas, images and experiences — or the ability to put things together.”

To me, this is the central idea of Arthur’s book — to learn to help students connect through the imagination what would otherwise be left unconnected through the typical methods and techniques. In other words, the imagination helps students connect all of life to the story of God therefore helping to shape a new and transforming life.
Here are some things that I didn’t particularly care for or wished for…

• I didn’t care for Arthur’s definition of “missional”. I felt like it was very weak. I also felt like she connected her definition of missional (”the evangelism of the postmodern culture”, page 145) strictly to a very misunderstood concept. That concept being that the church needs to “reinvent itself if it is going to be culturally relevant.” Being “missional” is a whole lot more than being culturally relevant. That might be a by-product of it, but it isn’t solely that.
• I wish that Arthur would have taken more time to dive deeper into the “meta-narrative” allowing readers to get a better and bigger picture of God’s story.
• I wish Arthur would have included the importance of observation (watching peers and adults live out the story) along with the importance of using the imagination.

At the end of the day, The God-Hungry Imagination: The Art of Storytelling for a Postmodern Youth Ministry is a book you should read. I also recommend that you encourage your volunteers to read it and allow the ideas in the book to birth deep, rich and lasting conversations about the importance of the imagination in the formation of adolescents.

For a few months now someone has been emailing me a link to this review of my book: http://youthesource.com/Index.asp?PageID=7082&Function=View&ArticleID=1305 — Almost every week I get an email — sometimes a couple of times a week. It is wicked annoying.

I am not sure who is sending it or why they feel like it is important that I be reminded of it. Whoever it is — they are a wuss for not responding to my replies and for not being willing to have a conversation.

I am a bit pizzled (I borrowed that word from Daniel Goleman: Why aren’t we all Good Samaritans? a short lecture at www.ted.com. Pizzled is the feeling you get when someone whips out their Blackberry aka crackberry or cell phone and begins having a conversation with someone. It’s a cross between pissed off and puzzled. Urban Dictionary) about it really. I am not at all pizzled about the review. Some youth workers like my book, some don’t. Some youth workers find it helpful, some don’t. I am okay with that. That is the way that it is for most books people write, movies that are produced, music that is written, building that are designed, etc. Everyone has preferences and whatnot.

If you read the review I linked to above you’ll see the reviewer hated my book — but at least it made her think. In the end, for me, that is what it is about. Who cares where you land. Did it make you think? That is what is important.

Courtesy of Mark Matlocks www.wisdomgarb.com!

So, don’t be a hater. If you have something to say — I am listening. But stop hiding behind your generic @hotmail account.

So… I am a little further along in The God-Hungry Imagination by Sarah Arthur. The book went from being one I was resonating with to one that I think is a must read for any youth worker. Especially youth workers exploring and experimenting with story and the use of it the spiritual formation of adolescents.

Chapter 3, Imagination and Spiritual Formation is worth the price of the book. Arthur does a very good job giving some helpful and creative language that does two things. First, it helps one understand how important of a role imagination has in the spiritual development of people. Secondly, the language Arthur uses is helpful for youth workers to use as we might explain it to others — parents, peers, volunteers, supervisor’s, etc.

Here is a quote that I thought was helpful…

“Remember how I said the imagination is what helps us put things together, which in turn helps us discover meaning? Consequently, a vital role of the imagination in spiritual formation is to help a young person make meaningful connections between the church, the world and her life.” (page 58)

Arthur also does a nice job distinguishing between an actively unhealthy and an actively healthy imagination which I think is important since many of our parents, peers, volunteers, supervisors, etc. are most likely more afraid where an active imagination might lead a teen that they are encouraged by it.

Arthur also provides 5 key areas that are crucial to nurturing a healthy imagination. I’ll hold off on giving them to you since I think you should buy the book and give it a good read anyway…

Although only part-way through the book, (I am maybe a little more than half-way. It is an easy read — I am also writing a book these days so my reading is limited to a few pages per day) I am encouraged how we at YouthFront & Sonlife have and are using story in our ministry initiatives to help aid in the spiritual formation of students and youth workers.

Again, I think you should consider picking up a copy of this book… I will have another post in a day or so. When I am done sharing Arthur’s insight from this book, I will post my own thoughts/questions/concerns/ideas as it relates to the book Maybe by then you’ll have a copy and we can interact around it.

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)

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.