A New Kind of Youth Ministry

So these guys ran 4,000 miles in 111 days. In other words, they ran the equivalent of nearly two marathons a day for 111 days… Is that ridiculous or what? I don’t think I could drive 4,000 in 111 days! Among other reasons, they ran to raise awareness for a non-profit called H2O Africa.

Check out the article at ESPN: http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/news/story?id=2772368

Yesterday I met with my friend and publisher Jay Howver from YS/Zondervan. He gave me Zach Hunter’s new book called, Be The Change. Zach is a fifteen-year-old abolitionist and activist who spends a bunch of his time working to end slavery around the world.

I spent about an hour last night reading through Zach’s book. It is really great. You should find a way to get Be The Change in the hands of all of your students and introduce them to the Amazing Change online community:
http://www.theamazingchange.com/community.php

Marko posted about Zach a while ago on his blog… check it out here: http://www.ysmarko.com/?p=1301

I am off to Denver today for some meetings on Monday and Tuesday. I am looking forward to connecting with some old friends and meeting some new ones. It is supposed to be a little warmer (45-50 degress) than it has been in Chicago as of late. So I am also looking forward to that…

O’Hare airport is wicked crazy today. Usually when I fly out on a Sunday I can expect the United terminal to be busy but not as crazy as it is today. O’Hare is never NOT busy but it is usually not this crazy on a Sunday afternoon!

In the security line I met a guy named Rick. He is on his way back home to the Washington DC area. He has been on the rode for 24 straight days selling consulting services to engineering types. The look of complete exhaustion on his face made me glad that I will only be away from my family for two nights.

Anyway, Rick was in front of me in line and in order to take out his laptop from his carry-on he had to remove a Bible — It was a big one — about the size of a standard dictionary! I asked him about it. I can’t remember exactly what I said but I made some smart remark about the size of it and he said, “It is the only one I got. So they make smaller ones?” I responded, “Yeah, you can get ones that fit in your pocket, or even ones that you can put on your hard drive” (pointing to his busted up IBM ThinkPad). He said, “My friend didn’t tell me that. What a jerk!” We chuckled a bit as we waited to get our things off the conveyor belt and get redressed (shoes, belt, sweatshirt — you know the drill).

We spoke for a few short minutes as he was in a hurry to catch his flight. In the short amount of time I had to talk with Rick I learned that he is in the process of exploring Christianity. He didn’t grow up with any sort of faith tradition but his next door neighbor has been “bugging him about becoming a Christian” lately so he thought he would read up on the subject in order to have a “reasonable conversation.” We said, “Safe travels” to one another and off we went.

I didn’t have time to tell Rick that I have spent a fair chunk of my life reading the Bible and exploring Christianity and Jesus. He was in too much of a hurry and the terminal is chaotic today, as I already mentioned, so I didn’t push it. I do wish, however, that I would have given him another resource to read along with the Bible. I know that God uses his special revelation as he wishes and that the involvement of the Spirit in one’s daily life can be enough for a person like Rick to meet Jesus, but man, it is really hard to explore Jesus by just reading the Bible on your own. I think it leaves most people without an accurate understanding of the context and meaning of Jesus.

I am very curious to know — what book/resource would you have recommended to Rick? Would you encourage Rick to read this recommended book along with the Bible? Would you have encouraged Rick to read this recommended resource before he read the Bible? After? I would love to hear from you on this.

Some of the ones I thought I might have receommneded to Rick if I would have had more time with him were…

• Blue Like Jazz, Miller
• Traveling Mercies, Lamott
• Finding Faith, McLaren (I hear he has some new ones out too)

So what do you think? What is your favorite book to give someone who is exploring Christianity? How about your favorite book or resource to give inquisitive students?

Mark Riddle posted a list of 31 things that the youth ministry world has come to accept as normal. It is quite comprehensive — and I think spot on. Take a moment to read it over. What is missing? What shouldn’t make the list? Would love to know your thoughts…

I think #10, #17, #20 and #27 made me wince the most.

Things We Have Come to Accept in Youth Ministry.
1. Youth pastor turnover- That a youth pastor will only stay for a short time.
2. That the success or failure of the spiritual nurture of our kids is based primarily on the giftedness or lack thereof, of a person filling the youth position.
3. That the assumption by church leadership is that best youth pastors are young.
4. That a youth pastor can/will/should disciple themselves without the guidance of a senior pastor.
5. That a healthy gauge to tell when youth ministry is going well is when there are no complaints.
6. That Senior Pastors should not be involved in youth ministry.
7. That parents should not be involved in youth ministry.
8. That we give lip service to parents being the primary spiritual nurturers of their children, but do absolutely nothing to actually support parents in our church.
9. That so many youth pastors who feel called to ministry, leave vocational ministry before they turn 30.
10. That youth ministry is church for teens.
11. That youth have different basic needs than adults.
12. That youth have been systematically abandoned by adults within the culture and the church has done the same.
13. That having a youth pastor means the youth ministry is taken care of.
14. That the best youth ministries keep kids busy.
15. That it’s a sin to bore a kid.
16. That kids don’t think about theology or they aren’t ready for it.
17. That we do very little theological reflection when it comes to why we have a youth ministry.
18. The assumption that kids just want fun and games rather than relationships and theological engagement.
19. That Christian Education is an answer to all our problems.
20. That parental involvement in the spiritual development of their children is optional.
21. That the systematic estrangement of adolescents in our church is best for the kids and their “age level appropriate” activities and living out the gospel.
22. That kids only receive the benefits of a youth ministry/youth pastor and do not need to contribute to make this ministry happen.
23. That youth ministry is something only some of us in the church do.
24. That youth ministry is something that happens in a program at the church.
25. That all problems can be fixed with a program.
26. The perception that once I’ve grown my kids into college that I no longer need to work with youth.
27. That the youth pastor is actually just a director of activities.
28. That we no longer remember what a pastor is in many local churches.
29. That youth pastors have forgotten the reason they got into youth ministry in the first place because they are burdened with responsibilities they are miserable at accomplishing.
30. That the Jesus himself could not live up to the wildly inappropriate expectations a church has for a youth pastor.
31. That there is no healthy way to manage the expectations of the church.

It seems like more often than not when I meet with youth workers around North America, either in person or over the phone, I find myself recommending a book entitled, Practicing Discernment with Youth: A Transformative Youth Ministry Approach by David White. I am always surprised at the number of you who have never heard of it…

I do not know the author and have never met him so this isn’t a “favor” or a “you pimp my book and I’ll pimp yours” deal either. This is just me pushing you towards reading this book because I think it is insightful, practical and inspiring. It is one of those books that I think can really help you more deeply fall in love with your calling and the students and families you are called to serve.

White says this, “Discernment is a way of engaging the dance with God, of bringing all that we are before God to be healed and transformed, of integrating and reconciling the disparate parts of our lives and our world.”

Chapter 1 speaks to the social construction of adolescence. Chapter 2 looks at the cultural forces that ‘marginalize youth and create tensions’ in contemporary youth ministry. Chapter 3 introduces the practice of discernment as an approach to youth ministry. Chapters 4-7 explore five movements of discernment — listening, understanding, remembering and dreaming and acting. Chapter 8 suggests practical ways of organizing youth ministry around the movements of discernment.

Have any of you already read this? What did you think? I would love to know your thoughts on it. You can comment or email me at chrisfol@mac.com.

A couple of weeks ago I posted about an article I read reagrding the average out of pocket expenses of teachers. Here is that post:

http://www.anewkindofyouthministry.com/2007/01/18/
teachers-spend-out-of-pocket-average-of-593/

I wondered what the average out of pocket for youth workers was so I asked you to email me what you estimate your annual out of pocket expenses are. 27 of you emailed me back and the average out of pocket was $886.45. The highest was nearly 3K and the lowest was around $50.

So what does this mean? I am not sure all of what it means, but I know this… youth workers are people who often put their own money where their mouth is. You guys rock! I know it isn’t easy going out of your account … it is totally worth it though, eh?

You know you can deduct that cash on your taxes right?

I read the following yesterday and it has really stuck with me. It has also pushed me to think about how I love God and love others…

“The point of love is, of course, that when I love I affirm the differentness of the one I love. Not to do so is of course not love at all, but lust. But, at the same time, when I love I am not a detached observer. I am passionately and compassionately involved with the life and the being of that (whether a thing or person, or God) which I am loving.”

– NT Wright, The Millennium Myth

This morning I met with one of my mentors. As usual, he kicked my butt. I mean, he asked me the questions I feared he would ask me and he gave me the answers I feared he would give me… I feel like a chump during our conversation sometimes but in the end — every time — I love him for kicking my butt.

After my conversations with my mentors — some of which are face to face and others of which are over the phone — I am so thankful that there are some people in my life that care enough about me and my family to push me to be a better husband, father, employer, youth worker, etc.

This morning my mentor left me to ponder this… “When was the last time you told your wife you were thankful for all she does? I confess I couldn’t really remember the last time. Obviously that means it has been a while and that my appreciative comments need to be more frequent.

So when was the last time you said ‘thank you’ to your spouse or loved ones?