Category: youth ministry

  • Worth the fight

    News that George Zimmerman’s killing of Trayvon Martin would not be reviewed by a grand jury rattled me yesterday. I get it. In a case with almost no physical evidence and no witnesses, it’s impossible for a district attorney to prove anything beyond a reasonable doubt. If Zimmerman sticks to his story we will never know what really happened.

    The Trayvon Martin case made me think about my own neighborhood. My home office window looks out onto my block. Each day I look out my window and see Trayvon Martin walk by on his way to the store. Sure, the Trayvon’s in my neighborhood might be on bikes sometimes, or of a different race than the real Trayvon. Some Trayvon’s are even girls. Most of them are just going from their house to a friends house. A few smoke weed in the easement behind my house. And maybe some of them are up to worse things than that? But I’m guessing the teenagers in my neighborhood are probably a lot like the teenagers in your neighborhood, who are also just like the teenagers in Trayvon Martin’s neighborhood.

    I wonder who advocates for the teenagers in my neighborhood? I wonder who looks out for them? Who do they go to when they get into a fight with their mom and storm out of the house? Who do they talk to about stuff they can’t talk to their parents about? Who do they ask the really hard, life-altering questions? I wonder who stands up to George Zimmerman, telling him to go home and find another hobby like a softball team? I wonder if I’d go outside and get between Zimmerman and Martin? I wonder if I’d be there to tell George to put his gun down and go home? Or would I just be looking through my blinds while it all went bad?

    Pushing aside the distraction of the Trayvon Martin case, which happened thousands of miles from me, I wonder if I’m prepared to fight for the teenagers in my neighborhood?

    More importantly I wonder what’s wrong with me if I’m not? Youth minister? Pfft. Who am I to bypass ministry to the teenagers on my block for the sake of ministering to the teenagers who show up at my church?

    Question for my youth ministry friends: Do you see yourself as an advocate for teenagers in your community?

    Photo credit: Justin Nether, via Baltimore Sun

  • What if we made youth ministry’s goal simpler?

    “What’s the goal of your youth ministry? Not like your purpose statement, but why do you do this thing?”

    I love to ask this question. It usually takes people a few minutes to articulate something they feel comfortable with. And it always sparks a great conversation.

    The answer to that question typically lands like this, “My goal is to create an environment where students grow in their relationship with Jesus.” And when we’re really honest a functional goal is, “Keep enough people engaged in my ministry so that my church thinks I’m doing a good job with that.” (In 2009 – 2010, the real honest answer was, “Whatever I have to do to keep my job.”)

    A question I’ve been wondering the past couple of years is this…

    What if we made the goal of youth ministry simpler? What if the goal of youth ministry became Christian worldview formation? How would that change the way I did youth ministry?

  • Dreaming about hiring young adults

    Roughly 45% of young adults between the ages of 18-24 are currently jobless. That doesn’t mean they all want jobs. Officially, the jobless rate is a little over 16% which means that roughly 30% of young adults aren’t looking for a job for a variety of reasons. (In school, don’t need to work, ineligible to work, incarcerated, don’t want to work, etc.)

    To me, 45% of 18-24 year olds not working is a problem. That’s bad news for young adults any way you slice it.

    And where I see bad news I long to see the impact of Good News.

    And I think this is a problem the collective “we of youth ministry” could make a dent in.

    Is it impossible to think of your ministry or small business intentionally hiring 2-3 young adults this summer? Not at all.

    Here’s are some ideas I suggested 12 months ago on the Youth Specialties blog. They are just as plausible today as a year ago:

    A quick resource assessment will likely reveal that your church may be prepared to provide some good news to the students in your youth group.

      • You have access to the business community.
      • You likely have access to a building, largely left empty during business hours during the summer months.
      • You likely already have adults in your church who are ministering to 15-19 year olds, are passionate, and desire to be a practical resource for them.
      • You already love 15-19 year olds and want to reach more.
      • Your community has a virtually unlimited supply of children in need of free or affordable childcare.

    By now, you’ve put it all together. One solution to the employment crisis of teenagers in your community could be for you to hire them.

    Summer employment that provides a simple child care service is just one quick idea. 30 minutes with your team and I bet you could brainstorm 5 more ideas.

    My own personal dream for my business? Both The Youth Cartel and McLane Creative are at places where our ability to grow is directly tied to hiring people. I’m trying to figure out ways to hire young adults to help me grow my business. Yes, I want to grow these businesses… But I also want how I grow these businesses in a way that reflects this value. It’s not the easiest way to grow. It’s not the most profitable. But it’s the way of growing I aspire towards.

  • Is anybody out there?

    Yesterday Walt Mueller posted this video on his blog, it’s a lot to chew on. I hadn’t seen it but I’m glad I have. As youth workers, it’s both heart-breaking and knowledge we share that too many teenagers feel this way.

    My reflections

    • It looked like a mature town… so lots and lots of churches. The church wasn’t part of the question of the video nor the answer.
    • What would be Good News to the characters in the video?
    • What if students in my neighborhood saw me as someone who could help in that situation?

    What are your thoughts? 

  • The Deep End of the Pool

    Universally, the first day of summer camp includes a swim test. For the safety of everyone the adults needs to know who can swim and who can’t.

    Those who can swim can go into the deep end while those who can’t need to learn.

    We need to teach our students to swim

    As Jon and I began working on the Good News in the Neighborhood curriculum we agreed on a driving principle: Our curriculum cannot be prescriptive. It sickens me that so many curriculums dumb things down to “3 easy steps to application.” I hate the “easy” lie in ministry stuff. As if following Jesus were easy? As if becoming Good News in your neighborhood were going to be easy? It’s not, as we describe in the introduction… if you take the task of walking with Jesus seriously, you’re life will get jacked. 

    One of the great failures of the church is the silent driving force of dependency. We’ve made one of the core things we teach that we need to keep coming to church in order to grow. That’s keeping students and adults in the shallow end with their floaties on. So, as the line of reasoning goes, to step into “pseudo maturity” you have to become more and more involved (read dependent) on the ministry of your local church. Whereas, that might be the case for some people– but for the vast majority of people, a sign of maturity would be less dependency on the ministry of the church. Consequently, worship services primary focus has become teaching stuff you’ll never be held accountable to apply instead of celebrating what God is doing in our collective.

    The Push

    Instead of keeping students in the shallow end and dependent on our teaching we need to push some students into the deep end of the pool. (So we can better invest our time on people who can’t actually swim!) Sometimes, at least in my ministry, I’ve had students who grew up in the church, who won every Awana award, who come from great families. And I want to tell them the truth… the best way for you to mature in your relationship with Jesus is not to be a part of youth group but to apply all of that stuff to your life! You’re competent, now get out.

    Conversely, one of the biggest things holding students back is that we let them come back to the shallow end of the pool forever without ever forcing them to apply what they’ve learned. (And what does that say about their parents? Are they hanging out in the shallow end after 30 years of walking with Jesus?)

    No more mommies

    As we move forward with youth ministry into our next 50 years, I’m hoping we drop the mommy stance. “Oh sweetie, stay in the shallow end as long as you want. Lots of people wear floaties forever.”

    Hogwash.

    It’s time to kick that stance to the curb. If we really want to see our ministries become Good News in our context… we need to push the people who are ready into the deep end as the most loving thing we can do. Go, swim, let’s celebrate your success in the deep end.

    Wanna flip the script? Let’s give them a swim test and if they pass, banish them from the shallow end of the pool for a while.

    photo credit: West Point Public Affairs via Flickr (Creative Commons)

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  • 5 reasons I’m stoked about The Summit

    Later this morning we’re officially announcing a brand new youth ministry event called, The Summit. Obviously, it’s a pretty big deal for our little start-up. So I’m excited about it for all sorts of business-y reasons.

    But I’m stoked about The Summit for far more important reasons than business stuff.

    1. We need to dream again. We’re a tribe of dreamers. Since the beginning of youth ministry we have been a body of folks bound by our eternal optimism. But the past few years have taken the wind out of us. We’ve gone into survival mode and it’s time  to shake out of it. Oh, I’m longing to be in a room of people exploring what could be instead of what is impossible.
    2. It’s unlike anything else in youth ministry. It’s true that there are a good number of youth ministry events out there. Creating this one wasn’t a thumbing of the nose at any of them. Instead, we really think that this format/style/vibe is something missing from within our tribe.  We’re taking a big risk on this because we think that’s true. Now we’re asking you to take this risk and join us in figuring out if we’re right.
    3. Electric things happen when you mix these folks with a pile of youth workers. This thing has a crazy awesome line-up of thinkers. Just like the Extended Adolescence Symposium, we wanted to create a day we’d really like to attend. As the line-up has taken shape I just kept going back to look at it. Wow, it’s a group of crazy people who are changing things. (Crazy in my language is good!)
    4. This thing could birth some stuff. Looking at the theme and topics, I’m really hoping that people don’t just consume this thing but that they really are stirred by it to advance Kingdom stuff.
    5. It’s a work in progress. I’ve never announced an event that was intentionally incomplete. But that’s what we’re doing. We’re talking to a pool of people but we aren’t quite sure who we want to add in what session. Don’t touch the walls, we’re still painting!

    Question: What feels new about The Summit? What doesn’t feel new?

  • It’s Here! Good News in the Neighborhood Curriculum

    Big news!

    Jon Huckins and I have been working on this curriculum for youth groups and young adults for several months. I’m excited to tell you that it’ll be out on April 2nd, 2012. Woohoo!

    If you buy it before it comes out… you’ll get it on April 2nd AND you’ll save $15. Here’s the link to buy it now.

    Here’s the description:

    This 6-week series will deep dive your students into the practical realities of a radical life with Jesus. Built around six core postures of community life, students will examine Scripture, gain an understanding of their role in their community, and be challenged by a series of simple experiments they can try. More than a series which teaches your students about being Good News in their community– Good News in the Neighborhood offers practical application based on the life of Jesus and the 1st century Church. Our hope is that your students begin to see how God has called them to become good news in their homes, schools, and neighborhoods.

    Curriculum Outline

    Week 1: Listening (Experiment: Ethnography/Observation)

    Week 2: Submerge (Experiment: Participating)

    Week 3: Inviting (Experiment: Two-fold inviting)

    Week 4: Contending (Experiment: Standing up for our neighbors)

    Week 5: Imagine (Experiment: New eyes)

    Week 6: Entrusting (Experiment: Commissioning)

    What do  you think? Like it? Hate it? Gonna try it? 

  • How has suffering shaped your ministry?

    How has suffering shaped your ministry?

    That’s the topic for this week’s Slant 33 article. Here’s my answer to this question. My question for you is, “How has suffering shaped YOUR ministry?”

    Like a lot of fellow youth workers, I traded a business cubicle for a youth ministry office. Wide-eyed and overly optimistic Kristen and I longed for a career revolving around our faith and family while impacting the lives of teenagers. 

    And in ten years of working in the local church, our lives certainly revolved around our faith, family, and impacting the lives of teenagers. Some of our proudest moments have come in seeing that growth through the long haul. There have been so many times when I’ve grabbed Kristen and said, “This is so worth it!” 

    Conversely, I can’t tell you how many times I wished I could have traded in my pastoral role for my old corporate job. Yes, that career was unfulfilling. Yes, the longer I did it, the more bored I was. But at least it didn’t hurt so bad. When I was betrayed, I could speak up. When I was wronged, I could relay my issue to a human resources professional. And when I failed, I could deal with being passed over for a promotion or a raise. Sitting in a small group of my peers, I could talk about my job sucking or my boss being a jerk and get empathy from people in similar situations. 

    But in ministry the stakes are so much more personal. And it’s a very private struggle. The isolation and lack of camaraderie are ultimately what hurt the most. All too often when you reach out with a struggle, you are rebuked or even belittled. At least for me, this meant I carried a lot of burdens. Suffering became part of my ministry. 

    In truth, this personal suffering was enough. I understood it as part of the calling. But what caused unnecessary suffering was the impact of my vocation on my family. My wife couldn’t just be a wife and new mother. She had to carry the mantle of pastor’s wifeand receive unlimited and unwanted advice from the hens of the church. When our kids misbehaved, we felt the judgment from fellow congregants. 

    Early in my ministry, I allowed the weight of suffering to shape my attitude and self-image. If I were made of Play-Doh, my body would have been flattened. But, as I’ve gotten stronger, more used to the weight and its impact, I’ve learned that there is a healthy suffering that just comes with being a follower of Christ, which I can deal with. 

    But, there is also abuse that comes my way that I no longer permit to have the impact it once did. I’ve become like a junkyard dog in protecting my family and the families of my ministry friends. That’s the weight of ministry I no longer allow to shape them.

  • Why youth ministry can’t just become family ministry

    Why youth ministry can’t just become family ministry

    There’s a growing movement within the American church that puts youth ministry under the umbrella of family ministry. There are youth ministry organizations, publishers, conferences, and lots and lots of people highly interested in this model.

    To over-simplify: The idea is that youth ministry should be an extension of the over all family ministry of the church. So, youth ministry is really just another part of the organizational chart which fits nicely between kids ministry and young adult ministry.

    I think we need to push back from this organizational simplification. There’s a very good reason why youth ministry is the way it is. Namely, modern youth ministry emerged in the 1940’s to reach lost students the church didn’t care about. (The church, as a whole, was late to minister to adolescents. This gave birth to parachurch movements like YoungLife and Youth for Christ.)

    Youth ministry sprang up to meet the need of teenagers who wouldn’t naturally go to church. Or who didn’t fit in because their parents don’t go to church. Or those who will never fit into the stiff collars of a traditional church. Youth ministry has always been the organizational oddity that helps those students experience Christ.

    Any attempt to fold youth ministry into a church that isn’t currently reaching those kinds of kids and adults… is destined to make youth ministry sterile. 

    Putting youth ministry into the box of family ministry is misunderstanding that it’s historical place in the church is missiological. Historically, we are more tied to evangelism than we are discipleship.

    Don’t Misunderstand the 1-eared Mickey Mouse

    Chap Clark, very poignantly and famously pointed out that youth ministry too easily becomes an organizational island, what he called “the 1-eared Mickey Mouse” in the church. In other words, many youth groups have their own mini-culture, their own goals, values, and norms.

    I love Chap’s observation. It’s true. But I would argue that it’s not altogether bad. Further, I would argue that maybe the church needs a few more 1-eared Mickey’s to start reaching some more types of people. (But that’s another rant for another day.) The problem is that when you let the business people run your church– having a 1-eared Mickey Mouse is a bad thing. And so some of these emerging models of family ministry have at their core a desire to kill the 1-eared Mickey, folding youth ministry in.

    But don’t forget– if that 1-eared Mickey Mouse is reaching people the rest of the church organization fails to minister to, that’s a very good thing. And some of what you get when you fold it in is backfiring.

    Sanitizing Youth Ministry is a Bad Idea

    As I read the books, listen to the speakers, and read between a few lines… I think that the motivation for some people is to make youth ministry tidy. Some of these folks who say that youth ministry is really just a step in the family ministry food chain attend/work/consult with churches who reach a very sterile, homogeneous group of people. It looks like they are reaching a lot of people but they are really good at reaching a certain kind of person while excluding large, growing portions of the population.

    Bottom line: If you make youth ministry revolve around the family you automatically exclude students who don’t have families who go to church. Sure, you don’t exclude them by name or even intentionally. But when you start having father/son trips and retreats for the whole family– if you lived in a home with your grandma who didn’t come to church, how welcome would you feel?

    If you make youth ministry fit around the vibe and rhythm of your church instead of the local school system you’re automatically limiting who you reach.

    On and on. Youth ministry can be very powerful as an organizational island.

    Moreover, youth ministry was created to take some risks. To do things that got the Jones Memorial Carpet ruined. To reach the lost kids instead of the right ones. To connect the unconnected to the most important family they could ever have.

    The answer isn’t a sanitized family ministry. The answer is a realistic integration strategy that gets people of all ages and backgrounds out of programs and into community.

    This rant has exceptions: Let me point out, and cut off some of the negative feedback I get when I post things like this, that while I’m making generalities there are exceptions. The church we attend is one of them. They head this off because top to bottom they are reaching “the wrong people.”

  • Blessed are the nobodies

    At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.

    Luke 10:21

    Jesus gave the ordinary extraordinary power as he prepared them to do his work. A massive decentralization of power. (Even the demons submitted to their authority, v. 17)

    ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

    Luke 10:27

    Jesus didn’t say to love everyone the same. He said to love your neighbor as yourself. That’s not as crazy as it sounds if you think about it.

    • Jesus took power away from the somebodies.
    • Jesus took position away from well-positioned.
    • Jesus took hospitality serious and dropped bombs on those who didn’t.
    • Jesus removed barriers to getting involved in the messiest of ministry.
    • Jesus weeded through the fans to find the followers by raising the bar, not lowering it.
    • Jesus used priests and levites as the butts of his jokes.

    These were the observations and learnings of my high school small group last night. Reading the Bible, out loud, and in community… it’s pretty powerful. 

    This post isn’t a commercial for Community Bible Experience, but if you want to try it… CBEmini is a free 9-day taste of CBE walking your small groups through Luke-Acts.