Young People

At the Convocation I recently attended, there were several comments about "young people" including:

1. Young people need images in order to learn because of the technology they use.
2. Young people have short attention spans.

Based on these "observations," in order to reach young people in church, one must use visuals and keep them entertained.

I don't agree with this.  I think about my two sons.  If they are engaged, they have very long attention spans.  They are more sophisticated than perhaps older people were at their age -- they have heard good speakers, and they expect good speakers.  They know about technology, so perhaps they get impatient when it is used poorly.

I wonder if the better assumptions are that we must do worship better.  I wonder if we use the "small attention span" and "must use visuals" as excuses.

Green Pastures

We were on retreat this past weekend with our youth group. The program for the weekend focused on Psalm 23. I don't know about the youth, but I certainly learned more about Psalm 23 than I ever known before.

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

Sheep won't lie in down unless four needs are met -- freedom from fear, freedom from hunger, freedom from aggravation and freedom from tension.

Can we think of green pastures as a metaphor for peace? What is your green pasture? We asked the youth that question; their answers were very interesting. One young man said that his green pasture was a beach in Hawaii. When I asked him why, his answer almost matched the needs of sheep! He was safe, he had no worries about his normal routine...

We have a need for peace, and yet we can't find it unless we feel that our needs are met. God will take us to that place of peace when we trust him; when we release our worries to the assurance that he will provide for our needs.

The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.

Candlelight

We're spending the night at church, helping to lead a Youth Lock-in that is a 30 hour famine to raise awareness of world hunger among our youth.

Each year, during the famine, late on Friday night, we have a Candlelight service. We place 100 tea lights on the table and the youth take turns blowing them out, over 5 minutes. The 100 candles represent the 100 children of God who die every 5 minutes from hunger related illnesses.

The Youth leaders had been trying to come up with a way to make this more meaningful for the youth; we worried that it had become "old hat."

Before it was time to begin, two of the youth asked if they could set up the table, so I found the candles for them, and they began working. As we started the worship, one of these two youth just began leading, speaking of hunger, and futures lost through these deaths.

It is a reminder to me of how spiritual these youth are, what wonderful leaders they can be, how God can work through their lives, and how important it is to just step back and let them go forth in God's glory.

I'm blessed to be here. (hungry, but blessed).

Youth Music

Ebenezer UMC here in town had a Youth Music night in conjunction with their 137th anniversary celebration. Our youth "orchestra" was invited to take part, so we took them over this evening.

All of the music was done by youth and children. Was it perfect? No. But it was perfectly real and inspiriting. Was it without mistakes? No. But it was full of beauty and grace. Was it professional? No. But it was inspired by the Holy Spirit and was inspiring to those who listened. Were the children and youth free from nerves. No. But they were brave and courageous.

I wonder if there is a lesson in that for all of us. God knows us well enough to not expect or demand perfection. Instead he brings us the inspiration to be courageous. All he asks is that we step out of the boat and take a chance. When we do, it brings the presence and awareness into the room around us.

We have gifts. They have been given to us by God to be used to accomplish his mission here on earth. Sometimes we hesitate to use our gifts, fearing that we won't be good enough or perfect.

The lesson tonight is that perfection is not the goal. Declaring the presence of God through our actions and words is the brass ring. Do that, and God will be with us. Do that, and everything will be changed.

What do we teach them?

I'm at a national conference this week.

At one of the meetings I attended today, the speaker was discussing the differences in generations and their giving habits. She said that younger people -- the millennial generation, who are ages 21 through 27 -- have different motivations for their giving. She said that they aren't as interested in giving for basic needs of other people, but their interest lies more in upgrading the quality of life in the world.

This broad category -- improving quality of life in the world -- is a departure from the motivational habits of older people.

As I was thinking about this, I started thinking about your youth group at church.

First of all, the Greatest Generation - those who lived through the Great Depression and who served in World War II -- are very interested in helping people to provide for their basic needs -- clothing, shelter, food, for example.

I wonder if the reason that is true is because the Greatest Generation was more likely to have lived through the Depression -- these people understood what it was like to not know from one moment to the next if they will be able to find the next meal. They have experienced a lack of having their basic needs met.

On the other hand, the very youngest generation is a product of the 90's and the newest century. They haven't experienced poverty as the Greatest Generation has. And then they come to youth group as a high school student, and experience ministry in a more global sense.

This is a good thing unless you are trying to raise funds for local projects, like the City Mission.

I was wondering, as I listening to the talk, if we expose our youth to enough of the need in our own areas. I think back to the previous year, and I can see that we involved them in World Vision and Nothing but Nets. I wonder if we need to include some experience with state-wide or community enterprises, like Burlington Family Services, McDowell Mission, the City Mission, Habitat for Humanity. I wonder if in addition to exposing them to the needs of the World Community, we also need to expose them to the needs of our local community, so that they will grow up knowing the existence of a need very close to them.

Image: This hotel in Indianapolis has rooms built into train cards. Very Cool.

Joy as a reponse

At Ichthus, the "preacher" for the Saturday evening service was Jon Weece. He is the senior pastor at Southland Christian Chruch in Lexington.

His sermon on Saturday was based on the scripture in Acts 16:16-40. It's the story of Paul and Silas in prison and how they sang and prayed while they were chained. Joy in a time of torture and pain. How is it that they could find joy in this situation.

Because joy is not happiness. Weece quoted Karl Barth, who called joy "the defiant nevertheless." He also said that if we miss out on joy, then we miss out on our reason for existence.

Does that sound like strong words? I think he may be right. Remember, joy is not happiness. Weece called joy the natural response to the grace of God. In fact, he said that joy and grace share the same root word. he said that joy is kara and grace is karos. If grace is the love of God, then joy is our response to that love. It isn't dependent upon external forces -- it's a response to the activity of God in our lives.

Back when our church started natural church development, one of the judgments about worship was whether the worship in our church was joyful. This gave some people pause, because they didn't think that worship should always be joyful. But if we think of joy as our response to the grace of God, then worship should always be joyful. It should always be a response to the grace of God. In fact, Weece described worship as that which prepares you for heaven.

According to Weece, Christ can displace the worry at the center of your life with joy. Doesn't that sound great? Know what it sounds like to me? Peace.

Image: Tiny little bee in St. John's Wort, and a close up of the bee.

Icththus

We're at Icththus with our youth group. I'm tired and sleepy, so here are some end of day photos...

Covenant Community

As part of our youth retreat, we talked to the kids about God's vision and mission for our church.

The beginning of that statement calls our church a "covenant community." JtM asked them what it means to be a covenant community. I thought their answers were interesting:

Covenant -- promised, united, together, desirable, bargain, agreement, reliable, trusting.

Community -- together, population, relationship, community, harmony.

One of the youth defined it as a "group of people working together for a common goal. We talked about a covenant community as a group which shares tolerance moving toward acceptance.

To me they are a living example of a covenant community. The youth from our church, as different as the individual members are, share the love of Christ with each other. I think that they came pretty close to defining covenant community with words, but I think that they "get" it by the way they walk together as a youth fellowship.

Many are the times when I know that I learn more from them than I could ever teach them. I am blessed to have a small role in their group.

Image: Cabin at Spring Heights -- doesn't it look like home?

Ring the Bells

Ring the bells!
Celebrate with joy!
Ring the bells and proclaim the presence of God.

Two baptisms.
Claimed by God and called beloved.
Brought into the family of God.

Ring the bells!
Celebrate with joy!
Ring the bells and proclaim the presence of God.

The wind of the spirit rushes in,
Filling us with grace,
Empowering us with love.

Ring the bells!
Celebrate with joy!
Ring the bells and proclaim the presence of God.

Seven young men and women
stated their faith in God
and vowed to support the church.

Ring the bells!
Celebrate with joy!
Ring the bells and proclaim the presence of God.

Is it a miracle when a youth
believes in what is invisible?
When he changes his life in response to grace?

Ring the bells!
Celebrate with joy!
Ring the bells and do proclaim the presence of God!

A good thing

Why build a retreat center on a mountain in the middle of no where? Why drive 11 youth, two rented rattletrap vans, four adults, two ministers and their spouses all the way to a retreat center on a mountain in the middle of nowhere?

Because God's voice seems to be louder when the world is quieter.

Because sometimes nature speaks volumes for the presence of God.

Because there are times when if we will turn our eyes toward each other, and away from the distractions of the world, we will see God in the fellowship of Christians.

Retreat. It's a good thing.

Retreat

We took our youth group on retreat this weekend (and yes, I'm backdating a couple of posts -- the retreat center has no cell phone service and certainly no internet).

Why take youth on a retreat? What will they learn? I hope that they learn, if only in a subconscious level:

• When the youth are feeling far from
  God, I hope that they realize that sometimes it is necessary to take the time to dedicate to God. It's important.
• When they do their morning watch, I hope they learn that to study and to think about God's word is to invite him into your life.
• I hope that when we tell them that church members are praying for them, and when we ask them to pray for other people, that they come to an understanding that church members support each other in prayer (as well as in more tangible ways).
• I hope they learn that spending time with friends who believe as they do can be as if they are planted close to a stream, near other Christians. We draw strength from each other. We draw strength from God through each other.
• Time spent with God can be fun; can be fellowship. It is something to look forward to.

Image: Window in the cabin, looking outward.

JesusQuest 08

For Whose Glory?

Another thing bothered me about WinterJam. If you go to their web page, today, you will find that 47,417 decisions/rededications have been made by youth and adults at these concerts (we were stop #33 out of 36, I think).

There was time in the middle of the concert for Tony Nolan, their guest speaker, to do an evangelism presentation. He was calling youth to Christ.

I worry that the way in which he did it was scare tactic. He told a story of a young woman who had committed herself to Christ at a WinterJam concert, and then two hours later, was killed in a car accident. He had those in the audience recite a prayer to themselves. "If you really meant it, raise your hand!" then "If you really meant it, stand up!" As the many of those present stood, they were asked to complete response cards, carried by volunteers at the end of their row. "You don't even need to go anywhere; just walk to the end of your row."

Don't get me wrong -- I think accepting Christ can be as simple as believing. I think walking with Christ, day to day is another matter. I asked our congregation the other day what would have happened if Andrew had brought Simon to Jesus, and then Jesus had never said a word to him. Would Simon have become Peter?

I felt like the "decisions" made at WinterJam were shallow, and I wonder if lives were changed at all. I wonder how lasting these decisions will be. I almost believe that these cards were collected and counted for the glory of WinterJam -- not for the glory of God.

Glory Sightings

Last night we took our youth group to WinterJam. Several bands shared a few songs each -- Mercy Me was the final band, and they were great, as always.

New Song (pictured to the right) at one point, asked the crowd to stand and to sing with them the phrase, "The world holds nothing for me." I look at MT, and she looked at me, and we siad, "But I don't believe that!"

I'm sure -- I hope -- that the meaning of that phrase, repeated over and over by that crowd, was meant to impress upon the youth that God's kingdom offers so many more treasures and such a full life, that we can let go of what seems important in this world.

I hope that, but I'm not sure that's what they meant. I worry that what they were teaching the youth "Wait until you get into heaven! God is there! Everything on this world, which isn't heaven, is nothing."

As I said last night, I don't believe it. God is here. He created this world and us; surely we are meant to live in God's presence HERE AND NOW. Today!

So, this came to mind last night:

The world holds nothing for me?
But what about….

Crisp autumn days
Ocean waves
Rainstorms viewed from porches
Sunrises tinting the sky pink
Full moons
Tiny buds promising life
Laughter heard across a room
Colors and music
Glory sightings

This world holds nothing for me?
But what about….

Singing the praise of God
Scratching the dog’s velvet ears
Smiling at stupid jokes
Driving with the top open
Hugging a child taller than me
Reading the devotion of another
Talking with friends over coffee
Playing with words
Glory sightings

This world holds nothing for me?
But what about…

To care for my family
To make God visible to youth
To serve in ways I can’t imagine
To raise my children
To teach the word of God
To bring grace to my friends
To grow in faith
To love my husband
Glory sightings

This world holds nothing for me?
This world holds the kingdom.
This world holds God.
He’s here, not just there
Praise God, I don’t have to wait.
Praise God, love is here
The day is today
And the time is now.

Surprise

Along with the sermon today, I did a children's moment. One of the points I tried to make with the kids was that we can't always tell by looking at something, what it might become. Sometimes we are surprised. I showed them basil seeds and how different is is from a basil plant; gladiola bulbs and how different they are from the flowers. We are not always good predictors.

I tried to teach that to the kids today, but I forgot it myself.

The youth leaders went to a meeting today of several church's youth leaders to plan the 30 hour famine for April. After the meeting, we took the information back to the youth group and presented it to them. I really thought that the information about the event would entice the youth, but it didn't. They decided, unanimously, to continue to do their own youth famine and to not join in with the one sponsored by the downtown churches. We got the feeling that there is a unity among them that they don't want to loose in a larger crowd. (I'm not sure I'm expressing that well). Perhaps God has built a "small group" unit here that we didn't understand the depth of previously, but which they all realize. They weren't willing to give up their 24 hours spent together -- just them -- for the lure of a large group and larger activities.

The program that they participated in this evening was a cute idea -- they dug through a tool box to find a tool which represented a spiritual gift that they believe that they had. What they told us were their gifts was amazing. A few examples:

• I choose a tape measure because I can usually tell how far someone has come
• I choose a square because I always to the right thing
• I choose tape because I can usually patch up a situation.
• I choose a hammer because I can usually hammer a point home and convince people.

Depth that I didn't expect. What a terrific surprise.

As a final exercise, we asked them to share some of their ideas and thoughts about our church. They did a great job.

Sometimes it's a great thing to be surprised.

Peer Pressure

Our youth group meeting on Sunday was about peer pressure. The youth had some interesting observations, and I learned some things about youth:

• One of the youth said that not all peer pressure is bad. Of course, she is right, but as we were planning the programming for the evening, I never even considered it. It was bright of her to realize it, and actually, one of the main items were discussed was the role of positive affirmation and encouragement.
• There were many comments about "health class" and how the topic is covered in school. I was glad that our programming for the day included biblical links -- an aspect of the topic which I'm sure is not covered in school.
• I was surprised that many of the youth didn't believe that they were susceptible to peer pressure. I know from experience that my own son has been, and yet when I asked them to rate how much they were influence by peer pressure, he rated himself low. I also have a feeling that we adults do the same thing.

It was a good program, and I hope the connection to the scripture gave it a twist that public school classes do not have. I want our youth to know that they are valuable to God -- that they chldren of God. Peer pressure -- excuse me -- negative peer pressure devalues us, our opinions and ideas.

Absurdity

Every once and a while I read something absurd on a blog. Things that are true, I imagine, but still just plain absurd. If you go read this post at Everyday Theology, you'll find a story about a youth worker who told a group of youth leaders in a conference a story. Apparently at her church, the youth were helping to serve communion until an adult member of the church said that s/he couldn't stand receiving communion from a youth.

So the youth were no longer allowed to serve communion.

Reaction-wise, it makes me angry. I'm a youth worker in my church, and I know that many of the youth are on the path to spiritual maturity. Sometimes their viewpoints and testimony demonstrate their closeness to God. Sometimes, I am nurtured in my faith by them. Many, if not most of them are confirmed members of the church. They are as qualified to serve communion as I am.

I do wonder if someone ever says (hopefully not in my church), "I can't stand receiving communion from a woman." Would someone stop women from serving communion if that comment were made?

Youth impressions

It is late, late, late at night. Too late to come up with an understandable blog post.

We led the youth tonight in an exploration of parts of the movie The Nativity Story. I have a few impressions that I will share.

1. It's a great movie. Watch it as part of your Advent preparations for Christ.
2. I am constantly surprised and blessed by the spritual depth of our youth. I praise God for the faith that I see.
3. The lesson we are using is from Christianity Today. It's worth the price of the download.
4. I am grateful, once again, to God for being given the gift of serving as a youth leader. What a blessing.

Good night!

Being in Prayer

I'm working as part of teams planning two services for the next two Sundays. Tomorrow is Children's Sabbath in our church, and the youth have been planning and will lead worship. As a member of the youth leader team, I have been blessed to play a part in that. Next Sunday is Laity Sunday, and as Lay Leader, I'm working to help plan that service.

At the beginning of this week, I invited our email group to be in prayer for these two services. Over twenty people agreed to do this in a deliberate and planned way.

As Children's Sabbath grows closer, I can see the evidence of God's presence in this service. I was so impressed today by the kids as they practiced their talks and liturgy. God has been walking with them, and I pray he continues to do so.

All are one

There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galations 3:28

Paul tell us that we are all children of God - that our status, our gender, or our nationality don't matter at all to God.

One of the many reasons that I am glad -- that I celebrate -- that we were able to take Youth to SPLAT is this verse.

We talk about being a diverse church. We try to tell our children that everyone has a call from God, and that gender, status, nationality, color, ethnic background -- none of it means that any person is less loved by God. Sometimes I worry, though, that my children look around my church, and they don't see evidence of this part of our faith. They see an almost completely Caucasian congregation. Thankfully, they do see female pastors, but I'm not sure what other kind of diversity they witness.

The good news in this story is that we are United Methodists. We are part of a connectional church. At SPLAT, the United Methodist youth national event, our kids saw six different people deliver sermons. They were diverse:

• Kathleen Baskin-Ball -- a white, female pastor from Texas
• Ray Buckley -- a native American male who is a member of the laity
• Minerva Carcaño -- a female, Hispanic American bishop
• Linda Lee -- a female, African American bishop
• Scott Jones -- a white male bishop
• Michael Williams -- a white, male pastor from Tennessee.

Three women, three men; three bishops, two local pastors and a lay person; three white, one hispanic, one African American, and one native American -- diversity.

Our youth were witness to the fact that the United Methodist Church values diversity and that we live out the idea that there is neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female, and that all are one in Christ Jesus.