Sunday • February 05 • 2012

Because good youth ministry doesn't just happen

Changing Another Game

By Scott

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 14:38:00 +0000

I was watching a HBO Real Sports presentation the other day and it suggested the football equivalent of baseball’s Moneyball , which I had just re-watched the other day. As I had indicated with my impressions of Moneyball, there is an intrigue about finding a way to differently play the game, our game. As you [...]

on poets and prophets

By jonny

2012-02-05T09:18:46+00:00

i have blogged several times about poets and prophets. they seem to have a kind of speech that comes from the same place, have a similar way of seeing and remaking the world. if there is one writer who has...

Ordinary Fifth

By Scott

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Our prayer for today, the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time As winter drags on, so it sometimes seems with our lives. We find ourselves surrounded by demons both external and internal. We become restlessness until the dawn. Our days seem to be a drudgery. Each comes to an end without the hope that we might [...]

Do you Care about Kerygma and Dance with Didache?

By n

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 16:53:00 +0000

Kerygma? Didache? "What are they?" Good question. Let's explore together.
I am studying and teaching the book of Acts in a Sunday Class at Foothills Bible Church and the importance of Kerygma and Didiche keep popping up all over the expansion of the first church and the strategy to establish the believers.
Simply put, Kerygma is the Greek word used in the New Testament for the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (i.e. Preaching). He came and lived on earth, died on a wooden cross and rose again on the third day conquering death for the forgiveness of sins. Those who believe in Him are saved from their sins for eternity. The Kerygma in the book of Acts was all about proclaiming the Gospel.

Didache is the Greek word used for the foundational teaching of doctrine to help the church establish a foundation to grow in Godliness.  For example, Paul spent a year teaching the didache in Acts 11:26 (they began to look like 'little Christs') after the Gospel was proclaimed (Kerygma) to the Gentiles and many were saved in Acts 10:34-48.

So, I am concerned.

I am not sure believers in Jesus Christ put enough weight on the importance of Kerygma and Didache in our daily growth in godliness or our forms of church. First, there is the difference between preaching and teaching. One proclaims or "harolds" the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the other teaches the foundations of our faith (i.e. doctrine). Sometimes the two overlap and they are certainly connected like a chain. Both are important for the local church, but also for every believer to hold tight.

Are you getting good preaching of the Word rooted in good interpretation? Kerygma is necessary in the local church, but some are questioning this today. This concerns me. Also, doctrinal study is questioned too, but it was a critical ingredient in establishing and growing the first local churches. Is your personal doctrine dancing?

Paul's strategy in the book of Acts was to share the Gospel (Kerygma) and disciple the new converts to Christ through sound doctrine (Didache), often times for years.  You see this pattern over and over again in the book of Acts. Paul would return to a new body of believers to encourage and strengthen them or send another leader (i.e. Timothy or Titus). This was the purpose of his letters written back to the churches strengthening and establishing them in the faith while fighting off false teaching.   This is at least half of the New Testament!

Dance with Didache...

Sound Doctrine is not just for pastors, theologians, professors or the paid professionals who are Christians. It is for everyone who followers after Jesus as Savior.

Why?

The Bible tells us that we should take seriously Sound Didache.

Paul said to his young mentoree and church leader, "What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you - guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us" (Timothy 1:13-14).

The teaching (Didache) that Paul passed onto Timothy was to be kept "sound" and "guarded" because their were false teachers teaching false doctrine.  Doctrine can apparently be "unsound." The Greek word in 1 Timothy 1:3 for "unsound" or "false" is hugiaino which means to be "unhealthy or corrupt." So, what is Sound Doctrine. It is doctrine in accordance with Paul's letters written to the churches after his missionary journeys to share the Gospel and establish the churches. It is in line with Jesus' purpose, words and the whole fulfillment of the Biblical Scriptures. Paul spoke up against the false, unhealthy and corrupt teachings with the letters back to the churches (i.e. New Testament letters) helping these believers keep sound didache.

Nothing is new today.

All believers of Jesus need to guard, protect and keep sound doctrine so it does not become "watered down," "tainted," "corrupted," and "unhealthy." This requires us to ask questions, speak up and correct others when they are teaching something that is not in line with proper interpretation of the Word of God. Paul did this in his letters back to the churches he had visited. This was Paul's blog back to the believers saying, "Be careful. Be on the lookout for things that do not line up with sound didache. Don't let it enter the body of believers."

On one hand the Biblical Scriptures do not need to be defended, but on the other hand, for those who do not believe the Biblical Scriptures are God's Words to us, we are called to defend it by Kerygma and Didache. Another name for this is Apologetics, defending the faith.

Defend what?

Defend sound doctrine as the book of Titus echoes, "He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it"(Titus 1:9). Also, "You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine" (Titus 2:1).
The leader, elder or pastor of a church must "hold firmly" to that which is True according to the Biblical Scriptures, namely the Gospel of Jesus Christ (i.e. His primary mission was to save sinners). Any distortion of it would be wrong and corrupt the Truth. As a matter of fact, Titus is charging the leaders of the church to "refute those who oppose it." For those with the gift of mercy, this seems like a difficult task, but the calling of the leaders of the church is to "hold the line" of "sound doctrine" and to stand up when it has been crossed. This should happen locally and globally. We are shepherds of the flock and can't let our sheep be drawn away by the wacky words of another. But, in the spirit of the New Testament, I believe all believers in Jesus are called to "hold firmly" to sound doctrine in love and grace, not just the paid professional (Jude tells us to "contend for the faith").

The echo continues across the Scriptures with Paul's words to Thessalonica, "So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word or mouth or by letter" (2 Thessalonians 2:15).

The "letters" that Paul passed onto the churches are to be the litmus test for sound didache. This is why it is so important for us to have proper hermeneutics understanding Paul's intended meaning in writing the letters to the churches which were built on Jesus' words and the fulfillment of the Old Testament. It all fits together like pieces of a puzzle. This requires firm footing as we read and study the Biblical Scriptures understanding the context of the passage and properly applying it to our lives today. This requires us to engage our minds. This does not rely on church fathers or the ancient ways that others study the Scriptures, no matter how old the practice might be. It is the way we study any piece of antiquity asking basic questions like, "What is the author's intended meaning?", "Why did He write this?", "Who was he writing to?", "What was the application for the listeners of the day?" and "What is the application for me today?" (and more...). It matters what the purpose of the writing and the genre of Scripture being written. As we engage the text in understanding, the Holy Spirit guides us to discover the answers to these questions.
There are moments in our modern culture when "false teachers" pop up with "new" and "compelling" ideas questioning orthodox Christian doctrine (didache and sometimes even Kerygma). In these moments, we must be prayerful, humble and a deep student of the Word of God and the long line of doctrinal decisions in church history while saying, "that is wrong." Be careful. Be warned. Do not waver from the Word of God. The key is proper Biblical Interpretation. This is always done in the context of the community of Believers, the local Church.

Read more here on "Faithful Theological Thinkers."

Why else is Sound Didache important?

Again, Paul passed to Timothy this encouragement, "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear" (2 Timothy 4:3). Also, "Watch your life and doctrine closely" (1 Timothy 4:16).

In our day, when tolerance, relevance and personal experience (or feelings) are glorified, it is absolutely important for all of us who name the name of Jesus Christ as Savior by grace to stand firm on sound Biblical preaching and sound doctrine and "refute those who oppose it." We can't allow this "good news" and the teachings that follow to be made "unhealthy." This distorts the whole message.

Of course this is done in love, gentleness and respect, but not shrinking back as the writer of Hebrews encouraged (Hebrews 10:39).

I hope you care about Kerygma and dance with Didiche.

What do you think? How important is Kerygma and Didache to you?

How to Be Alone

By Mike King

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 10:30:00 -0600

My son shared this video with me. Thank you Daniel, this is a beautiful video. Give yourself a gift and watch this, even better, embrace it's message and become more human.

Not by Whiskered Jowl

By Scott

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:00:00 +0000

“In times past though not long ago, there lived pigs–in stature, little; in number, three– who being of an age, both entitled and inspired to seek their fortune, did set about to do thusly.” It’s a pretty funny take on a potential Shakespeare version of the Three Pigs. Now, that being said, this video also [...]

parables

By jonny

2012-02-03T23:42:32+00:00

kate tempest on random acts performing parables...

How can youth ministry improve on discussing theology?

By Mike King

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:14:00 -0600

This is an extremely important question, not only for youth ministry and the spiritual formation of young people in our youth ministries; this is a critical question for the church and Christianity in North America. The word theology combines two...

Best Teachers

By Scott

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:00:00 +0000

A note or two to close Catholic Schools Week: The best teachers take pupils beyond where they are. Chinese Proverb suggested by Dr. Carolyn Woo new president for Catholic Relief Services

Lenten Discipline

By Matthew Kelley

2012-02-02T14:27:00.002-06:00

I've been pondering lately what to take on as my discipline for Lent this year. In past years I've fasted and prayed during lunchtime, and last year I gave up alcohol, which was a healthy thing since I was coming out of a very high-stress period. It dampened March Madness just a tad though...

I like to do something different every year, picking something that will really challenge and strengthen me where I'm at in my life at that moment. I've found that my experience of God's presence is much more profound if I do that.

This defining characteristic of this particular season in my life is busyness. I'm working a lot more hours at Arlington than I did at Bethlehem (in many ways this is a good thing, which is probably the subject for another post), and this will especially be the case this Lent, as we're working toward the launch of our yet-to-be-named Alternative Worship Service at Arlington.

So while I can't give up busyness altogether for Lent, I can do something to intentionally slow down the tempo. I'll be making it my daily practice to take some time each morning (usually first thing when I get to the office) to read and meditate on the day's entry from Lent and Easter Wisdom from Thomas Merton.

This book is produced by the Merton Institute for Contemplative Living, whose retreats and programs have been a great blessing to me during some very difficult times.

The reason I'm talking about this on the blog is that I'll post my reflections each day (well, most days), and I invite you to join me. Click the link above to order the book, and if you're so inclined, share your reflections and reactions in the Comments section. We could form a virtual small group doing this together.

That's what I'll be doing. How about you? Sound off below and share what, if any, Lenten discipline you've selected and why, or why you choose not to do so, if you're comfortable sharing that. All opinions are welcome, but please be respectful of others. No judgments or condemnations here.

ReBuild Carotta

By Scott

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:57:03 +0000

Mike Carotta is someone I would travel hours to just hang out with. So, when he was speaking last fall in Western Pennsylvania, I gave no thought at all to running out there and sharing a meal and videotaping him in a hotel lobby for this presentation. For his own experiences as a national consultant [...]

a few cool things on The Youth Cartel store

By marko

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:00:10 +0000

first, i love the new, clean look of The Youth Cartel site. adam felt our initial site (only 6 months old!) needed a facelift. there are a few cool new things in the store worth a mention: one’s a cool freebie: a “gospel of john” sampler of The Way bible. you can see the amazing [...]

research into mission

By jonny

2012-02-02T10:09:31+00:00

i am on the e-mail list for the sheffield centre research bulletin. it's always onto something interesting. but each time you have to download a pdf and then get round to reading it. for bloggers like me if i find...

Can A Super Bowl Party Be "Missional?"

By Brian Kirk

2012-02-01T12:09:00.002-06:00

Rick, a fellow youth leader, contacted me a with a great question:
I am trying to merge most of what we do into a more missional approach. I have a question which is probably really stupid but you seem like the guy to ask. How would you do a missional Superbowl party? I really don't like the Superbowl party idea but I let the students vote and they wanted to do one. I hate the idea of giving a message at half time and all. So, I was checking out your blog to see if there was anything. I didn't see anything and maybe there is a reason for that. Anyway, any thoughts on this?
Rick's observation that I haven't posted on this topic was right on target for one simple reason: I'm not a fan of youth group Super Bowl parties. For one thing, I wouldn't know a Patriot from a Giant unless one is carrying a musket and the other is really, really tall! For another thing, I think it's a stretch to claim that sitting around watching competitive football and TV commercials is a good use of precious youth group time. All that aside..is a missional Super Bowl event possible?
In our book Missional Youth Ministry: Moving from Gathering Teenagers to Scattering Disciples, I write: "When we dare to think about youth ministry holistically and to incorporate the spirit of the Way of Christ into everything we do -- from lock-ins to mission trips, from game nights to campfire worship-- we're inviting young people to experience a missional way of life in which God's Spirit is evident in all they say and do." (p. 149) It is my firm belief that we shouldn't be leading any activities in youth ministry that don't clearly connect to our understanding of the wider mission of the church. For me, being "missional" means measuring all that we do against the degree to which it helps us participate in God's mission of peace, community, love, grace, forgiveness, and justice. Can a Super Bowl party really do this, or is it just an excuse to set aside youth ministry for one night and submerge ourselves in popular culture? What might a more missional approach to a Super Bowl party look like? Here's a few ideas:
1) Participate in the Souper Bowl of Caring: It's simple. Just encourage your youth to bring canned goods or monetary donations to your gathering and make a plan to deliver them to a local food outreach ministry or organization. Even better, challenge your congregation on Superbowl Sunday morning to drop their donations off at the youth gathering later that evening. Feeling really intrepid? Skip the half-time show and go out into your local neighborhood and solicit canned food donations door-to-door. Download the "Tackle Hunger" sign from the Souper Bowl website, invite your teens to write their own messages about food inequality on the signs, photograph them, and upload the shots to the Souper Bowl website, Facebook, or wherever else you might be able to raise the awareness of others.

2) Send Greetings: Watching the game together can simply be seen as a means to a different end. With everybody in one place at one time, take advantage of the opportunity to set out a table of blank greeting cards and invite all of your youth to help you fill out greetings to your home bound elderly, anyone who is in the hospital, church members in the military, college students away from home, teens who haven't been to youth group in awhile, and so on.
3) Promote Community: Sometimes the most "missional" thing you can do is offer ways to help your youth strengthen their bonds of fellowship and their identity as one body in Christ. Promoting fellowship can be tough if everyone is just sitting around staring at a TV. Why not provide a variety of activities besides watching the game? Set out board games, art supplies, or even create a quiet space where youth can sit comfortably and chat with each other. Speak with your adult mentors in advance of the evening and ask them to take advantage of the unstructured time to talk with as many of the youth as they can, catching up on their lives and needs.
4) Share the Gospel: I'll admit one problem I have with elevating the Super Bowl to the center of attention for a youth ministry gathering is the fact that it celebrates competition and for me competition is antithetical to the gospel. We don't compete to be #1 in the Kingdom of God yet the Super Bowl puts a great deal of emphasis on winners and losers (including the competition to present the best commercial!). Why not take some time during the event to ask your group: "This game is being watched by millions of people. What sort of messages do you think are being presented to all of them during this broadcast? If our group could afford to buy commercial time in the Super Bowl and send one simple message about the gospel to all those millions of people, what might it be?" As an extension of this conversation, perhaps encourage your teens to make a large banner with that message that can be posted in front of the church or challenge them all to text that message to their friends right then and there or add it as their status update on Facebook.
5) Invite Guests: You can turn an inwardly focused youth group party into an outwardly focused opportunity for mission by challenging your youth to bring guests to the event -- in particular, youth who do not have a church home but really need to belong to a community of care and nurture. Hopefully, the teens in your group feel like it is a place where they are loved and accepted as children of God. Ask them to invite other teens who need to know that experience for themselves and make them the guests of honor at your event.
6) Prepare and Eat a Meal Together: Sure, you could just order pizzas and sub sandwiches. But there is something about preparing a meal together that strengthens community (maybe this is why Jesus hangs around with so many people at mealtime!). So make pizzas or sandwiches together from scratch before the big game. For an added challenge, connect the entire group by using yarn to tie their wrists to each other so that they have to practice give and take to both cook and eat. I've done this before with youth with great success. I finish by sharing this favorite metaphor about the difference between heaven and "hell." (Here's video and photos to show you how one person approached this very idea!)
Anyone else have ideas to share? How would you turn a youth group Super Bowl party into a "missional" experience for your teens?

Slant33: Dating and Sexuality

By Scott

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:49:00 +0000

I’m back up on Slant33 again, this time responding along with Michelle Lang and buddy Mark Oestricher to the question What’s the difference between teaching middle schoolers and high schoolers about dating and sexuality? My response is below, but do check the link for Marko’s and Michelle’s comments as well. This is an essential question. [...]

Youth Minister as The Artist

By Scott

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:00:00 +0000

The Academy Awards are presented at month’s end so we are going to focus a little on movies. And here we go again, not unlike with Moneyball, we are offering another movie metaphor for the field. The Artist is getting a lot of buzz during movie award season having already won the Golden Globe as [...]

January 2012 Top Posts

By Scott

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:00:00 +0000

January 2012 was an amazing month. We established a new standard, surpassing last January, for the most views in a month ever on the site. There were 47 posts published, which was a lot. That included fifteen posts with video embedded (including initiating a series from the ReBuild My Church broadcast) and two posts with [...]

Back to Life, Back to Reality

By Adam Walker Cleaveland

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:00:20 +0000

When Sarah and I were talking about what I should be blogging about it right now, she said this song immediately came into her mind. And this is what life feels like right now. I’m 2.5 months into my call as Associate Pastor here at First Presbyterian Church in Ashland. I’ve been ordained and installed, [...]

photo in need of a caption

By marko

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:00:16 +0000

why, yes, this is a statue of lenin, mickey mouse and jesus, walking hand in hand. do you find that odd or something? c’mon with the captions, baby. (thanks to rob craig for sending this via email, after he saw it on matthew paul turner’s blog) and the winner is… sorry, didn’t get to listing [...]

The Power of a Dream

By Scott

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Here’s a youtube for you to use with young people, but it is directed at this day, the feast of Saint John Bosco. John had a dream at 9 that led him to his vocation. As a saint, he is known as the patron of young people… but in youth ministry, I think we may [...]

Have you Registered for the Children, Youth and a New Kind of Christianity Conference Yet?

By Adam Walker Cleaveland

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:42:15 +0000

I just received an email today from the folks behind the Children, Youth and a New Kind of Christianity Conference – notifying me that the fee for the conference will be increasing on February 1. The more I read about this conference, the more I’m excited for it and can’t wait to spend a few [...]

Keys To Longevity #5: BLEED IT, BUT DON’T BLEED TO DEATH

By Array

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:37:41 PST

Posted by Kurt Johnston

This is the 5th in a little series about some of the things that have helped me last for almost 25 years. There is no silver bullet here, just a little insight about things that have seemed to make a difference in my journey as a youth worker.

BLEED IT, BUT DON’T BLEED TO DEATH!

Every now and then, a young youth worker will say something like this, “Youth ministry is my life!”. To which I always reply internally, and upon occasion even blurt out, “Really? That’s too bad.”

I think youth ministry, or any ministry endeavor for that matter, deserves some extra effort. Youth ministry isn’t for folks who are clock-watchers, who only want to do the minimum job requirements. I actually think it deserves to be led by men and women who aren’t afraid to “bleed” it a little bit. But we should NEVER bleed to death!

- When you consistently sacrifice your family for the sake of your youth ministry…you are bleeding to death.
- When your friendships suffer because you spend too much time at youth ministry events…you are bleeding to death.
- When you have no outside hobbies because you spend your free time with teenagers or planning events for teenagers…you are bleeding to death.
- When you fail to take your day off, or you skimp on vacation time due to the demands of youth ministry…you are bleeding to death.
- When you spend time in the word out of the need to [...] Continue Reading "Keys To Longevity #5: BLEED IT, BUT DON’T BLEED TO DEATH"

Dubstep

By Mark

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:31:35 +0000

Chances are, you’ve seen this. If you haven’t, then you are in for a treat. This guy can dance. I’m truly in awe of this guy. Unbelievable.

a few words from a dad to youth workers

By marko

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:00:29 +0000

starting very soon, i’ll be speaking in 4 locations for barefoot ministries’ $5 training. it’s a very cool half day of training, for (can you guess?), five dollars. the day is targeted at volunteer youth workers, and is ideal for teams to attend together. check out the $5 training site for more info and locations. [...]

smallfire

By jonny

2012-01-30T07:25:06+00:00

smallfire is a wonderful site - a collection of photographs with short narratives on alternative worship services phtographed by steve collins over more than a decade now. i am sure many of you have seen it before but i noticed...