Speaking at Youth Ministry Forum

May 16-17, 2011 I will be on the faculty for a fantastic event that Virginia Baptists are putting on called: Youth Ministry Forum. This year, the main speaker is Marko (Mark Oestreicher) whose important book Youth Ministry 3.0 will be the dominant theme for discussion. I am really looking forward to the time in Richmond with some really sharp folks to discuss the future of student ministry.

It was at this event two years ago that Chris Folmsbee, author of A New Kind of Youth Ministry (and more recently Stories, Signs and Sacred Rhythms), asked if I would be interested in writing a short book for students on the idea of Sacred Hope. A book that explores the idea that the hope of God for our lives is not simply for ourselves, but is an invitation to be on mission with God to restore the world to its intended wholeness. I spent the next six months working on it in various ways, and it came out at the end of 2010. It was fantastic working with Chris and the team at Barefoot Ministries to publish the book, and I hope it isn't the last time we get to work together.

Over the last couple of weeks, I have gotten some really thoughtful notes from some college students and college graduates that have enjoyed the book, and I've been trying to think through some of their comments as I prepare to speak on it at the Youth Ministry Forum (for Faculty Bios, click here). I have two different sessions that I am speaking on at the forum, one on my book, and one on student ministry in general. Here are the descriptions:

Form over Function: Moving From Entertainment to Spiritual Formation in Youth Ministry
Do you find yourself spending more time, energy, resources on games, events, and flash for your student ministry rather than creating space for reflection, formation, practice, conversations, and ultimately relationships? In this session, we will explore how our aims for formation should drive our calendaring rather than the measuring sticks of fun and entertainment.

Exploring Sacred Hope: An Invitation to Join God’s Mission
Sacred hope is an expedition into mission. In Josh’s recent book Sacred Hope, students are invited to imagine the future where God is leading us, only to plummet back down into reality to investigate how we can join in God s mission to restore the world to its intended wholeness. In this session we will discuss ways we can cultivate spaces and conversations of hope and mission in our student ministries.

If you are going to be at the conference I'd love to meet you, and look forward to a great couple of days of rich conversation and thoughtful exploration. Hope to see you in Richmond!

The Justice Mission

Tonight the youth and I will be finishing up our last lesson in The Justice Mission curriculum. I'm not much of a curriculum kind of guy, but after some great recommendations from Seth, we embarked on the journey towards reconciliation, redemption, and justice for the marginalized and oppressed people in our world. I have gotten some really strong feedback from students whose lives are being impacted in our discussions, studies, and reflections about the mission of justice by God. The Justice Mission curriculum is supported with videos that I found to be conversational, and non-emotionally manipulative, which is nice for a change, and unusual for student materials. The curriculum focuses on the work of The International Justice Mission, an organization that puts into practice the justice mission in wonderful ways. While the videos moved me deeply, along with our discussions, even to tears at times, I didn't feel manipulated or forced into a corner with no hope of how to bring this stuff into reality. In fact, it was the stories of change and salvation that brought such hope to my heart; my heart which struggles to believe that this justice, holistic salvation of the oppressed and marginalized, for the down-and-outs, and hopefully for me, the oppressor, the slacker, and the perpetrator of injustice can somehow come into reality.

Here are two emails that I received from some students that highlight their thoughts about our investigation into the justice mission:

"Thanks for youth group tonight. I super really enjoyed it. I feel like it was kind of deep and mental in a very positive way. I predict that I will be thinking a lot about what we talked about throughout the week and I can't wait to work on the journal sheet you gave us. I'm not quite sure why, but I just really loved youth tonight."

And:

"I just wanted to let you know that I think this justice mission is a really great idea. A couple of weeks ago, we were watching Hotel Rwanda in class, and people were so ignorant and had no idea that genocide exists nowadays. I really think this is a great way to learn about all of the prejudices in the world and ways that we can help stop it just in every day life. Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for a really great lesson. These past couple of weeks, I have really been struggling with the idea of oppression and what I can do to help. I am looking forward to hearing more about this and learning about it."

I was talking with a friend recently at a birthday party about salvation, and the penal-substitutionary theory of the atonement, and I've been thinking a lot about the importance of telling a story of salvation that includes a change of the self, our communities, and our world, in a way that includes a radical sense of joining with God in laying down our lives for others. If salvation is limited to getting off the hook for sin and getting out of the punishment of hell, where does the motivation and need to join God in God's mission of justice for our world come from?

This has been a great experience, and if you have been thinking about going through the Justice Mission, I would recommend giving it a try. I'm pretty skeptical of curriculum stuff, and this was really good. Not to mention that Marko, the folks over at the Justice Mission, and other Youth Specialties folks were praying for us, followed up with us, and will help with any questions you might have.

Mrs. Phyllis Tickle and Chris Folmsbee...and it all ends in the presidential suite

Today was a good day. It was the second day of the NYWC in Atlanta. Shey and I have been having a great time, especially after this morning's general session. Phyllis Tickle, author, speaker, prophet, and guide shared a message and lesson this morning. She talked about "The Great Emergence," or this time in history which we find ourselves in today. This is the term she has given to describe the next period of reformation in the church which is happening today and is changing the landscape of Christianity, especially in the West. If you have never had a chance to hear her speak, or use the prayer manuals she has created, I highly recommend her works, and finding a way to hear her speak the next chance you get. You'd never expect a 73-year old woman to get up at a youth conference and blow your mind, but that's just what happened today, and is what happened when she spoke at the general sessions at the Emergent Convention a couple years ago in Nashville.

In the afternoon, Shey and I went to Chris Folmsbee's super-seminar called "Stories, Signs, and Sacred Rhythms: A Narrative Approach to Nurturing Students." Chris' message and seminar was fantastic. He proposed a philosophy of youth ministry that could have a profound impact on the landscape of Western Christianity and youth ministry in the coming years. The models of faith development and beginning in the narrative will be extremely helpful and insightful in working with students whose very lives and thus their stories are being fragmented, alienated, and disjointed from others, God, and themselves on a regular basis. The language and metaphors that Chris is exploring is powerful and helps put 'words to some of the things' many of us are thinking about in this round table of discussion and conversation. Be on the lookout for his new book that will most likely have the same title of this seminar to be coming out in the future.

I'd like to post some more comments and thoughts about both Mrs. Tickle's talk and Chris' seminar, but it is too late to dig out the notebook. Shey is knocked out already, it's late...and I've ended on a high note. I got to see Shey when I came back, and the place I came back from was Marko's suite. I spent the evening with Chris and some other guys who work with the newly joined Sonlife/YouthFront. They are doing some amazing stuff that youth ministry folks should check out.

I met some cool guys tonight, and unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to talk to Marko, but Chris, Doug, Len, Scott, Mark, and others made me feel right at home this evening. It was fun to meet some of the other speakers, and to see some of the ways these folks hang out together. There is a warm spirit of hospitality and graciousness that was great to be around. All in all, Day 2 was a good day.