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igniting a movement of students helping students, part 1

10/2/2013

3 Comments

 
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maria popova is amazing http://www.brainpickings.org/
"Bring the boy to me." - Jesus

Churches have worked hard at engaging adolescents for as long as there has been adolescence….which may not be as long as you think. "Adolescence" as a theory does not appear until the late nineteenth century and is defined as a period of "storm and stress" between the ages of 12 and 24.  While "youth ministry" appears in the form of Sunday school and the YMCA before 1900, it is not until the post war boom during the 1950's that "adolescence" moves from idea to fact. Rock music also arrives in the '50's. 

The unprecedented number of adolescents combined with post-war economic prosperity creates, for the first time, a youth or adolescent culture.  Teens would soon become the demographic with the largest amount of disposable income.  As adolescence grows as a cultural phenomenon, so does the anxiety of adults.  Fueled largely by anxiety, "youth ministry" closes the 20th century as a small industry with millions of dollars spent on programs, training, staff, camps, and trips designed to help adolescents.

Despite the development of youth ministry as a field, defining the outcomes of youth ministry has been a question of debate.  When is a youth ministry effective?  Churches with busy youth ministries attract people, especially anxious parents of early adolescents.  However, people and programs driven by the busy-ness of subterranean anxiety can undermine an adolescents opportunity to enjoy a rich life of faith.  Additionally, acknowledging that participation in youth ministry as an adolescent does not translate to church participation as an adult is important for churches to consider.

How would you measure the anxiety level of your family or primary community?
How would you know if your family or primary community was "anxiety driven"?


A distraught father had moved from anxiety to despair and describes his son's condition to Jesus. Jesus replies, "Bring the boy to me," and his son is healed.

If it were only that easy. One note of encouragement, though.  Apparently, the boy's healing is not based on behavior, alignent with his parents doctrine, of even "faith" at all.  What this passage offers is a glimpse into a way of approaching "youth ministry" which releases communities from anxiety causing expectations and an entry point into a life of "spiritual hospitality".

3 Comments
Linda Duncombe
10/2/2013 05:32:06 am

What is the current thinking about the value of having mentors for students when they are in middle school who would be there for them during adolescence? In my humble opinion it provides a child with one more adult he /she can trust and communicate with especially if the child feels he/she isn't able to communicate with a parent due to a lack of time, differences of opinions, etc or just another adult to interact with. A mentor is somewhat like a coach, but not related to sports, but rather about life. When set up in a church, a student, as I understand it, can interview adults available to be mentors and the student selects someone he/she feels comfortable with. Rich Carroll was this person for my son - not a formal arrangement; it just happened. He attended Tom's plays, soccer games, and even his college graduation. As Tom's parents, we didn't feel threatened by Rich's position in Tom's life; we had a wonderful relationship with our son. We always felt that Rich was one more person who loved and cared about Tom and would be there for him if the need arose.
These are some of my thoughts. What do others think?

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Donna
10/2/2013 01:28:57 pm

There is a great need for the youth of today to be mentored by older men and women. Inviting adults to do this important work and providing training to those adults will help them feel empowered to reach out to the youth who so desperately need this connection and guidance.

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Melissa
10/2/2013 01:08:10 pm

"How would you measure the anxiety level of your family or primary community?"
"How would you know if your family or primary community was "anxiety driven"?"
These are very helpful questions; reflecting on these questions can open our eyes to new ways of seeing. One sign of being “anxiety driven” might be a “busy-ness” that has as its focus production rather than relationship, a transactional spirit as opposed to a relational spirit. When we feel that our worth lies in what we produce or own rather than who we are and are becoming as persons in relationship with other persons (including in relationship with Jesus), we can feel frantic, driven, worried, anxious, and worthless. When we view ourselves and others as commodities rather than as God-created beings, we can lose sight of our creative gifts. It seems to me that what we all, kids, students, parents, adults, long for is that welcoming, hospitable space evoked in the Gospel passage “Bring the boy to me.” May we be that space for each other.

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