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Prev 1 2 3 ...9 10 11 12 13 ...38 39 40 NextA few months ago, some friends and I agreed to read Matthew in our own times of prayer and Bible study. For the last few weeks, I have been stuck on Matthew 9:39 where Jesus says, “Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” As I honestly and prayerfully reflect on that verse, I find that often I want to lose my life in medium steps – not the really big ones.
Today is the 30th anniversary of the assassination of Bishop Oscar Romero from El Salvador, a devoted and devout Roman Catholic leader who lifted up the cause of the poor and oppressed in the midst of the Salvadoran Civil War.
As you’re getting your students ready for spring break service trips, perhaps you can spend a few minutes reflecting on the person and teaching of Oscar Romero. Here are a few powerful quotes:
“A church that suffers no persecution but enjoys the privileges and support of the things of the earth – beware! – is not the true church of Jesus Christ. A preaching that does not point out sin is not the preaching of the gospel. A preaching that makes sinners feel good, so that they are secured in their sinful state, betrays the gospel’s call.” (1/22/78).
“The church would betray its own love for God and its fidelity to the gospel if it stopped being . . . a defender of the nights of the poor . . . a humanizer of every legitimate struggle to achieve a more just society . . . that prepares the way for the true reign of God in history”. (8/6/79)
Bishop Romero lost his life not in medium steps, but in large leaps.
So I’m now a volunteer Brownie leader for my daughter’s troop. The last place I wanted to be last Wednesday night was a 3-hour volunteer training. Lucky for me, the trainer wanted to get home to watch “American Idol” with her kids so we only were there for 90 minutes. But in the midst of those 90 minutes (and I multi-tasked for 60 of them, perusing some sticky faith documents), I was struck by several things:
-I love the idea of an organization that builds courage and character into girls.
-Their values are discover (which focuses on knowing yourself), connect (building relationships with others), and take action (changing the world). Not bad at all.
-I LOVE LOVE LOVE how purposeful they are in the skills and values they are trying to instill in the girls. Everything is so intentional and builds toward important life milestones.
Now granted, this sort of purposefulness can easily lead to a works mentality (especially when selling Girl Scout cookies is involved). And it’s probably a bit too structured and goal-focused. But at the same time, I kept thinking to myself during the training, “There’s a lot the church could learn from having such clear goals in their teaching and experiences.”
Do we know how we hope kids are growing intellectually, spiritually, emotionally, and socially this year?
Do we know how this year builds toward next year? And the year after that?
The Girl Scouts do. Maybe we could learn something from them. I know I did.
Not to be the basketball killjoy or anything, but with the brackets in place and the gaming begun, I propose it’s worth pausing for a moment this March to consider the place of competitive sports in our culture and our faith.
I know, you probably don’t want to talk about it. There’s a game on. But it’s fascinating to me on a number of levels the ways Americans — and in particular evangelical Christians in the U.S. — are obsessed with competitive sports. From little league to pro ball, we’re on it, and with passion.
If you missed it around Super Bowl time, Christianity Today released a thoughtful article entitled “Sports Fanatics: How Christians have succumbed to the sports culture—and what might be done about it.” It’s contributed by Shirl James Hoffman, a former athlete and college basketball coach who has authored a new book, Good Game: Christianity and the Culture of Sports
. This paragraph in particular is game for good conversation about sports culture in the U.S.:
Variously described by those inside and outside as narcissistic, materialistic, violent, sensationalist, coarse, racist, sexist, brazen, raunchy, hedonistic, body-destroying, and militaristic, big-time sports culture lifts up values in sharp contrast with what Christians for centuries have understood as the embodiment of the gospel. There are simply no easy, straight-faced, intellectually respectable answers for how evangelicals can model the Christian narrative—with its emphases on servanthood, generosity, and self-subordination—while immersed in a culture that thrives on cut-throat competition, partisanship, and Darwinian struggle.
And this is coming from an honest sports-lover! If you can catch a moment (perhaps during commercials) this week, it’s an interesting read. I’d love to hear feedback from folks who have read the book; I haven’t.
For me, “big-time sports culture” represents the epitome of cultural abandonment of kids—in this week’s case, the abandonment of 18-21 year old late adolescents who don’t have any idea how to handle us screaming our heads off at them through our TVs or from our place in the stands. So yes, I do have a hard time reconciling that culture with my faith. And I’ve very, very rarely heard a thoughtful Christian response beyond referring to a particular player or coach’s outspoken faith (which we gleefully eat up). Perhaps ironically, I’m a spiritual product of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and their high school camp program. I know all the analogies and reasons to believe in the redemptive and character-building power of sports. But standing on this side as a youth worker, researcher, and parent, I think it’s worth rethinking the faith we put in “big-time sports culture” in our churches and youth ministries, perhaps especially as it relates to the way we treat guys. What do you think?
This Thursday, March 18th from 12:00-1:00 PM Central (10:00-11:00 PST), Kara will be featured on a free webinar titled “Practical Biblical Justice: How you can change your world.” The webinar is offered through the new Christianity Today International web campus.
You have to register here, but it’s free.
The debate has swirled for years about whether more exposure to on-screen violence leads to more real-life violence and aggression. That debate has narrowed over the past 10-15 years to studies of exposure specifically to violent video games.
Taking a big-picture look at existing research, psychologist Craig Anderson (the Center for the Study of Violence at Iowa State University) and a team of researchers recently released a report detailing a meta-analysis of studies exploring various aspects of video gaming and violence. The submitted draft of the report, published in the March Psychological Bulletin, is available online if you want to check out the details and method. You can also read a summary from U.S. News & World Report.
The basic conclusion of the meta-analysis is that increased exposure to violent video gaming does in fact lead to (in research language, “is a causal risk factor for”) increased aggressive thinking, feeling, and behavior, as well as overall physiological arousal, and decline in “prosocial” (helping) behavior and empathy. This is true for girls as well as guys, and seems to be true for both short-term and long-term play. In a fascinating twist, Japanese studies found similar results to U.S. studies.
The research team feels strongly that this is a conclusive study, finally answering the question about violent gaming and violent thinking, feeling, and acting. A bigger and more complex question seems to be, what do we do about it? We wrote earlier this year about guys and gaming and about helping parents in their conversations with kids about gaming. Both articles contain some ideas to get the ball rolling, but I’m curious about what helpful strategies you’ve used in addressing violent gaming with teenagers and their parents (and perhaps in your staff and volunteer team, and your own personal practices).
Gender-neutral housing is now an option at 50 or so colleges and universities across the nation. A step beyond gender-integrated dorms, floors, and bathrooms, “gender-blind” policies now allow students to choose roommates of either gender. While certainly not a landslide trend (only 1-3% of students on these campuses choose an opposite-sex roommate), the LA Times reports today that it’s the next step on the integration path.
The first assumption behind this movement is that college students are adults. “College students are adults,” says the head of the National Student Genderblind Campaign. “They have every single right to choose the person they feel most comfortable living with.” Plenty of research voices, including our own Chap Clark, have doubts about how “adult” college students really are. Call them late adolescents or emerging adults, but full-on adults? Not many of them.
The other assumption is that we are in a “post-gender world.” While I don’t want to open up wild debate about that one, I think I can stand with scripture, biology, and sociology to say that post-gender doesn’t seem to be God’s ideal. I’m all for revisiting “traditional” gender roles, but not obliterating gender altogether. Because, well, we can’t.
Debates aside, this could be the environment our high school seniors will be swimming in if they’re headed off to college next year. In light of that, what kinds of conversations should we be having with them now about how to engage choices like gender-blind rooming arrangements? What ideas do you have for creating dialogue and discernment around these issues? How will you equip them with more than “that’s just wrong” so they know how to have a thoughtful conversation with someone when the opportunity is presented? These are the kinds of questions we need to be asking ourselves in youth ministry.
Recently I read Henri Nouwen’s Finding My Way Home: Pathways to Life and the Spirit
, a short collection of writings and presentations published after his death. I wasn’t expecting to find a definition of theology in the opening section called “The Path of Power,” but there was one nonetheless. According to Nouwen, theology is “looking at reality with the eyes of God.”
But there’s more. We see reality through God’s eyes for a purpose: “…to discern the ways to live.”
Learning to see with the eyes of God so we may more faithfully live in our families, neighborhoods, and world. That’s a good meditation to end the week with.
This week Ypulse posted an interview with psychologist Russ Federman, coauthor of Facing Bipolar: The Young Adult’s Guide to Dealing With Bipolar Disorder
. I thought the interview was an insightful quick view into the lives of teens and young adults who deal with this on a daily basis, and this book looks like it could be a helpful resource for youth workers.
The interview also includes a list of web-based resources, which I’m reposting here as a resource to you, particularly if you know kids and families who struggle with bipolar disorder or symptoms:
BipolarYoungAdult.com – Website with about the book “Facing Bipolar” as well as strong resource information about bipolar disorder
- National Institute of Mental Health- Bipolar Disorder Booklet – Comprehensive (downloadable) booklet on bipolar disorder.
- Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance- national organization with comprehensive information, links, media information and membership options for those with bipolar disorder
- K12 Academics – Bipolar Disorder- A national organization with topics pertinent to education, including important medical/psychological issues. The site provides excellent information about bipolar disorder
- Pendulum.org- A national nonprofit resource for bipolar disorder information, support and education
- Mayo Clinic Bipolar Information- A nationally recognized provider of medical services with a website providing thorough and reputable information about bipolar disorder
- Healthy Place – Bipolar Information- A thorough and informative educational and support website devoted to bipolar disorder
- HelpGuide.com – Bipolar Self-help and Support- A nonprofit organization devoted to providing education, health and support to individuals and families facing mental health issues. Excellent information provided about bipolar disorder
- TeensHealth.org – Bipolar Information- A website devoted to physical and mental health-related issues for teenagers. Excellent information provided about bipolar disorder
- MedLine Plus – Bipolar Disorder- A website with thorough information about bipolar disorder sponsored by the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institute of Health.
- Bipolar Hope- An informational website for the hard copy magazine – Bipolar Hope – a nicely done monthly magazine publication for those with bipolar disorder
- Depressed Teens- An education and advocacy group through the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation
It’s not secret that research is part of our DNA here at FYI. One of the research methods we utilize is the “best practices” approach, where we attempt to identify what’s most effective in the field (in a particular area, like short-term missions) and identify transferrable practices that can be adapted across ministry contexts.
The folks from Luther Seminary completed a youth ministry best-practices study called “Exemplary Youth Ministry” in 2003 that they are beginning to roll out to youth workers, and if you like research you’ll be interested in the reports they’ve made available as well as their blog where various posts help break down and summarize the findings. There are some pretty thoughtful insights there to stir up conversations with your team.
I felt like the proud mama (or proud bigger sister) of the kids (who are now adults) who showed up at the youth group reunion this past weekend for folks involved with the youth ministry in the 80′s and 90′s from San Diego First Assembly of God.
Seriously, I am so proud of them. In the midst of all the focus we give at FYI to kids who struggle in their transition to college, it was great to see kids who had transitioned to college well and who were serving the Lord.
And I mean serving the Lord. So many of them are active in ministry – volunteering, as well as serving part-time and full-time in their churches. And those who have marketplace careers are clearly integrating their faith with their job.
It was a good reminder to me of the importance of encouraging kids to prayerfully consider entering ministry. One youth pastor told me recently, “When I was a high school student, our youth pastor encouraged us to consider full-time ministry all the time. Half of my high school small group is in ministry. As I look at the students I lead, they hardly ever end up in ministry.” I doubt he’s alone in that.
Not that ministry is the end-all, be-all. Not at all. But as we sense God’s leading – let me be more personal: as I sense God’s leading – I’m going to start raising the possibility of ministry with kids who are potentially on that path. Like I posted yesterday, conversations matter and I want to make this more part of my conversations with kids.
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