The State of Youth Ministry From Three Perspectives

The previous three posts are guest posts by three friends and thinkers, and purveyors of youth ministry. I invited them to participate in a forum that would give three different sides to student ministry. One perspective is the current state of youth ministry, and an avid projection for the future. The second perspective is the sometimes tenuous, sometimes awesome relationship churches have with youth ministries. And the third perspective is the impact and effectiveness of youth ministry upon high school graduates and college students.

If you missed these passionate, well-articulated posts, you can find them by clicking the following links:

• The State of Youth Ministry
• The Relationship Between Churches and Youth Ministries
• How Has Youth Ministry Affected College Students

I think all three are well worth your time.

Youth Ministry Looks Back: How Has Youth Ministry Affected College Students?

Logan Light is the Director of Campus Life at Harding University, and a great friend. I asked him to complete this third, and final, guest post this month.

His perception of youth ministry is unique, not because he is a youth minister, but his life is filled with students who have entered college with a wellspring of youth ministry learning, activities, and memories. Most of the students at Harding were members of churches, and, if not involved in the youth ministries of those churches, were certainly affected by their influence.

So I asked him these questions:

• What is your perception on the current state of youth ministry, and how has it affected current college students?
• How has it helped, or hindered, the development of their faith?
• What should youth ministers do to make the transition to college better for students — especially in terms of faith development between the ages of 18 and 20?

Logan has some serious street cred in this area. Logan received his bachelor’s degree in Youth and Family Ministry from Harding University. After college, Logan took a position as the Assistant Director of Admissions where he was able to work with hundreds of youth ministers, students, and congregations, across the country. He loves listening to, writing, and performing spoken word (hip hop) and was most recently featured during 2011′s UPLIFT. In addition, Logan takes every chance to deliver God’s message of hope and purpose to the adolescent culture. He will be traveling to speak at the Alaskan Youth Forum in Anchorage this March. Logan is married to his wife of eight years, Beth. They have one son (Ellis) and a dog (Kai Ya).

Here is what he wrote:

Right from the start, let me say that I have a passion for ministering to those in adolescence. I studied Youth and Family Ministry in college, took that education and coupled it with my passion, and found myself working in the machine that is higher education… and have felt more fulfillment, in regard to the calling to ministry, than I ever thought I would working outside of a congregational setting. I have been amazed at God’s providence in this matter. It has given me a unique look – a snapshot if you will – into the lives of hundreds of families, youth groups, and youth ministries. My observations on the current state of youth ministry, the faith development of teenagers, and their transition to college, comes from that experience and prospective.

Since it was introduced as a full-time job, youth ministers have always found themselves in a peculiar situation. Seldom are viewed as highly educated as a pulpit minister, stereotypically they are seen as less mature, what life experiences they do have are viewed in a bubble – ready to be criticized and/or rationalized… and yet they are trusted with the development of the entire congregation’s youth, ages 12-18. To hold a youth ministry position one should be engaging and fun, have a basic education on textual studies, be creative, and usually capable of some sort of facial hair (kidding… kind of). The position has certainly evolved over the years – as evidenced by the increased interest in Biblical studies and ministry at the collegiate level – but other than the bold few who readily redefine their role in showing Christ to teenagers, changes in youth ministry are at the whim of the ebb and flow of cultural shifts. This creates an odd relationship: The people in need of the ministry are determining how they are ministered to. From my prospective, this dynamic has not changed. In fact, it may have swelled to give students control of the message of the gospel.

The current adolescent generation as a whole is drawn to humanitarian efforts. They want to make a difference for those less fortunate than they are. They overwhelmingly want change from how they have seen traditions play out in the lives of their parent’s generation. These ideals (by no means exhaustive) have driven them to seek a message of faith that will align with those principles. That drive is currently stronger than I have ever seen it. A seemingly fertile ground for the gospel… though the gospel is just as exclusive as it is inclusive and students have a hard time with the former. They want to help, make a difference on a global scale, and exchange the traditional for a more authentic and transparent life, all while not making anyone, or their subsequent beliefs, feel left out. They have a hard time boldly proclaiming their belief in Christ as the only way to the Father. That belief excludes people. It excludes good people who are being led by the same moral compass right alongside them.

These are the students who are determining how they are ministered to and I believe the current state of youth ministry to reflect just that; an emphasis on service, global outreach, authentic and transparent worship experiences, and the inclusion of all people. As expected, I have seen youth ministers from all over the country make the same adaptations: more mission trips (both locally and outside the country), studies on the first century Church (bred from the need to break away from tradition for tradition’s sake) which lead to more powerful and impressionable small group settings, classes morphing from a formal (read: Traditional) teaching of the scriptures to discussing social issues and the Biblical application of their findings, ministers themselves are profoundly more open with their own faith struggles, even as it leads their students to ask questions they have not yet thought to ask. Again, all of these changes have been lead by the students (those being ministered to) in an effort to marry their moral compass and their faith.

As a university admissions recruiter, I see these changes manifest daily. Our students are highly engaged in service, global awareness, and authenticity. They hunger for an education that directs those interests. I recently asked a student about their general education Art Appreciation class. Their response was not surprising.

“Rembrandt just isn’t relative to me. If by remembering this class I could feed children in Africa, I’d be on board, you know? I just don’t think the style of architecture on an old church building qualifies as global awareness.”

If our professors are hoping to connect with their students in a meaningful way, they have to bridge the gap from their subject matter to their student’s interests – this has always been the case. If not, students disengage and choose to listen to the voice speaking their language. Why should they force interest in a subject that cannot directly apply to their lives (or perhaps better worded as, their lives as they currently understand them)? It is here that the parallel of the college professor and the youth minister is found. This generation of students decided, while in high school and a part of a youth group, that they have no real need to invest in something if it does not instantaneously meet them where they are. Why would they? Everyone has geared information for them. Yes, even their youth ministers changed (or channeled) their programs to better connect their message.

I know that I have probably popped the top on a can of worms and as my suggested word count is approaching rapidly, I realize that I will not be able to put that lid back on. What I will do is offer these conclusion(ish) bullet points:

• The current state of youth ministry is not a wreck. I do not believe it to be in shambles or lost in the swells of the adolescent culture. I believe that what ministers are doing to reach their students, and maybe more importantly, what they are doing to empower their students, is wonderful. I wish my youth group was led by someone willing to meet me where my passions lead me. If anything, currently youth ministry is a fertile field ready for harvest. There are leaders who have positioned themselves correctly (and humbly) – I have seen them at work. It’s beautiful.
• College students are affected greatly by the youth ministries they graduate from. To better help a student’s faith develop, youth ministers need to be in tune with the culture surrounding them and consistent in their communication of their faith. Students need to connect their yearning for help and change, to Christ’s message. In a time where they will engage in faith conversations that may leave them feeling uncomfortable, they need confidence in their salvation through Christ.
• Youth ministers cannot build belief for their students. Honestly, I am not sure that they can even pour the foundation for them. What they can do is show the redemptive qualities that Christ brings to cultural interests and then live as a blueprint. They can teach students to examine what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy and teach them to consider those things. They can show them how to build their faith by example.

Finally, my solution (or lack thereof) is more reminder and less revolution. I wrote this essay and found it to be reflective and self examining (thanks, Kyle). I know I hold no answers that you have not probably heard from someone more qualified. I wish I was able to write out the perfect equation for the faith building of teenagers especially in regard to their transition to college, I am not. Someone once said that, “Perfect is a process.” I like that a lot. I may not be sure about an answer to the current climate of youth ministry, but I am sure on this: You do not need to be perfect, God covers that. Pursue Him and let his glory be made known in your insufficiency. Our ministries will be successful when we choose to be transformed through the refreshing of our minds and are humbly able to test and approve God’s perfect and pleasing will.

That’s what I see from my prospective.

__________

You find Logan online here. And check out the previous two guest posts here and here, on the state of youth ministry, and the relationship between churches and youth ministries.

The Relationship Between Church and Youth Ministry

I invited another friend to engage in this conversation, and be a guest contributor by commenting on the relationship between youth ministry and the corporate church. Knowing that he had been mired in a very difficult situation with a church, as their youth minister, I believed he had a great perspective on what could make the relationship between youth ministry and the corporate church better. What I envisioned for this guest post, and what was written, were drastically different. Here are the questions I asked him to contemplate:

• What is your perception of the current relationship between youth ministry and the “corporate church?”
• You’ve worked with a few different churches — what would make this relationship better?
• What makes this relationship suffer?
• What should youth ministers to do to make this relationship better.

His submission was an answer born from a few years of crisis and frustration. Even now, in his current church, he is still in a situation that he feels is crippling his youth ministry. He asked me to not add his name to this post, in a bit of fear that his current church would uncover these thoughts and take some unseemly measures.

If you serve in any full-time ministry capacity, you will find familiar fear as you read this post. It is, after all, not a far stretch to see a very talented young man, early in his time as a minister, in a state of crisis with a church he served. You will see the musings of a guy who wonders, maybe still, why he made this career choice, after suffering through instances that were very hurtful and painful. Even now, he has begun his own  non-profit organization, in hopes that one day it will become a full-time opportunity to support his family.

He has, though, been a youth minister since 2003, and graduated Cum Laude from a very highly acclaimed Christian university.  He holds BA’s in psychology and ministry and is a lifetime member of Psi Chi, the National Honors Society for Psychology. His professional ministry work has taken him from Arkansas to Texas and Tennessee.  He has taught multiple classes at student events, and even directed a few.  While he now says he is blessed to work in a quite healthy environment, it has not always been that way.  In his own words, he “counts himself as blessed to have seen and survived some of the ugliest that church work has to offer, seeing it as an opportunity to share his experiences and help others lead more effective lives of service for the sake of the name of Jesus Christ.”

After some consideration, I decided to include his post, without his name, per his request. You may agree, or disagree, with the post, but you won’t be able to deny the intensity.

Youth Ministers are the “bomb.com” to pretty much any churchgoer under the age of 20 or so.  Unfortunately, for most churches, that leaves a good 90%, to whom, YM’s are weird, a little too excited, of questionable necessity, and worst of all, still getting ready for the big leagues (a.k.a, preaching).

I’ve worked in youth ministry in some form/capacity for a little more than 12 years, nine of which as “the Youth Minister” and the last seven as the same in a full-time position.  I’ve had relationships with many churches in various ways and I’ve loved all of it, but when Kyle asked me for a guest post about how to improve the relationship between the “corporate church” and youth ministers… Well, I was honored that he thought of me, but as I’m writing I’m still not sure this post will see the light of your computer screen.  He may burn his computer to rid it of evil spirits.  I told him I would only agree if he could promise anonymity because what I have to say will likely get you pretty fired up and I don’t want you to hunt me down and give me 40 lashes minus one.  (excuse me while I wipe the sweat from my hands…)

What you are about to read is something no college Bible professor will probably ever utter from his (or her) lips.  If you are reading this in your dorm room before cramming for a Life of Christ final, it may crush you, but please consider the fact that for you it’s not too late… Ready? Ok, here it is…

If you want you and your family to have the best possible relationship with the church where you do your work, never let them pay you one dime.  Never hold “Youth Minister” as a professional title.  Earn your money somewhere else and do all of your ministry simply as a volunteer.  By all means,  pour as much of yourself into it as possible, but don’t let your financial security rest on the security of your job as a minister.

Over the years, I’ve found that there are really just a select few churches who know how to really utilize, empower, and care for a youth minister.  Most places will ultimately leave you huddled in a corner behind the desk in your office, crying and in a fetal position… Not that I’ve ever done that.  Every day will be a fight, every little idea will be questioned, you will Google things like “ulcer symptoms,” and eventually you will wake up one Sunday morning and realize that you don’t want to go to worship.

Why does all of this happen? Money changes everything. Yeah, I know…

“Church work is different! I’m not in it for the money…besides, it’s just not like that!”

I don’t care.  I used to think all of the same things.  No more.  Let me break it down.

1. It’s pretty obvious you aren’t in it for the money.  Most youth ministers work stupid hours, get calls in the middle of the night because he said she said, and take home a paycheck that makes public school teachers contort their faces. None of this means that money doesn’t matter.  When you have a house payment, a kid to feed, a car you bought for $1, and you enjoy using electricity money does matter.
2. Once the new wears off and you settle in someplace people will decide that you aren’t really the best thing since sliced bread.  You will get complaints (anonymous, of course) about things that seem so simple and ridiculous it will destroy all hope you have for mankind.  No matter what is done, you will always be asked for more and you will never make everyone happy.  You will set up permanent residence between a rock and a hard place.
3. Of all the things you would like to do, you will eventually believe only about 5% is possible. This is because when you realize the delicate balance that must be maintained to conduct smooth business… I mean, ministry… You’ll find yourself describing ideas as “too risky.” Even when you still have your income, it WILL affect your whole family when it comes from a clinched fist and gritting teeth.You may think I’m crazy.  You likely believe I’m just a cynical, run down, wannabe who’s been called out and chose to blame others.

Actually, if your goal now is to become a YM I’d nearly bet my last dollar that you do, but when you remove reliance on income, all the above changes.

You will take the risks, you will feel much more fulfilled, you will never have to worry about whether the people at church believe your friendship is genuine.  When you get exhausted, you can take a break. The worst that will ever happen to you as a volunteer (unless you break some kind of law) is you’ll say I’m sorry and laugh five minutes later.

You will get to emphasize the projects you are passionate about and leave the other stuff alone. You will be blamed for almost nothing. Everything you do will be declared “awesome.” You will feel a zillion percent more appreciated in your work.  Everything you work on will feel 10x more exciting. You will be totally unafraid of making strategic mistakes and learning from them.

You will never get fired.

Maybe best of all, you will be about 99% less likely to ever say the phrase “Church people have hurt me and my family more than anyone else.”

If your pulse and blood pressure are noticeably elevated right now, please go get a drink of water… Good… Now take some time to really think about what I’ve said. Talk it over with someone you trust. If you find that completely unsatisfying, contact Kyle and we can see about some direct contact. In the end, just go make yourself useful to someone else today.

__________

While you’re here, read the previous guest post on the state of youth ministry here. And tomorrow, my third and final entry, from a guest contributor who is a director of spiritual formation at a Christian university. He has some great perspective on the value of youth ministers to students now in college.

The State of Youth Ministry

In December, I asked Jacob Henry, a friend of mine and a serious thinker, to contribute a guest post about what he perceives to be the future of youth ministry. Here are the questions I asked him to contemplate:

• What is the current state of youth ministry?
• What is in store for the future of youth ministry?
• Does youth ministry need to adapt? Or does it need to go away?
• What is necessary for the evolution of youth ministers?

Big questions, for sure.

Jacob grew up in the church which is where he caught the ministry bug. He attended Harding University where he graduated with a Youth and Family Ministry degree. He is married to his lovely bride Janet and has been serving full-time as a Youth Minister in the local church for the past 3 years. He is also currently the Director of Soullift, a student conference, and working on his Master’s in Counseling.

Here is his response:

As we begin a new year, it is a time to reflect on where we have been, where we are and where we are going. Each year we evaluate our lives and we resolve to do better than in the past. As the Church, though, we rarely put our programs and ministries through this litmus test. We are scared to evaluate what we are doing because we could be doing it wrong and we can’t comprehend a leader in the Church not being perfect (I hope the HEAVY sarcasm came through in that last sentence).

So we don’t ask questions or suggest new ideas and directions, because we can hear the replies before they’re spoken: “That’s the way we’ve always done it,” “It’s easier to do it this way,” and “These young guys. [Chuckle] They have a lot to learn about how Church works.”

One area we don’t evaluate enough is Youth Ministry, mainly because in most eyes there can’t be a wrong way to do it. All one needs to do to have an effective Youth Ministry is to contain and entertain students for 6-7 years. No one (in my experience) would actually say this but actions speak volumes on individual’s attitude toward Youth Ministry.

Where We Been

Youth ministry came onto the scene a little late as the church discovered the evolution of this new life stage deemed adolescence. It was Granville Stanley Hall who popularized this new life phase and described it as a time of “storm and stress.” In response to this new life phase between childhood and adulthood, we created a new ministry to deal with this problem and termed it “Youth Ministry.” And it helped. We wanted to create activities for this age group to attend and pass time until they could accept the mantel of adulthood. So we created pizza parties, poolside devotionals, lock-ins (I want to find that guy!!!), crazy object lessons, and by default a Christian teenage dating service.

Where We Are

But now it’s not working. The free food and the messy games aren’t making the lasting impact we are hoping for. We have all heard the depressing (sometimes exaggerated) statistics of the number of students leaving the Church upon graduation, and contrary to popular belief they are not coming back when they have children. They are leaving period.

We have tried to come up with explanations for this phenomenon so we can get busy “fixing” the problem. You’ve heard the saying, “What you win them with is what you win them to.” So we postulate that all these separate youth events and services we hold for our students are the culprits.  We conclude we have won teenagers to games, goofiness and high-energy emotive worship. Therefore, when they graduate to the adult service they don’t know how to act or relate to adults and fit in with the Church. This is a logical conclusion and has statistics to support it. And it’s a conclusion we can do something about as an organization.  In reality it’s just a symptom of a bigger problem.

In actuality we have won students to transformation and authenticity only then they graduate and encounter a church that is neither authentic nor transformed. They encounter a church that doesn’t put God first, but puts themselves first in their lives and God is an after thought. They see safe Christianity (what an oxyMORON) that costs its followers nothing and does not seek the lost in an authentic, caring way.

Our students leave because they come to the realization they have experienced the ultimate bait and switch. They were won by Jesus and Spirituality but given Religion. So we haven’t failed them as a Ministry or Minister, but as a Church family and Christians.

Where We’re Going

So where do we go from here? How do we move forward?

We must kill the old form of Youth Ministry. It is time for parents to disciple their children. As Reggie Joiner has promoted through his Orange philosophy, we as a church should partner with parents to help increase THEIR influence.  Deuteronomy 6:4-9 says:

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

What about individuals whose families aren’t going to disciple them? I agree this is a valid question because there will always be students that need a Christian adult to speak love and support into their life. There will always be students who get no spiritual guidance from home.  In fact, there will be students who get ridiculed because they are seeking God. Therefore, we cannot neglect this increasing populace.

But in 2012 what does that look like? In a profession that has been riddled with sexual abuse charges, how can we be involved with students at level to facilitate transformation? I think the answer is WE can’t. Our STUDENTS can. It is time for us to quit playing messiah and take on the role of guide and teacher. We need to stop SAYING our students are the Church of today and let them BE the Church of today. We should help students to reach their friends with the gospel so when they make pass into adulthood; they already know how to be evangelistic.

Both these changes are mute, however, if we don’t solve the bigger problem. We MUST let GOD change US! We must be open about our failings and the grace our great God has given us. We must live as the teachings of Jesus and Bible call us. In other words we as individuals and the Church must end our idolatry with religion. Let us in this new year resolve for our lives to reflect the life of our Savior.

Find Jacob Henry at jacobhenry.org.

Turning Forgiveness Into an Icon

Repetition matters.

I read this today, from Rob Walker, about the enduring power of the iconic symbol of Nike. Here’s a snipped of the post.

Earlier this year, someone asked me for my “take” on Nike’s logo, and its “enduring power.” That sounded a little over the top to me at the time, and I didn’t know what to say. But upon reflection I actually agree with the question’s premise: The “swoosh” turned 40 in 2011, and it does have enduring power. In fact it’s one of those rare logos that can serve as a sort of metalogo, signifying branding in general, for better and for worse.

Is the Swoosh, then, the ultimate example of why graphic design matters — a symbol so cunningly crafted that its aesthetics lodge themselves in every brain at a mere glance? I think this is what my inquisitor wanted me to say. … But really I think that the graphic virtues of the swoosh can be disposed of in a few sentences. It’s simple. It’s an unusual shape, but only slightly so: With the look of a fleet-yet-muscular checkmark, it suggests motion and achievement in a way that borders on being too obvious. “I don’t love it,” Phil Knight famously responded when it was first presented to him, “but maybe it will grow on me.”

It not only grew on Knight, it grew all over the culture — like kudzu with a profit motive. And this, in fact, is the more compelling reason for this particular logo’s “enduring power”: repetition. You can say all you like about the graphic properties of this commercial symbol or any other, but logos are a distinct category of visual, partly because of their specific relationship with repetition.

An art image like the Mona Lisa or Warhol’s Tomato Soup Can may be repeated endlessly because it is iconic in the way that a landmark (the Grand Canyon; the Eiffel Tower; Angkor Wat) is iconic: everyone wants to see it. The Swoosh, on the other hand, is an example of a commercial image that it is iconic because it has been repeated endlessly — because everyone has seen it, whether we wanted to or not. Surely repetition matters to any logo’s success, but few commercial entities have proven quite so effective in propagating a single graphic mark as Nike.

The Nike swoosh is iconic because it is repetitive. That is an interesting concept.

The post instantly reminded me of Jesus’ view of forgiveness in Matthew 18. He makes this curious statement about forgiving someone “seventy times seven.” This statement comes on the heels of a suggestion by Peter, that forgiveness could be extended seven times. Peter doesn’t use a random number, here. He is actually offering a valid, and good, suggestion.

There were some interesting Jewish cultural practices that allowed forgiveness in a limited quantity for sins that were planned and executed. In other words, if someone knew their actions were sinful, and they did it three times, you forgave them three times. But by the fourth time, forgiveness is no longer an option. That individual did not seem to change their behavior. There was no repentent heart.

So Peter seems to be extending that cultural teaching.

But Jesus does a couple of interesting things here.

First, with his challenge to forgive “seventy times seven,” he not only overwhelms this Jewish teaching (and Peter’s suggestion), he also overwhelms a Jewish teaching of vengeance being offered “seventy times seven.” (Read Genesis 4.) He is serious about this. Extremely serious. He makes forgiveness an act of repetition.

By making this statement, Jesus turns forgiveness into an icon. He gives it an enduring power found in its repetition. It should become as common to us as air. It is the Nike swoosh of our faith. It does not fail. It does not slumber. It keeps coming.

And the power it has is the power of regeneration in our own life. It frees us from the want of vengeance.

But the other very cool thing is that Jesus tells a parable about a servant who owes an inexplicable debt to a king. The king forgives this debt, yet the servant does not forgive those who owe him money.

The power of the story, though, lies in its imagery.

Jesus uses a monetary amount in this parable, and he does for a reason. He remarks that the servant owes the king ten thousand talents.

The number 10,000 is the largest single number the Greek language could express. And the talent is the single largest amount of money in his culture. In other words, the man owed the king more money than anyone could even imagine. Modern footnotes in modern bibles even get this wrong. It is true that the amount owed, in current dollars, is in the millions, maybe even billions. But that misses the point.

It is an overwhelming amount of money. The region of Galilee, like all outlying regions, paid annual tributes to the Roman Empire. Historical records tell us that in one year, the region of Galilee owed, and paid the Roman Empire 200 talents.

So Jesus, in this parable, is actually saying that this petty servant owed this king more money that could even be found in the entire region of Galilee.

If Jesus were to tell us this parable, it would probably start like this: “One man owed the government, by himself, $4 trillion …” Even when we are hurt more than anyone could ever imagine, forgiveness should be offered.

Jesus operated in a world that constantly required him to forgive every. single. person. He understood the power of repetitive forgiveness. Knowing that we could never understand that once-and-for-all forgiveness, he instead offered a challenge.

Keep forgiving.

There is an enduring power in repetition. Make forgiveness your enduring brand. Turn it into an icon.

__________

Very grateful for Craig Keener’s book A Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew.