Mission vs. Extraction

One struggle I have as a youth minister is understanding, and helping my student's parent's understand the difference between living in the world and being of the world. H. Richard Riebuhr wrote a great essay on the 5 positions of Christ and culture. But to boil it down, I would say their are just two.

1) Extraction "Help! The culture is coming! Run and Hide!"
Here are some results of extracting oneself from culture:

• Circling the wagons, removing oneself from the institutions of culture, such as schools and community organizations
• An inability to communicate with those who exist within mainstream culture
• Crappy knock of "christian art." Here's an example: "Does your child enjoy the evil twisted Satan music of Metallica that will send them straight to hell? Try this instead: It's called 'Jesus goes Metal.' It sounds like Metallica, only with sub-par musicians writing uninspired parodies of Master of Puppets, using only scripture and right-wing political metaphors."

2) Mission "As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'" Paul at Mars Hill, Acts 17

When a missionary goes into a country, their first assignment is NOT to convert people, it's to learn the language. In order to demonstrate the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, it is necessary to express it within the local language and culture. Paul demonstrated this by quoting a PAGAN POET to explain God to the Athenians.

God has not called us to remove ourselves from culture to be like him. Think of how Jesus did it: He became a first-century Jew! We could not know who God was unless he had become a missionary!

God doesn't want you to run away from your world. He has put you there so you can do the same thing he did- become a part of your culture so you can save your culture. As long as we circle the wagons, abandon our community, hold up in our churches and WE WILL NEVER BE THE PEOPLE GOD HAS CALLED US TO BE.

In the future, we'll talk about practical ways to be a missionary.

This is the reason I got into to this biz in the first place.

Today I went to the funeral of a teenage kid I didn't even know. I ended up spending the next seven hours there.

This 17 year old, from all accounts was a true joy, and seemed to be everyone's best friend. The local baptist church was packed to the gills with greiving teenagers. Even as an outsider it was difficult.

I took one of my high schoolers and her father out to lunch, and then went to the house of the parents. There were over 100 kids there. Abandoned by their parents in their time of need. Hugging, wailing, laughing, eating. Everyone was sad for their loss, but happy to be with their friends.

As the day went on, I started to get to know the kids. The wake was in a nearby trailer park, where many of the kids live. They weren't the straight-A crowd. Every one of them was a skater and a smoker. Some jumped a fence when a police car drove by. Many attended the local alternative school. Many of them were drop outs, living at home with no job or plans to return to school.

Not really knowing the kids, or what to do at a funeral. I did the only thing I could think of. I bought a bunch of Mountain Dew, grabbed a few dozen Journey water bottles and spent the rest of the day making new friends. I used a line I learned from Don McLaughlin back in Atlanta was to ask someone to share their favorite memory of the deceased. Each person giggled, and told me some story of how their friend had brightened a sad day.

I had trouble pulling myself away once I met these kids, and after a few hours, it occurred to me why. A few summers ago I worked with a street outreach called Dry Bones. I've never really been the same since. In many ways, these were the same kids: on the verge of the homeless life themselves. These kids were messed up. Oversexed, addicted, covered with cuts. They weren't the nice and clean suburban church kids. They were gutterpunks.

I never wanted to be a "minister" or a "pastor." I got into this business for one reason, and one reason only: to be the voice of God in a dark and lonely place, to go to those furthest from Him, even if all they were ready to take was a watter bottle.

It's been a long day. The hardest I've had since I got to Journey. But for the first time, in a very long time I feel like I spent an entire day on mission.

Those kids are the reason I got into this business.

Another good reason to take a day off.

They Sound More Like Zombies than Sleepwalkers...

What are You doing This Week?

Things I’m Doing this Week
· Preparing a seminar for parents on Youth Culture
· Meeting with a 14 year old and her father whose boyfriend was killed this past week
· Writing a paper on involving parents and adults in youth ministry
· Working out
· Cooking
· Teaching the high school kids about Jesus’ resurrection, or what N.T. Wright, Bishop of Durham calls “inaugural eschatology”
· Carving a pumpkin
· Handing out Journey Fellowship glowsticks to trick-or-treaters

Things I’d Like to Do this Week
· Read a book for fun
· Wake up early everyday
· Read my Bible and pray, first thing in the morning, every day
· Take a day off
· See the new Wes Anderson movie “The Darjeeling Limited”
· Have a good conversation with a pretty girl that loves Jesus
· Think of ways to apply Dallas Willard’s “Renovation of the Heart” to my life
· Eat healthy food
· Go swing dancing
· Go to Trivia Night
· Make a new friend
· Tell someone about Jesus
· Spend some time outdoors
· Catch up with an old friend
· Trim down the amount of times I check Facebook
· Watch The Office
· Blog and journal everyday
· Save money
· Pay my bills on time
· Something cool I haven’t thought of yet

So, what of these things are you going to help me with?

Lincoln

So when I told a guy I was reading a Lincoln biography, he looked at me, very seriously, and said "Abraham Lincoln is not overrated."

Team of Rivals is a fascinating study in politics and human nature. It tells the story of a man who's heart was only rivaled by his courage and understanding of people. Lincoln was able to bring together the very men who tried to beat him out of the Republican nomination into his presidential cabinet. Each man was as a prodigy and egotist of their own rights. Yet Lincoln positioned them in ways that fueled his incredibly dangerous pursuit of a free and whole United States.

I've learned a lot of things from this study of Lincoln's leadership. Here's a few:

• A leader will likely struggle with depression. Considering the load on their back, this is only natural.
• Everyone has their uses. Even those who want to destroy you can actually forward your cause.
• Tell lots of stories. Nice people will identify with you. Mean people will underestimation of you. Both of them are wrong.
• Give someone the benefit of the doubt. Once they've screwed up, give them another chance. Defend their honor, even when they don't act honorably.
• Always make it clear that you rely on the talents of others.
• Take the biggest chances you can. Everything else will fall in line.

All you can do...

All you can do is put yourself out there.

This is a reality that I am, slowly but surely, becoming comfortable with.

The first time this really messed me up was when I did a Youth Ministry internship in the summer of 2001. I spent ten weeks pouring out my soul for about 40 kids. I'd like to think there were a few of them I made a difference in. I tried to tell myself that this was a seed planting ministry. The best I could hope for was putting myself out there, offering my friendship and the opportunity to hear what I think. It was up to them to do anything with it.

Since then I've put myself out there a lot. I've started up ministries from scratch and I've pursued leadership positions. I've made friends with a few complete strangers and I've been blown off by a whole lot more. I've done the best I could to teach people what I think it looks like to do what Jesus said. I've tried to be friends with people I like and people I dislike. I've asked girls out, some that seemed to like me, and even a few that seemed out of my league.

Many of these things have been rewarded. I feel like I truly made an impact on Harding in my short time there. I know I affected the lives of a few people in Atlanta. There are also a lot of other times I put myself out there and haven't seen any measurable result. I've gotten a lot more rejections that I have victories.

Slowly, this is becoming more and more comfortable. I am beginning to find myself a lot less afraid of rejection than I am afraid of wasted opportunities. It's the person I didn't talk tell about Jesus, the new friendship I didn't pursue, the girl that got away, or the risks I didn't take that hurt.

So, I take a deep breathe and do the only thing I can do: Put myself out there.

Air let out...

I feel like I got some air let out of my sails today. While disappointing, I also feel like I'm back to dealing with the real world again. You know, the place where life is hard and everyday relationships always take more work than they feel like they should.

While not nearly as fun as things seemed in my "adhd" post, it's familiar.

I call this "home."

Thoughts from the weekend

Emergence 2007

It was really great to be a part of this conference. Although fascinated by things that are coming out of those who over the last 5-10 years have labeled themselves "Emergent" I hesitate to call myself one of them. That being said, it was great to join the conference.

Probably my main takeaway from the whole time was the concept rethinking fundamental things about the Christian faith. For instance, it was decided in the 3rd century that the nature of God is trinitarian. However, there are a number of other things that the universal church has never agreed on. What exactly is the gospel? How does Jesus' message of Kingdom shape the gospel? What is the role of scripture? What exactly has Jesus provided atonement for, and how does that affect who we are as his body?

My favorite quote from this weekend: "Asking if the Bible is inerrant is like asking if you don't hate your wife. The question isn't 'is the Bible inerrant.' the question is 'is the Bible TRUE."

Soul Camp

I'll never really get used to "Single's Ministry." However, in a culture that produces churches that cluster together by affinity, and, more importantly, a culture that has delayed adulthood until one's late 20s, it seems important and inevitable. Afterall, where I am I going to find Christ-followers who can hang out with me, not talk about marriage all the time, and not leave early to put the kids to bed.

I'm glad I went. My ministry surrounds me with people either ten years younger or older than me, and I have to go out of my way to spend time with peers. It was good to be somewhere, without having to be "the minister," and just enjoy the scenery and fellowship.

I do have to say that I fear that too much of what is being called "Single's Ministry" is the classic and quantitatively ineffectual Youth Ministry being applied to older kids. Sure, culture says you're not an adult until you're at least 26, but should the church treat you like it did when you were 16? I wish that Single's Ministry wasn't focused on getting us together to have a good time, but focused on putting these people with time and money to spare to work for the kingdom of God.

Big Weekend

Big weekend. Heading off the Emergence conference. Scot McKnight, Dan Kimball and friends will be speaking, which I am totally pumped about. From there I’ll head to Soul Camp, an “adventure retreat” put on by our Single’s Ministry. I won’t lie and say that I’m super pumped about the retreat. But it’s mainly just the chance to hang out with people within ten years of my own age. Which I don’t do enough of. The conference on the other hand should be good. McKnight is a professor in Chicago. He is one of the voices of the Emergent conversation that also seems to be listened to by mainstream evangelicalism. Dan Kimball is pastor of Vintage Faith in California. He’s doing a great job of leading one of the 1% of American churches that are actually reaching people.

I have always had this bad habit of biting off more than I can chew, which may be what I did this weekend, but it should be fun.

HP7

So, I just spent the last 3 hours finishing Harry Potter.
No further comment at this time, I need to digest it for awhile.

Toooooo Much Energy!

Today is one of my adHd days.

I'm not sure what it is that is filling me with a desire to run sprints and make up funny dances infront of the mirror. If I had to guess, I would say it is a confluence of things

• a much needed day off (after what feels like a month without one)
• Finally reading HP7
• Continued growth and development of the Journey youth ministry
• Being tasked with launching a third service aimed at reaching a new demographic
• A job related issue that was finally resolved
• Zoloft
• A full night sleep (albeit, starting at 2am because I was just as hyper last night.)
• This weekend's special activities
• Having finally met a few people (okay, mainly girls) who both love Jesus and have ambition

This is the end result. More than my normal ADHD days, I'm bursting at the seams with energy. Although this is undoubtedly kind of fun, it's nearly impossible to sit still enough to post this. I stared at my Bible for an hour this morning and I'm not sure I read a thing. I turned my audio Bible on. I think it was Micah, but I can't be sure.

ADHD is always a rollercoaster ride. Basic things like concentration and sleep are often allusive. I'm filled to the brim with ideas and nowhere to put them. I want to run a marathon, make a movie, talk theology, go dancing, draw pictures, chat with friend and perform a monologue all at the same time. Instead, you end up with bills not paid and a dirty kitchen.