Youth Leaders University

Wow.  Great, free resource for youth workers.  Top-notch video training, all for free.  Check it out.

"At-Risk"

I am heading with a small but mighty team of teenagers and one more adult leader to the Southeast White House in Washington, D.C. for a missions/service trip this week. We will be working with the Little Lights camp.

This article has a good take on what it means to be "at-risk." Good food for thought, especially for those of us (self included) whose primary youth ministry practice has been in a suburban or non-city context.

Youth Worker Leadership Style

This is a neat assessment from LeaderTreks. I just took the 40-question assessment, but haven't yet received the results. It looks like it will be very helpful in understanding my ministry and leadership style. It is meant for anyone in youth ministry, whether paid staff or volunteer, or even a parent of a teenager. Everything I've seen from LeaderTreks is good. Click here to take the assessment, and then they email you in a couple of days with the results.

Fiction and Silence

I just read a great post on Building Church Leaders' blog about the importance of church leaders reading fiction, and not just the the regular ministry and leadership training fare we might otherwise read.

One of the books the post recommends is Silence by Shusaku Endo, a Japanese Catholic author. In face, I just finished that book last week. It was absolutely gripping. I couldn't put it down (which is a rare reaction for me to have to novels... and a historical novel, no less).

Endo follows a Catholic Portuguese priest in 17th Century Japan as he seeks out his former mentor who, it is reported, has renounced his faith. The book is a very personal treatment of the question of God's silence, suffering, and the evil of humanity.

It's a must-read, especially for Christians who are afraid they may be too comfortable.

Any fiction you've read recently and been impressed with or affected by?

Youth Culture, part 4 of 4: Language

My last three posts have taken a brief look at youth culture. I've mentioned that I see 4 major elements of identity formation when it comes to what constitutes any given culture, all of which apply to youth: (1) Artifacts, (2) Behaviors, (3) Ideas, and now (4) Language.

By the way, if I haven't mentioned it already, I'm indebted to The Rev. Whis Hays for a lot what inspired this material, and particularly the way of categorizing and framing it.

This post, the last in the series, is about the language youth use. As with the other elements of youth culture, there are as many teenage languages as there are teenagers in the world, but there are at least some commonalities here. And because others have done some great work and research on this, this post is link-heavy. Check 'em out!

*The Source 4 Youth Ministry has a great page on teen lingo.

*Media tends to dictate (or at least influence) a lot of what teenagers (and the rest of us) are saying--The Center for Parent and Youth Understanding has a great page here on media.

*The online community (Facebook, Myspace, Instant Messenger) and "online-speak" has really filtered into everyday language. For example, I've heard students (and myself!) jokingly say out loud what was once intended to be an online abbreviation, but it's caught on. Examples: LOL! (Laughing out loud), omg! (Oh my gosh/God!)

*Schools also tend to be a breeding ground for language and its variations. Teens pick up a lot of how they talk from their friends on a day-to-day basis.

*The best way (in my humble opinion) you can find out what language youth speak? You guessed it, befriend and ask a youth! Not rocket science when you look at it that way. Or, if you're really brave, pull up a book and a notebook and pen and cup of coffee at your favorite local coffeeshop, wait for some teenagers to show up, and just listen to how they talk. Not that I'm encouraging eavesdropping.... but some coffeeshop-goers talk loud enough that you can't help but hear their conversations!

Youth Culture, part 3 of 4: Ideas

My last two posts have taken a look at youth culture. I see 4 major elements of identity formation when it comes to what constitutes any given culture, all of which apply to youth: (1) Artifacts, (2) Behaviors, (3) Ideas, and (4) Language.

This post, the third in the series, discusses some of the ideas youth have--what they believe and think. Of course, there are as many ideas or beliefs as there are teenagers in the world, but there are at least some common categories of concern to consider here, and some common questions that most adolescents share:

*"What are the most important things in my life?"
*"What are my biggest fears?"
*Junior High students often ask and assess: "Do you like me?"
*Senior High students often ask and assess: "Do I like you?"
*Friends, place, whether or not they are loved
*"What is God’s will for my life and my future?"
*Family—getting along with parents, siblings
*Relativism in religion—mixing and matching religion ("Have it your way!")

Regarding the current landscape of religious ideas, author Christian Smith has coined a phrase to express the overriding religious paradigm of teenagers today: Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.

Smith, together with another sociologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, completed an extensive study on contemporary American teenagers and their religious and spiritual lives. Based on phone interviews and face-to-face conversations with thousands of teenagers and their parents, the National Study of Youth and Religion was the largest and most detailed survey of its kind ever undertaken.

The Study reported that 84% of U.S. teens believe in God. (84%!) Only 3% of those surveyed said they did not believe in God. But 60% of U.S. teens believe that “many religions may be true”. American teens believe in God at a high rate, but are very uncertain as to who that God is. In a confusing world with loads of pain, at a time when our young people encounter many changes and challenges, there are a lot of gods that would have the hearts and minds of our young people.

And while the vast majority of teens consider themselves theists, 33% of those surveyed do not believe in a personal God who is involved in the lives of people today.

You can find more details about the study in Smith's book, here.

This current cultural landscape of ideas is one that poses both great challenges and rich opportunities to the youth worker.

Youth Culture, part 2 of 4: Behaviors

In my last post I started taking a look at youth culture. I see 4 elements of identity formation when it comes to what constitutes any given culture, all of which apply to youth: (1) Artifacts, (2) Behaviors, (3) Ideas, and (4) Language. Part 1 of 4 was a more detailed look at some of the artifacts of youth culture.

This post highlights some categories of behavior you might encounter and consider in working with youth. Many of these categories link to a more detailed Web site if you click on them.

Body language and demeanor
Text messaging, IMing, Facebook, etc.
Video games
Playing sports
Roles, responsibilities, and burdens
What do youth do when they're happy?
How do they express sadness?
Whom do they go to in a time of crisis? (Hint: not always to adults)
Stereotype: guys bond by doing; girls bond by talking
Space and territory (the lunch room, the school hallway)
Collective memories and humor
Ritual

Any other behaviors or categories of behavior you have observed in working with teens?

Youth Culture, part 1 of 4: Artifacts

Jesus models incarnational ministry to us... that is to say, he came into our world. Following Jesus' model, we are called to go into our students' world(s), wherever that may be and wherever that may take us. There are lots of ways to do this, but this next series of posts focuses on one way in particular--learning about youth today and their culture.

In asking “Who are youth?” and "What is their culture?" it is helpful to consider 4 elements of identity formation in culture: (1) Artifacts, (2) Behaviors, (3) Ideas, and (4) Language. I'll take each of these in turn, one post at a time, in the coming days:

(1) "Artifacts" are what a future archaeologist would find if she or he were to dig up remains from this time and place. Artifacts are what youth wear, carry, and consume. These are best thought of as the status symbols that define a given culture.

Some examples of youth artifacts today (complete with hyperlinks for you to follow!) are:

Uniforms, Jackets, and Emblems
Clothes and Style (and Accessories)
Cell phones
iPods
How they wear their hair
Messaged T-shirts
Piercings and tattoos
Brands
Starbucks
Beauty and Athletic Ability
Music
Music Videos
Movies
Cars

Any more you can think of?

Article Link--Relational Basics: How to Develop Relationships with Kids

This is a great article by Doug Fields. He talks about what "relational ministry" is, some obstacles to it, and the "how" of it. This applies across volunteer and staff roles to anyone doing youth ministry.

Yes!

Be realistic... start small... do not despise the day of small beginnings.

If reading Scripture daily is a challenge for you, check this out.

I don't totally agree with, "I'm not saying these will ever replace in depth Bible Study, but that is a luxury we just don't always have." Because Bible Study is a discipline to be loved and to value and be proactive about, not a luxury to be enjoyed only as time permits.

But her practical tools are great if you need a jumpstart. I've been doing the audio Bible thing of late, and it's been very helpful for getting me (and my 7-month-old) into Scripture more consistently.