everything old is new again

I'm currently finishing up at the National Youth Ministry Conference on the Gold Coast (I know... suffering for Jesus), so I'll make this pretty brief (more thoughts when I get back to business next week).

As I've blogged previously, I've been doing lots of contemplating about contemplative practices. I've found these have been referred to a number of times up here (which both pleases and encourages me), but what I've heard (assuming it's true - it came from Tony Campolo, so you'd think it would be) today shows me that this is not the first time contemplation has been back in vogue. Apparently a lot of John Wesley's (yeah, that old guy to the left) theology and practice was shaped by these same practices, from reading St John of the Cross, St Ignatius and the like). I know my Dad (who has done a thesis on Wesley) will be pleased I'm looking into this, and I'm sure he'll have lots of resources waiting for me when I return...

I'll be very interested to look into that and see exactly how this man who shaped a movement was shaped by these amazing early Christian thinkers. Stay tuned.

tour guides?

Last week, I had a conversation with my friend Andrew Turner, during which we were discussing spiritual direction. I was saying how I've been more and more taken by the importance of leaders (youth and young adult's leaders in particular) being spiritual leaders - people who assist those they are walking with to listen to the rhythm of God in their life.

Andrew made a profound comment which I intend to think more about. He talked about the difference between a tour guide, who goes with you on your journey, and points out important landmarks/icons that you might miss, as opposed to someone at an information desk, who gives you a brochure, and leaves you to find your own way.

I like the analogy of spiritual direction being along the lines of a tour guide - I am there as someone who has walked the route a bit more than the person I'm "guiding", to make sure nothing important is missed, but not to be one of those irritating tour guides, who never lets you explore anything on your own, or who talks so much that you never get to really experience it for yourself. Clearly, I'm going to have to go on some guided trips to some exotic locations so I can learn more about being a tour guide...

contemplative youth ministry

I've just finished reading "Contemplative Youth Ministry" by Mark Yaconelli (2006: Youth Specialties). It's a brilliant book for those who are struggling with what it means to be involved in youth ministry, or just starting out in youth ministry. While some of the comments in it are more geared towards the North American market, there are some pearls in this book that should make it recommended reading (even if you don't agree with it all, it's worth being challenged by some of Yaconelli's thoughts). Some key points that stood out for me:

"Contemplation means "being" with God within the reality of the present moment. Contemplation is about presence [Yaconelli discusses being "present" with students later]. It's about attentiveness - opening our eyes to God, ourselves, and others." [p 23]

"If love is a gift, then the first step in living into that love is to surrender. We need to stop trying to make kids love God (or make God love our kids) ... Once we admit that we are powerless to turn kids into Christians, we can recognize that ministry is a series of small acts of trust. It's more about yielding to what is already present and available than it is about creating or building." [p 72]

The table on pages 79-80 talking about the difference between anxiety and love displays in a very helpful way the two mentalities we can have about youth ministry (I know which one I'd rather be involved with!)

"The love of God is often more powerful and transformative in these small acts of love [talking about Jesus' acts of kindness] than in the lights, energy, and charisma of large outreach events. What if we became more aware of the small ways in which we engage young people? What if our ministry was about giving rides home, sharing snacks, opening doors, helping carry book bags, and giving compliments when a young person has taken great care in his appearance? ... We become aware, as Jesus suggests, that in these acts of love we're not just carrying a book bag for a young person, we're also making contact with Jesus. We begin to feel more and more that we're participating in God's mission of love, rather than serving some moral ideal." [p 115-116]

"Youth ministry is about holding a young person's deepest identity until he or she is able to see it too" [p 121]

The awareness examen [discovered by Ignaitus of Loyola] is a tool I intend to use with my leaders, my students, but also myself. It "asks you to review a particular encounter ... and prayerfully ask two questions: For what moment am I most grateful? For what moment am I least grateful?" [p 132]

"Our first task as youth ministers is to be with young people just as Jesus was with people" [p 180]

"One of the first ways we can help youth become more aware of their life in God is to point to the moments when Jesus seems near" [p 183]

"The purpose of integrating contemplative presence in youth ministry is not to turn kids into monks, nor is it to make us experts in contemplative prayer; it is to deepen our awareness of God, others, and self so that we might become fully alive ... Engaging kids solely in contemplative exercises is unnatural, because contemplative prayer does not lead to more contemplative prayer - it leads to authentic action" [pp 230-231]

Lots to ponder...

really letting go

We had our youth camp over the weekend, and God did some amazing things in the lives of our students. On Saturday, we had lots of issues - things that distracted us from what God wanted to do, things that were fracturing relationships, causing friction - and yet despite this (or maybe because of this) on Saturday night, God broke through in a powerful way. We had the students write down things they needed to give up to God, and then have them come forward and burn them. There was a sense that our students had often given up lots of things to God, but kept taking them back, so as a symbol of this, we wanted to let them have a way of knowing they'd let go and these things were now gone - unable to be read, picked up, looked at. It was a powerful time of restoration, as the students (many of them amidst great pain) processed what it meant to let these things go, and then did. We offered them the opportunity at the end of that time to come forward and allow the image of the ashes and fire burning to be captured in their minds, to help them this week when they are tempted to take those things back. Many of them took this opportunity (and we took some video footage of the same image), and I think it's going to become a useful tool to keep reminding them of the deep work God did in their lives.

updated picture of acts 2

I had coffee this arvo with an old friend - Matt Hawke - and as we revisted old times, one of the things I reminded him of was the best definition I've ever heard of young adult's ministry... that he wrote. As we talked some more, I realised it's actually a perfect contemporary picture of the acts 2 community I'd love to be a part of...

"I dream of finding a group of young people who share my passion, to which I can belong and in which I can feel safe. I dream of laughing, playing, crying, coffee-ing, movie-ing and worshipping with the group. I dream of finding a smaller set of people, maybe just a few or a couple, with whom I can be totally and plainly honest, open and real. I dream of finding people who love me for me - yes I mean it."

what's important

Today, I had the privilege of sitting down for a couple of hours with one of our youth leaders (what an awesome group they are - I'm so blessed) to talk about some things that he was going through. It reminded me that this is what I live for - everything else is just about creating an opportunity to enter into someone else's life, journey with them for a while, seek God together, and (hopefully) grow and move deeper in our understanding of and love for God. It's so easy to get distracted by all the other things that we who are involved in youth ministry can be distracted by - running programs, organising studies, making creative multimedia, shaping bands to lead worship. There's nothing wrong with any of those things, but if they become the master, we're on a slippery path. They all exist to allow us to spend those magic minutes (or hours) engaging the heart and soul of the people God gives us.