cell phones and youth ministry

A couple weeks back we began a new small group series on Sunday evenings (mentioned in a previous entry).  The main goal of the series is to teach and to share the wider narrative of scripture... within the 66 books of the Bible, we read about the grand-narrative, the wider picture of what God is up to in the world.

To help teach and bring life to many of these familiar stories, we have the students participate in a number of experiences throughout the evening, such as: discussion, art, prayer, silence & reflection, etc.  My reason for writing today is not so much to recommend Michael Novelli's 'Shaped by the Story', but to share the discouraging events that take place just before the lessons begin.

Because the lessons focus on experiencing the stories of scripture, we thought (and so does Novelli in the book) it would be a good idea to have a 'cell phone basket' for the teens to put their little mobile devices in so that they won't be distracted as they 'enter the story.'  So far in two weeks, we have had at least one student 'threaten' to leave, others promise that they would tell their parents about what we were doing,  and several cry and complain as if we were asking them to give up a lung. 

In November we went on a retreat with our students.  Mistakenly, we did not enfore a cell phone rule.  As a result, many of our students were constantly checking facebook, sending texts, and 'connecting' back home... While the teens may have 'retreated' physically, their cell phones ensured they did not have to retreat socially, mentally, and spiritually.

And to me, this is the crux of the issue.  Phones, smart phones in particular, have made it so we no longer have to be mentally present where we are physically present.  Our phones have enabled us to disconnect from our surroundings and reconnect to our social networks, our favorite games, and our friends.  I may possibly be in the presence of hearing the most beautiful rendition of Bethoven's fifth or perhaps I am sitting in a pew where God's Word  is being preached with truth and conviction but my eyes, ears, mind, and heart can very easily be hundreds of miles away thanks to my droid.

Smart phones brag about their ability to 'connect us' but I would argue that as much connecting that is taking place, there is a greater amount of disconnecting that is happening.  Invited to a friends house that you don't care to be at?  No problem at all.  The conversation doesn't particularly interest you?  Easy solution.  Too scared to have the awkward 'break up' conversation in person?  Problem solved.  Disconnecting has never been so easy.

Not only do our phones enable us to disconnect, I would also argue that they foster selfishness, greed, and impatience.  The smart phone is geared to give the owner anything they want in an instant: people, news, sports, facebook, porn, music, you name it... So what happens when we are placed in an environment that does not cater to every aspect of our wants?  We get it with the help of our phones.

"And then Jesus approached the two students, one was sending a tweet pic of their new shirt while the other was updating their status, and said to them, 'I want you to put your phones down and follow me..."

sheep that go astray

I'm working my way through 'The Godbearing Life,' by Kendra Dean and Ron Foster.  The book takes a fresh look at the important role that adults have in being 'Godbearers' to students as oppose to program leaders.

As the authors begin the 3rd chapter, they refer to Jesus' parable about the lost sheep and how every student that enters into our 'flock' is now under our care.  The authors continue on and say that we will be held accountable for every sheep that is lost and never returns.

While I am familiar with this parable, this comparision is frightening to me.  There is a large amount of students who have come through our doors in years past who have since stopped attending and/or lost interest attending our church... Many of them, to my knowledge, did not leave to attend a different church.  While I realize being a minister calls us to love and care for the sheep of our flock, it also seems like an unreal expectation to be personally responsible for every single one.

With many of the teens, though not all (regrettably), there have been follow up calls/messages inviting them back to the church.  However, at the end of the day, they are free to do as they please.

How responsible is the minister?  How responsible is the local church for sheep that have gone astray?  How do you interpret this in light of the parable that Jesus spoke?

awkward conversations

I just had one of those really awkward conversations... You know, one of those conversations that you have to have but there is no part of you that looks forward to having it.  I am not sure if I handled it the best.  Whenever I have the imaginary conversation in the car I am always a lot more confident and articulate... (you know what I am talking about) But then when it really happens, my heart starts beating faster and I am suddenly not as cool and collected as I hoped I would be.  Hey, I never promised that my blog entries would be profound or insightful :-) Enjoy your Thursday.

and tonight's lesson cost $200

So my wife and I just started a new small group series this past Sunday night with our teens.  The series looks at major themes throughout scripture and explores them through discussion, reflection, art, etc.  Last night we began with the theme of 'creation'... makes sense.  It is quite obvious that the author(s) of this lesson series put an extensive amount of time, thought, and energy into putting this lesson series together.  Another thing that is quite obvious?  He comes from a youth ministry that has some serious bank.

One of my pet peeves are people who whine a lot... so, with that said, forgive me ahead of time ;-)  In the last several years (4 or 5 I would say), the church that I serve at has not been able to give a single dime to the youth ministry in terms of budget payments.  Each year when the church board agrees upon the budget (which is based on how much money they think they will receive each year), there is an amount of money designated for youth, children, missions, etc.  However, when there is a shortage in money received, cuts are made and money never makes it to the children and youth ministry.

So as we were preparing for lesson one of a seven week series, I quickly realized that we were going to have to make some serious alterations if we were going to use the curriculum.  For week one, they suggested that the following materials be available:

-10 large unique mirrors
-a painting set and canvase for each student
-4-5  large fruit baskets
-8 different colored photocopied sheets of paper per student
-1 box of crayons per student
-1 pair of scissors per student
-1 glue stick per student
-2 boxes of pens
-1 cd of nature music
-1 large wooden chest
... and there is more.

Granted, my wife and I have become pretty good at altering and changing curriculum to adapt to our limited budget... but the first thing that came to mind after reading lesson one was, "who in the world has $200 to drop each week on purchasing supplies for their small group lesson?"  Maybe it would be a good idea to include alternatives to groups who can't spend $50 on large fruit baskets for their weekly lessons.

retirement, savings, and jesus

I'm reading through 'Crazy Love' by Francis Chan and one of the chapters he gives an extensive list of qualities that are common to 'Lukewarm Christians.'  On one of the lists he mentions having a retirement account and a savings account.  The text that he uses to address this issue are Jesus's words regarding the farmer to builds huge barns to store his extra crop.

I have heard different viewpoints regarding this issue.  Some people say, "Is it Christ-like to retire without any financial plan and expect the government or family to cover all our expenses?  Of course not!"  While I have heard others say statements like, "Any money we save for ourselves later is money that is not going to the poor who need it now."

My wife and I have an 'emergency fund' set aside for, well... emergencies.  For example, if my 11 year old Honda loses its transmission (a likely scenario), we will have some money to replace it.  However, some people would say that to have an 'emergency fund' is completely against the teachings of Christ.  These folks would say, "there are emergencies all over the world... the poor, the suffereing, those with dirty water, etc.  They could use that money far more than you."  It is kind of hard to argue with words like that... So, do we never save money?  Is it wrong to have a financial reserve of any kind?

video game confession

While there have been times that I have tried to keep it a secret, I have been a closet video game nerd for a good portion of my life.  And while this may sound odd, the thing I enjoy most about gaming is how measurable it is.  There is nothing vague about reaching the final credits and wondering if there was 'work left to be done.'  When I see that long list of scrolling Japanese names, I know I have completed all the tasks in the game.  Perhaps my attraction to this is due to the fact that in pastoral ministry, results are rarely seen in black and white fashion and can be difficult to measure.  Completing a game, as corny as this may sound, gives me some sort of cheap satisfaction.

Another reason that I enjoy gaming is how it can help me unwind.  There is a time and a place to set aside work, day to day responsibilities, and simply enjoy some time to relax.

If I am going to be honest, there are times when I have been convicted about my video gaming on several different levels: the amount of time I play, the money I have spent on games, and most recently, something that happened this morning....

So before I headed out the door, I was looking through our 'Nintendo basket' or 'Nerd basket' as my wife likes to call it.  While checking out the basket, I noticed a controller was missing.  I looked around the room in a few places but could not find it.  As I rode to work this morning, my mind was consumed with thoughts of where it could be... 'did I lend it out? did someone take it? etc.' My mind also immediately jumped to other thoughts like how much it would cost to replace... I found myself consumed with the missing controller as if it actually mattered in the grand scheme of things.

What saddens me about this whole scenario is how much value my heart places on a collection of video game equipment and how easily I became anxious and upset when I thought I may have lost a small piece of it.  I am reminded of the words of Christ in the gospels when he talks about treasures that we store up and how my heart naturally clings to 'stuff.'

holy work

"There is ultimately no justification for a private piety that doesn't work out in actual mission, just as there is ultimately no justification for people who use their activism in the social, cultural, or political sphere as a screen to prevent them from facing the same challenges within their own lives- the challenges, that is, of God's Kingdom, of Jesus's lordship, and of the Spirit's empowering." -N.T. Wright-

I am reminded that as sons and daughters of God, we are a people who must find our roots and our strength in Jesus Christ.  If we ever hope to be God's workmen and women, we must not and cannot do it on our own.  The only way we come to truly embody love is by drawing close to the God who is love.  So may we as the Church remember where our strength comes from.  And as we draw close to the God who has given us His Spirit, may we go out and seek to love as Christ loves.