Cool. Meaningful.

I had the great privilege of teaching adult ed. at a large church in the south metro (Twin Cities) this semester. On the last Sunday of the series, I spoke from the heart. Here's a chunk of my heart for youth ministry:

1. Church should be cool. It should be fun to come here. You should have a great youth ministry space (they do, actually), loaded to the gills with lights and guitars and games and a sound system. Spend your money here. It will pay dividends to the whole church.

2. But it can't be all toys and pizza and craziness. You gotta deliver content as well.

It has to be both. How many times have I heard adult Christians all over the country complain that there is no substance in their church's youth ministry? 4,293. Approximately.

Yet, don't knock the fun stuff, if you want kids to show up at all. What's better--50 kids in the building, off the streets, having fun, with a chance to grow? Or seven nerds going "deep" with the Lord?

And if we find creative ways to deliver content and engage kids with the gospel of Jesus, maybe they won't check out so fast when they leave high school. Maybe when they're 19 they'll swing by a college campus ministry such as the one I work for.

Myself--I look UP to youth pastors! They are amazing. I love them. I couldn't do what they do. But mostly, the quality of youth ministry at your church and mine is up to us church leaders. WE are the ones who can "set up" the youth ministry. . . or set it down.


My question to you: How's youth ministry going at your church? Is it fun? Spiritually meaningful?

a few good ideas are here: http://www.ehow.com/list_6156169_church-youth-room-decorating-ideas.html

And the Answer Is. . .

The Ganfield Library Cafe is not exactly spacious, with a max occupancy of maybe 30 or 35 (behind the windows, right).

Last Friday morning our discussion group, configured in a tight oval around two small wooden tables, occupied 13 of those spots.

The topic at hand: Was Christina's friend who had converted from Christianity to Islam still in possession of her salvation? The friend had once been a "true" Christian, supposedly. Now, a confessor of the shahada.

12 Carroll University students looked to me to settle the matter.

My job at that moment was to provide the answer, of course. Probably start by saying "The Bible clearly teaches. . . "

Or, I could draw them deeper into the issue by asking them to consider the pros and cons of various solutions.

It seems to me that one of the reasons young people are leaving the church in record numbers is that we tell them a lot of answers. We rob them of the joy of discovery.

Meanwhile, at school and in other spiritualities (or in atheism), they get to talk freely about their doubts, concerns, opinions. Often a new and exciting conversation for young (former) evangelicals.

Back to the coffee shop at Carroll: Eventually, after a lot more dialog, I did give my view of the matter, though not as the answer.

How's the Conversation going at your church/ministry/home?

p.s. The November 2010 issue of Christianity Today has an insightful article about young people leaving the church, entitled The Leavers: Young Doubters Exit the Church. It's also posted on line, though you may need a subscription: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/november/27.40.html?start=1

Release and Catch

Recently I went fishing with my buddy M, a middle-aged entrepreneur who runs a successful small business.

At one point M's phone rings at the same time a little walleye hits his jig and minnow.

He takes the call.

It's a former employee chatting it up about his new job. No big deal, right?

Turns out it was a guy M had fired. "You're kidding," I said, screwing up my face.

"Nope. He wasn't getting the job done."

"But he's calling you now to shoot the breeze?"

"I felt terrible letting him go, but I knew it was the right move. I gave him a positive recommendation for a certain type of work that I know he can do well. I just didn't have that kind of work for him. He was calling to thank me."

Note to self: I've supervised a lot of people over the years. And I've made the hard calls, the tough personnel moves. But I wonder whether it was always done with M's spirit of love and compassion for the employee, which in truth is Jesus' spirit of love and compassion.

M landed the walleye, which is now at rest in my freezer.

A Theology of Business?

The Lord has given me the excellent privilege of hanging out with a lot of business people.

How does the church support them in the marketplace?

It seems to me we speak on the front end and the back end of business spirituality, but not much in the middle.

Front end: We teach about acting ethically and how to reach out to colleagues.

Back end: We teach about stewardship of wealth.

In the middle, however, we're not really sure how money is made, nor do we always care to know. Just so the stewardship stuff eventually happens.

What would a theology of business look like?

Assuming the Lord Jesus is interested in business practice as a thing in itself, and not only character and witness (front end), and giving (back end), I offer these categories for starters:

1. A theology of the marketplace: competition, opportunity, investment.
2. A theology of personnel: supervision, development, and "natural" talents (we know what to do with spiritual gifts, but not natural talents).
3.  A theology of profit, ambition, and social consciousness.
4. A theology of business leadership and teamwork.

Integrating evangelical spirituality into the fabric of these practices would take some serious constructive theology. I wonder who's doing this kind of work?