Comments for 15º off Center

Comment on .::”The gospels are a poor representation of Jesus.” by prestoncottrell

prestoncottrell — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:39:34 +0000

It is an interesting observation. One of our younger teens confessed that she really has a hard time connecting the stories from the Bible with everyday life. While this is probably more common even among adults than ministers like to think, it still confronts us with a true challenge: how to engage the Bible as living and breathing when it appears totally detached from everyday experiences. I think the first way to approach this as a minister is to not worship the Bible. I found it telling how many times you had to disclaim that you were NOT diminishing the power, wonder, and authority of Scripture; and you will still have people claiming you are doing just that. The limitations that a written contextually-interpreted work mean that it is not the exclusive focus of our lives as faithful Christians. The role of the Holy Spirit working in our lives compels us to apply Jesus’ teaching to our own circumstances without necessarily wearing the clothes he did, speaking exactly the same way he did, and literally serving one another by demanding we wash people’s feet. I don’t think I would classify it as a “poor” representation; but I would classify it as a contextual representation and not the end-all account of Christ’s story on earth. Even the gospel of John recognized this: “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:30-31.)

Comment on .::Passing the Baton by Robbie Mackenzie

Robbie Mackenzie — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:35:12 +0000

Have students part of any or all committees as appropriate. I love that statement. Empowering students means letting them have decision-making power in some of the major decisions of a youth group. Great stuff Walter.

Comment on .::Disconnection & the STRENGTHS of Teen Faith by Walter

Walter — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:11:13 +0000

Wow! Thank you so much for your kind words!

Comment on .::Disconnection & the STRENGTHS of Teen Faith by Lonnie Peddle

Lonnie Peddle — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:02:20 +0000

Thank you very much for caring about our children and helping us to understand their thinking.

Lonnie, a 75 year old grandmother

Comment on .::What is Technology Doing to Our Souls?: Tech Sabbath by .::Facebook and Grades « 15º off Center

.::Facebook and Grades « 15º off Center — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:39:38 +0000

[...] Facebook out with the bathwater, but we may want to help teens keep some sort of daily and weekly Tech Sabbaths. Yes, the 106 minutes that a teen spend on Facebook should be concerning to parents, teachers, [...]

Comment on .::Teens Marketing Themselves by Darin Campbell

Darin Campbell — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 07:49:40 +0000

Amen Walter! Great advice for this young dad of two boys.

Comment on .::Teens Marketing Themselves by Brandon

Brandon — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 05:10:19 +0000

Great post. Great advice.

Comment on .::From Postmodernity to Participatory by Trevor Lund (@revtrev)

Trevor Lund (@revtrev) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:02:33 +0000

When I was pastoring I tried just about every one of your “what if’s”. I didn’t have a term for it then and have been trying to grasp what could be coming down the river…”Participatory” hmm…that would might be overused, but I am in sync with the sentiment.

Thanks for sharing it to me through Twitter.

Comment on .::From Postmodernity to Participatory by jordanhubbard

jordanhubbard — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 04:56:04 +0000

Walter,
Great question and great heart. Here’s my thought:
Large groups function as large groups. Small groups function as small groups.

Treating a large group like a small group will ensure the large group becomes a small group. Treating a small group like a large group is equally harmful.

I believe we must lead people into small group communities in order to experience the mutual ministry component. We cannot be satisfied with people only experiencing the large group, but at the same time we can acknowledge and accentuate the good things that happen in those larger settings. Community and mutual ministry will be found naturally in the smaller groups.

Comment on .::From Postmodernity to Participatory by Brandon

Brandon — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 02:00:29 +0000

Thanks! Been following you for a while. I have only been running the youth ministry blog since March.

[I wonder how do you get people into small group who ONLY go to large group?]

Invite them. Lead them. And make sure the small groups are healthy.

Beltway Park in Abilene is a church that is oozing with members of the “participatory” crowd. One year I interviewed 25 ACU students for internships and about 60% of them were going to Beltway. They consistently named two reasons why they go, 1) the sermon is helpful and 2) they love their small group. North Point in Atlanta does very well with the “participatory” group but is very specific about crafting appropriate environments for some of the activities you listed.

Congregations do the kinds of things you are suggesting, and the growing ones create specific environments where these activities can be successful.

Big environments invite participation of the crowd, just not interpersonal participation. No college student walks away from a concert saying “I didn’t feel like I was able to create something there. My favorite band just treats me like a consumer.” Instead they walk away feeling like they are part of a bigger experience that was done with excellence.

I think you are definitely talking about good stuff. It’s not a matter of should you invite participation or not. It’s a matter of when and how.