KEEPER: The secret ingredient for keeping students connected to christ

Contemporary culture is suspicious of habits, preferring novel experiences and amusement, but the Christan life is a habit of connecting with Christ and His people in order to become the persons God wants us to be, doing the work He wants us to do. 

 

The secret ingredient for keeping students connected to christ:

The million dollar question seems to be something like, “How do we keep students committed to jesus into adulthood?” This is one of the main questions I have been wrestling with during my tenure as a youth pastor.  And depending on the season, I end up somewhere swinging between it all being on Jesus or all being on me.  It is true that Jesus is the author and perfector of our faith and as shepherds we are called by god to build up or students in their faith.  At the end of the day, it is both.  I plant, you water, I plant, you water, and God causes there to be growth and life.  This is a mysterious partnership.

In this mysterious partnership there are always better techniques and practices to improve our planting and watering.  And if we take a step back, I think we will see that the solution to fertile and usable soil has been there all along.  We try all these ways to make the gospel more appealing, to make the good news seem better. In the process we distance ourselves from the church.  The church is old, bureaucratic, institutionalized, boring, irrelevant.  While that might win us points in the short term, by making us seem hip, flexible, and relevant.  This attitude decimates the chances of our students becoming adult followers of christ.

If our time and energy is spent winning students to us or to our student ministry at the expense of the church we really are cutting off the nose to spite the face.  The church, warts and all, is where adult followers of Christ gather for worship, discipleship, fellowship, and ministry.  Student ministry is temporary, college ministry is temporary, big church has to be the place we help students land if we want them to continue to know and love Jesus into adult hood.
One of the greatest quotes I have ever heard was from a random volunteer on a Mexico mission trip.  he said, “Student ministry is a short term mission in a long term life.” If you think about it, this is a revolutionary concept.  Just like short-term missions, we are only around for a short period of time.  And to be effective and a true blessings, we partner with those people who have been there and will continue to be there in the long term.  We don’t show up as the end all to ministry, because we know we are there for only a short amount of time.  Instead we work our butts off in that short amount of time and are a blessing to the community we are partnering with.  Then we graciously hand them off to their long-term community.

Student ministry as short-term missions: Student ministry must be seen as short-term mission, and the landing place for long-term mission is the church.  For students to not get caught in the middle, we must do a better job of loving the church; highlighting how the church has been caring for the students, helping students fit into adult worship, encouraging students to serve, and finding meaningful ways to transition students into the adult life of the church.  This allows there to be meaningful, long-term faith and commitment to Jesus Christ.  The following are some principles we have implemented at our church to help our students stay connected to the church.

First, it is not ok for student ministry leaders, myself included, to be among the biggest critics of the church.  Our jobs and budgets are there because the church loves students.  They shell out tons of money to provide a person and place for students to figure out who Jesus is in an environment that works for their development.  And if we take their money and recourses and then discredit the very people who provide for us and our students, everyone loses.  We must communicate with our students that the old, out of touch, adult church, loves them so much.  That is why we have a youth worker, a youth room, a budget.  that is how our mission trips get paid for.  Tis happens because students are valued by the church.  (But sometimes the adult leaders don’t know the best way to show it)

Second, everything we do points to getting our students connected to “big church.”  Big church is the formal term for the adult worship gathering. with all the great things that happen at youth group and sunday student worship, we do a huge disservice if we don’t help our students engage in adult worship.  There is a discipline to singing worship for 30 minutes, or for standing and sitting liturgy, for long sermons that don’t speak directly to students’ lives.  This is where the adult church gathers and is ministered to and worships together, and it is a learned habit.  If this habit is instilled in junior high, it will be much easier for them to continue to worship with adults when they are one, as opposed to only worshiping with their peers in services designed only for them.

Another way we are helping our students connect is by making service to the church part of our ministry diet. Our students regularly serve in children’s ministry.  Their service is not just because we need warm bodies there, it is because we are continually reminding them of how we develop spiritually, that is we are always pouring our lives into someone younger and always finding people older than us to pour their lives into us.  Children’s ministry is a great place to remind our students that the church loves them and cares for them.  It did when they were little, it does now, and it will as they get older.

The last thing we do to connect our students to our adult worshiping community, is by having a transition service for the senior class in our student ministry.  We spend an entire service in the spring for our seniors to share their testimonies.  In these testimonies we work with them to reflect on how they have been loved for and cared for by our church.  Then we commission them by having the church lay hands on them and pray for them and welcome them into the adult community.  It is an amazing service, and i am always reminded at god’s goodness and faithfulness.  Our church is reminded as well of God’s goodness and faithfulness through their love and support of student ministry.
Like you, I still have students who don’t do any of the things I encourage them to do, show up here and there, and end up being amazing followers of Christ, and I still have students who are totally committed to everything we do as a student ministry and choose to walk away from Christ.  But one of the transitions we have seen is that when students return from college, their gathering place is in big church, not outside the youth room.  Big church can not only be for adults, we must help our students develop that habit.  I said at the beginning, the spiritual development of students is a mysterious balance between us planning and watering, and God causing growth.  I do think we make god’s job harder if we cut the legs out from the church instead of helping students find their rightful place in the larger body of Christ.

We give our students an amazing gift when we give them the tools and the habits to develop their faith into adulthood within the adult worshiping community. It is then they have the best chance for loving jesus for the long haul.

KEEPER: "What I've Learned"

Reflections from a pastor celebrating his silver anniversary of ministry:

What I've Learned

Today is the 25th anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood. It seems like in the course of that time, I should have learned something about my craft, and I’d like to think I have. So I spent some time reflecting on this, and here is some of what I came up with.

1. When I look back over the years, it’s not so much “my accomplishments” that I remember. It’s the people. I think if was going to give my newly ordained self some advice, I think I’d say, “Don’t worry so much about being a visionary, or being relevant, or finding strategies to grow your church. Just love the people God brings your way, and love them well.”

2. The more “in-step” with my calling I’ve been, the more “out-of-step” I’ve been with the culture around me. Maybe another way of saying that is that being hip isn’t worth it. Being true is.

3. Managing energy is so much more important than managing time. A pastor has to know what makes the fire in his belly blaze like the sun. If a pastor allows himself to become depleted, all the time in the world won’t help.

4. Whether through death or disagreement or a hundred other ways, people will always be leaving you. It will not always or even often be personal, but it will always feel personal. To the degree that a pastor is true to his calling and loves these people well, a piece of him will always leave with them. What will be left? Perhaps more than anything else, this can turn an inspired, enthusiastic new pastor into a sad, broken man. This is one with which I think every pastor must find a way to make peace, and to do so very early on. I cannot overstate how much is riding on this one.

5. As Job knew only too well, doing everything right doesn’t keep the bad stuff away. Call it what you will, but there is a capriciousness to life that can, and most likely will, cause a pastor who is honest to question everything. There had better be some good people who know a pastor well enough and love him deeply enough to help carry him through, because there is a very good chance that absent such folks, he won’t make it through on his own.

Perhaps this is the place to stop for now, and to say thanks to all those people who have helped me, and who continue to help me , not only make it through but to see God’s glory in it all. And seeing the glory of God is something I would wish for all of you as well, because even after 25 years, I have never known or experienced anything else like it.

December 01, 2011 | Permalink

KEEPER: "Why We Need More 'Chaplains' and Fewer Leaders"

Why We Need More 'Chaplains' and Fewer Leaders
What's a pastor for?
Mark Galli | posted 12/01/2011 10:41AM


In my email recently came another list of suggestions on how to tell if your church is healthy. The warning signs of a sick church were lack of outreach ministries, increasing dropout rate, church conflict, little corporate prayer, and finally, the pastor has become a chaplain.

It's becoming increasingly common to infer that when a pastor becomes a "chaplain," the church is in trouble. A few years ago, one website encouraging "innovative" ministry listed five types of pastors that a church might call: Catalytic, Cultivator, Conflict-Quelling, Chaplain, and Catatonic. The page clarified that "each of these types carries positives and negatives," but it seemed clear that the further one went down the list, the more problematic was the pastor. At the top of the list were Catalytic pastors, who are "gifted in the prophetic and tend to be charismatic leaders. These pastors have lots of energy and are focused on the mission of the church … that is, reaching the community for Jesus Christ. In the 'right' church, they'll grow it without a doubt."

A Chaplain pastor, on the other hand, was mired near the bottom. A Chaplain pastor is "wired for peace, harmony, and pastoral care. This is the type of pastor that has been produced by seminaries for several decades, though a few … a very few … seminaries are retooling. Chaplain pastors eschew change and value status quo. They don't want to stir the waters; rather, they want to bring healing to hurting souls." And if that weren't bad enough, "Chaplain pastors don't grow churches. In fact, a Chaplain pastor will hasten a congregation's demise because they tend to focus on those within the congregation rather than in bringing new converts to Jesus Christ."

The assumptions here are all too common, I'm afraid. So we hear in many quarters that pastors should be leaders, catalysts, and entrepreneurs, and the repeated slam about pastors who are mere chaplains.
* * *

This, of course, inadvertently denigrates every clergyperson who is literally a chaplain—in hospitals, in the military, and elsewhere, as if these ministers are second-class clergy. If they were real ministers, they'd be growing a megachurch. Instead, they are only good enough to "bring healing to hurting souls."

We find ourselves in an odd period of church history when many people have become so used to large, impersonal institutions that they want that in their church as well. Thus the attraction of megachurches, where people can blend in and not be seen if they want. Many thought leaders who ponder church life naturally end up championing massive institutions and denigrating (inadvertently, to be sure) the healing of hurting souls. And this in a community whose theology is supposedly grounded in the universal and cosmic love of God who gives attention to each of us as individuals.

There may be something else going on as well. A chaplain is a minister in the service of another. A chaplain at a hospital or in the military is clearly not the highest ranking member of the institution, clearly not the person in charge of running things. The chaplain's job is defined by service—service to the institution's needs and goals, service to the individuals who come for spiritual help. The chaplain prays for people in distress, administers sacraments to those in need, leads worship for those desperate for God. In short, the chaplain is at the beck and call of those who are hurting for God. He's not his own man. She is not her own woman. There's no mistaking a chaplain for an entrepreneurial leader, a catalyst for growth. No, the chaplain is unmistakably a servant.

In an increasingly secular, capitalist culture, it's understandable that so many clergy are fascinated with the idea that they can be leaders and entrepreneurs. These are the people our culture admires most—those like Steve Jobs or Bill Gates or whoever has made a ton of money and a practical difference. I can appreciate this. When I was a pastor, I felt I gained more credibility with my church board—composed of mostly business people—when I could wax eloquent about the church's "decadal growth" and the need to "target a young demographic" and create "revenue models" that would "ensure long-term stability" for the church.

Such is the culture we live in, where successful business people seem to enjoy really important work, and pastors, if they are not careful, will be chaplains, mere servants.
* * *

It's interesting to note how much time and energy our Lord spent on "healing hurting souls." Take this typical summary in Matthew's gospel: "So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them" (4:24, ESV). When Matthew wanted to sum up what Jesus did over and over, time and again with people, this is the sort of thing he said: "He healed them."

It's also interesting to note the way Jesus framed how his disciples should think about their ministries: "And Jesus called them to him and said to them, 'You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles like to be seen as "leaders," "entrepreneurs," "catalysts for growth," and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many' " (Mark 10:42-45).

Okay, I paraphrased a bit. But I'm not convinced the paraphrase is false to the sense of Jesus' words. In any case, it seems clear that Jesus was a chaplain of souls, and that he encouraged his disciples to think of themselves in the same way.

One wonders where we got our other ideas about the pastorate. For centuries, the pastorate was thought to be about "the cure of souls"—souls being understood not as the spiritual part of us, but as the fullness of our humanity. The pastor has traditionally been thought of as one who does ministry in the midst of a people who are sick and dying, and who administers in word and sacrament, in Scripture and in prayer, the healing balm of the Lord.

So who told us that the pastor is primarily a leader/entrepreneur/change agent and anything but a curer of souls? And why do we believe them?
* * *

The good chaplain-pastor recognizes that the ministry of healing hurting souls has many dimensions. Take King David's chaplain, Nathan. It's clear that Nathan is at the beck and call of his king, and that he sees himself as a spiritual presence to comfort and affirm his patron. At one point, he tells David, "Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you" (2 Sam. 7:3). But he also knew that if he was truly going to serve his king, he was going to have to challenge him from time to time—like when he confronted David about his adultery.

But note how pastoral even that conversation is: Nathan tells David that he has "despised the word of the Lord," and David admits, "I have sinned against the Lord." Nathan is acting as a chaplain, to heal the sinful soul of his king (2 Sam. 12).

o say that a pastor is first and foremost a chaplain—someone who is the Lord's means of healing—is not to suggest that his or her role is primarily therapeutic. It includes therapy-like moments, for example, in helping parishioners deal with their ordinary fears and worries. But it is fundamentally about the healing of souls—helping men and women, boys and girls, to become right with God, and therefore, right with others.

This will happen in a variety of ways, as the pastor leads worship and hears confession and simply spends time with the congregation. This happens even when presiding over those functions we tend to think are perfunctory. When the pastor is present, you see, people get this intuitive reminder that God is present. That often puts people on their best behavior—sometimes annoyingly so! But when the pastor communicates in word and deed the graciousness of God, the pastor's presence can be a great comfort to people. For it is by grace that we are healed.

Eugene Peterson put it this way in The Contemplative Pastor: "The primary language of the cure of souls … is conversation and prayer. Being a pastor means learning to use language in which personal uniqueness is enhanced and individual sanctity recognized and respected. It is a language that is unhurried, unforced, unexcited—the leisurely language of friends and lovers, which is also the language of prayer."

I've been a parishioner in many churches over many years. In each church, the pastor has been tempted, as I was, to become the great leader, to shape himself in our culture's image of success. To be sure, the modern pastor does have to "run a church"; he or she is, in fact, the head of an institution that has prosaic institutional needs. I've been thankful when my pastor carries out these institutional responsibilities with efficiency and joy.

But the times I remember most, the times when my troubled soul has been most deeply affected and moved—outside of preaching and receiving the sacraments—have been when my pastor acted like a chaplain. When he pulled me aside in the narthex, put his arm around me, and prayed with me about some matter. When he visited me in the hospital. When in unhurried conversation I felt less alone, because I knew in a deeper way that God was present.

Some say that pastoral moments like these are like germs, and if we let such moments take over, they'll make the church sick. I beg to differ. During such moments, the church is never more healthy.

Mark Galli is senior managing editor of Christianity Today, and author of Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit (Baker). He also blogs at www.markgalli.com.

Noll on the Characteristics of American Christianity

The American tendency has been

to see authority as self-created rather than inherited;

to read the Bible for oneself rather than just to accept biblical interpretation from others;

to create organizations to meet a need rather than simply to inherit organizations;

to empower laypeople, first laymen and then laywomen, as opposed to being super-clerical;

and to use the forces of the market for the church rather than to worry about the forces of the market.

The American tendency has been populist, and sometimes democratic, rather than aristocratic."

--Mark Noll Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame

"Does Global Christianity Equal American Christianity?"
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/july/19.38.html?start=2

Requiscat in Pace

Cardinal Avery Dulles died today. He was 90 years old. The grandson of a Presbyterian minister, he was the son of Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, who served under the Eisenhower administration.

I read his Models of the Church while at Notre Dame, and had the privilege of hearing him speak here in Eugene shortly after we arrived.

One can get a sample of the breadth of his mind and spirit by simply browsing the articles he wrote for the journal First Things.

He impressed me as a wise, gentle, and godly man. Indeed, whenever I picture the apostle John at the end of his life, I think of Avery Dulles. Long ago Etienne Gilson wrote an essay, "The Intelligence in the Service of Christ the King." Avery Dulles lived out that service.

>Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine;
et lux perpetua luceat eis ;
cum Sanctis tuis in aeternum,
quia pius es.

Square Circles and Nominalist Christians

This recent article appeared on ABET from the Christian Post:

"A Gallup Poll in June found that Americans have less confidence in organized religion. Only 46 percent said they have a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in church/organized religion which was one percentage short of being the lowest in Gallup's history since 1973.

"I would say that [the drop is] because organized religion is organized and it’s religious,” Batterson said.

Among teens, many are not as interested in learning the traditions of their faith or listening to religious teachings as much as they are in making a connection with God and seeking a better understanding of what they believe, a recent Barna study showed. Most teens prefer a church that teaches how their faith should influence everyday decisions and lifestyle rather than one that teaches the traditions and background of their faith.

And as churches begin to break institutional walls and increasingly reflect the body of Jesus Christ, Schuller sees the Church becoming a 24-hour experience.

"[Church] is going to be experiential and lived out in daily lives,” he stated. “If people ask me ‘Where’s your church?’ I’ll often say ‘What time of the day is it?’ This is a good illustration of my point. So, okay it’s 9:00 Wednesday. Elder John is over at his store selling suits. So part of the church is over there. Sister Mary’s just getting back from dropping her kids off at school, so that part of the church is over there.

"I can go with every member of the church and say that’s where the church is," Schuller said.

"I’m talking about where the church of Jesus Christ is recognized not as an institution, not as a building, but is recognized as the individuals that make up the body of Jesus Christ, living by faith and caring for one another and loving one another," he stressed.

(I tried to reply to ABET but as usual, my messages mysteriously disappear into the ether, so I'm posting my response here:)

This is the apotheosis of nominalism, the idea that universals are not real, that the only things that are real are individuals. (The Wikipedia article isn't a bad place to start if you need clarification.) Institutions are universals, so automatically they are taken to be unreal and unecessary.

If we follow this metaphysic to its logical conclusion, there is no such thing as the Body, only the collection of individuals that make up the body. There is no Whole, only the sum of the parts. There is no United States, only the census of its individual citizens. There is no Church, only the individuals.

If we follow this line of thinking, we will be forced to conclude that there is no God, only three Persons. Are we prepared to go there? Furthermore, we will have to rewrite John 15, to eliminate all that talk about a "True Vine" and "remaining in me," and just celebrate the collection of the many various branches. Are we ready to do that?

Certainly, a Christianity without universals and their corresponding institutional incarnations will be increasingly appealing for postmoderns, who prize their individual freedom above all else. But we need to do some serious reflection: Is this a place for the Church to be truly countercultural, and display the mind of Christ, rather than the mind of Modernism and Postmodernism? Is there something greater than individual autonomy? Participation is a limiting concept, for it requires accomodating ourselves to something greater than ourselves, something universal. Can there be church and body without participation in Church and Body?

In my old Covnet days, I used to be known as "Gnostic-buster." Maybe it is time for me to put that mantle aside and assume the title, "Nominalist Buster?"

yours in Christ,

Beth