Archives for category: church

Youth Ministry 3.Oh!

December 29, 2008 //

Let me say this up front: Youth Ministry 3.0, by Mark (Marko) Oestreicher, is not only a manifesto for youth ministry but for the church. And not for only the church as a building or site for programs and events, but for our essential, ecclesial understanding of what it means to be the people of God together. YM3.0 challenges our notions of ministry as event/party planning and, instead, offers a compelling vision of missional (participating in the mission of God in the world), communional (the life of Christ being celebrated and formed in us, in community) ministry for and with youth.

Several people have commented on the brevity of YM3.0 — which, for most of us with our feet on the ground of ministry with young people, is definitely a good thing. YM3.0 is hardly a puff piece, though — Marko’s words throughout the book have a certain weight to them, not because of any grammatical gymnastics (although Marko is certainly capable of impressing us with his prose) but, rather, because of the honesty, heart, humility and hope contained therein (and, just in case you’re preaching on any of this, feel free to use those four H’s).

YM3.0 is deeply theological, yet engaging and relatable (no small feat, in itself) — Marko’s heart as a parent, volunteer youth worker, friend and co-conspirator comes through. As the president of Youth Specialities, Marko has a unique vantage point from which to view today’s youth ministry landscape. However, instead of issuing decrees from on high, Marko is very much engaged in the reality of young people’s lives and what youth ministry looks like for everyday folks, not just flagship churches featuring best practices and takeaways. YM3.0 feels like a genuine dialogue because of the input Marko solicited from youth workers through his blog duing the writing process, unlike many ministry-oriented books that have sidebars written by the author or other well-published folks (I am humbled and grateful to have contributed even a small part to the YM3.0 conversation). Marko’s affirmation of the many youth workers who are “faithfully operating under the radar” in the epilogue definitely encouraged me.

YM3.0 requires great courage, even risking the venture itself in the process for the sake of seeing Christ formed in the lives of students (see pp.72, 82). Marko embodies this risk by acknowledging that he has been a significant contributor to the program-driven YM2.0 model while trying to move forward into the future. YM3.0 draws on what is noble and good in our calling to serve and shepherd youth (self-sacrifice, love, risk) and filters out what can go wrong (colonialism, placing programs above people — esp. p.83).

Although there is no handy “copy this” section at the end, one of the most practical things YM3.0 does is theological — refining our understanding of what a youth worker really is (p.72):

Party planners, programming experts, youth preaching obsessors, growth and measurement gurus,and lowest common denominator systemizers are no longer needed. What’s needed are cultural anthropologists with relational passion.

This calling to contextualization — or, incarnation — moves the question youth workers ask from, “How can I get them to like me?” or “How do I get them through the front door?” to “How can I enter their world?” — and this regardless of the cost or how long it takes.

As someone who has been invested in Asian American youth ministry for over ten years, I welcome the inclusion of diversity as an important part of the YM3.0 conversation. Contextualization/incarnation resists the notion of forcing everyone to conform to the same culture, or even believing that is a worthy goal. I have a feeling that this book could have powerful implications for AA youth ministries around the country (hopefully, I can post some of these thoughts soon).

I join those who have already recommended YM3.0 to youth workers — from those who are just starting out to those who have been here for years. If you can tear yourself away from playing Word Challenge for awhile, you can join the YM3.0 conversation on Facebook. YM3.0 gives a voice to many of us who have been feeling the ground under our feet shift for awhile now. In a way, this section felt a bit like a benediction to me:

One thing I’m sure of: Tweaking things won’t get us there. Youth Ministry 3.0 isn’t about making a subtle modification in one of your programs or adding the words communion and mission to your youth ministry’s core values. Real change is absolutely messy. Always. But which is better: Messy substantive change or useless mini-alterations?

Categories books, church, hope, missional, reviews, youth ministry

Let’s Go Idea Camping!

December 1, 2008 //

I’m so stoked for The Idea Camp, which will be from February 27-28, 2009 in Irvine, California! Charles Lee has been a catalyst for bringing together this unconference. From their site:

The Idea Camp is a FREE, open source hybrid conference designed to help people move from the realm of ideas to implementation.

We are gathering some of the most innovative and creative leaders from around the country (this means YOU!) to share ideas, intentionally network, and move collaboratively into idea-making. Whether your passion is church leadership, non-profit work, social entrepreneurialism, technology, media, creativity, culture making, church planting, spiritual formation, compassionate justice, etc., this is the conference for YOU.

The focus of this conference will be on the participants (yes, You!) and not on keynote speakers. We function under the belief that the crowd is always smarter and wiser than any one speaker. In fact, you are invited to create and refine some of the major components of the conference prior to the gathering itself via our web interface. You are welcome to suggest specific topics for our workshops (called Idea Sessions), leave comments, ask questions, share case scenarios for discussion, and even volunteer yourself to facilitate one of our Idea Sessions.

We desire the Idea Camp to be a conference for friends by friends.

In keeping with the trend of confessions around here, I didn’t really know what an unconference was until reading DJ Chuang’s helpful notes explaining the unconference concept (thanks, DJ!).

In related news, support Charles’ idea for how the Obama administration should change America at change.org! Charles has put forth the idea of a national campaign to build more shelters for the victims of human trafficking:

In light of the recent growth of awareness and practice of reporting human trafficking suspicion around the country (which has resulted in more rescues and arrests), I would like to see our government help fund a national media campaign to build more trafficking shelters around the United States. In addition, our government could also award some of our private, recognized service providers with funding for building and operating shelters for trafficking victims.

Categories church, communication, community, freebies, ministry

Listening is an Act of Love

November 29, 2008 //

I must confess that I haven’t yet read the book by the same title from StoryCorps (hmm… this is turning into a running theme here), but I love what that title says: Listening is an act of love.

Our family spent the last week back in Michigan so that our daughter could have some quality time with her grandparents (and get onto the Jumbotron during the Pistons game, thanks to some fervent dancing/prancing on my part!). I was also able to catch up with friends (thanks again for the polar bear!) and catch up on some reading.

During the flight from California to Michigan, I read through Rob Bell’s provocatively titled new release, Jesus Wants to Save Christians. Hopefully, I can post a full review soon, but Jesus Wants is thoughtful and challenging — in particular, I appreciated Bell’s re-framing of the Decalogue through the lens of the Exodus. On the return flight to California, I was able to make substantial headway into Scot McKnight’s new book, The Blue Parakeet. Again, a review is on its way (maybe!).

In Parakeet, McKnight offers those of us who are weary of the polarization between reactionary fundamentalism and extreme liberalism a much-needed alternative to reading the Bible. Far from being a half-hearted compromise, McKnight’s Third Way urges us to engage Scripture — and, more importantly, the God of Scripture — with love, creativity and passion. Above all, perhaps, McKnight calls us to listen:

Reading the Bible is an act of listening. Listening, to quote the title of a popular book, is an act of love.

(In the footnote to this quote, Scot reveals that he has not read this book yet either. At least I’m in good company!)

As we head into this Advent season of watching and waiting, let’s take time to listen — both for the still small voice of God and for the voices of friends, family and those in need.

Below you can find the Advent graphic I designed for our church community:

Categories church, communication, community, design, faith

Over the Hills and Far Away

November 23, 2008 //

Hillsong United — with their high energy octave-jumping choruses and emo-tinged ballads — dominates much of the modern praise & worship scene. I often find that I like their songs more after the experience of singing them live in the context of a worship gathering — although this is not strictly limited to Hillsong United songs (a prime example: Charlie Hall’s “Sweep Me Away” is literally one chord — with some minor shifts and tons of gagdetry — but is a personal favorite because of a particular worship experience).

This past weekend, I was guest-speaking at a series of gatherings where we sang the Hillsong-penned Saviour King (complete with the Aussie spelling of Saviour!). A key theme for us was the idea that the church is not a building or destination but, as Rob Bell writes in the provactively-titled Jesus Wants to Save Christians, “The church is a people who live a certain way in the world.” The church is not a monument but, rather, a movement. So, this particular lyric from Saviour King was particularly meaningful for me:

Let now your church shine as the bride
That you saw in your heart as you offered up your life
Let now the lost be welcomed home
By the saved and redeemed those adopted as your own

Perhaps it’s a bit of poetic license or holy imagination, but I really like the idea of Jesus picturing us and who we could become in Him as He gave His life away. I’m really drawn to the notion that Jesus not only saves, but He dreams as well.

Categories church, music, worship

Correcting Course

November 19, 2008 //

Let’s just get this out of the way up front. I might be the only pastor I know who hasn’t yet read The Tipping Point or Blink by Malcom Gladwell (although, given the proclivity of those in ministry circles to quote Gladwell, I kind of feel like I already have). Now…

I heard Gladwell on NPR yesterday talking about his new book Outliers: The Story of Success. I started listening because he was trying to answer the question, Why do Asian kids outperform American kids in math? Of course, they were talking about Asian kids from Asian countries, and how cultural influences shape different skill sets and values — as an Asian American who scored higher on the verbal portion of the SAT than the math section, I am living proof that there is no inherent Asian predisposition to being good at math.

In any case, what really caught my attention was a brief aside where Gladwell spoke about why Korean airlines sometimes have trouble in the cockpit of their planes. Basically, it boils down to Korean culture’s excessive deference to authority and the inability to speak plainly to the boss.

Which got me thinking…

Sounds a lot like Korean churches.

I believe in the recovery and redemption of our God-given identities and cultures. However, there are certain things that need to get tossed. Despite the obligatory church-speak about humility and servanthood, many of us have firsthand experience with the “I’m the boss and you are my minions” ethos of many Korean churches. I know of a senior pastor who had the nerve to stand before a congregation of several hundred and offer this disturbing syllogism: God wants us to serve Him; we serve God by serving the church; and we serve the church by serving the pastor. Um, right.

Picture that church as the airplane Gladwell describes: The plane is heading the wrong way or, worse, about to crash. The pilot, important and in charge, steadfastly maintains the course while happily ordering people around. All the while everyone knows, but is too afraid to say, that something isn’t right.

Of course, in the end, this will to dominate and assert authority affects churches of all cultures and ethnic backgrounds.

Although I’m not a type-A, aggressive sort, I can see how this mentality of the pastor having the final say has influenced my thinking as well. I want to do my part in ending this cycle of excessive deference to authority and, instead, guide our church into becoming a community of mutual submission, of humble love and service.

Tags first generation

Categories asian american, books, church, communication, faith, ministry