New Same-Sex Marriage Study for Youth
Are you looking for a way to discuss same-sex marriage with youth, a way that gives credence to multiple perspectives and acknowledges that (no matter your personal view) Christians read the Bible in different ways? Well, you’re in luck because The Thoughtful Christian.com just published a youth study that attempts to do just that (and it happens to be written by yours truly).
As I put in the blurb, “The idea of same-sex marriage and the question of its appropriateness is prevalent in our culture and media today. It’s also important for the church to be willing to address this topic with youth and discuss their questions and concerns.”
Too often, in mainline churches where same-sex marriage is controversial (or just not addressed) among our members, we fail to discuss it with youth. Not only does that not help youth think theologically about an important question, but it teaches them the church is not the place to discuss tough, challenging issues. This study, through use of art, case studies, discussion, personal reflection, and question-asking helps make a space for youth to discuss the question of same-sex marriage. (There’s also an adult version at The Thoughtful Christian.com).
So, check it out. The $5 study comes with an 8-page Leader’s Guide and handout for the youth. If you don’t know about The Thoughtful Christian‘s book deals, you’ll want to look into that as well. It’s a great site with a wide array of downloadable studies. And, thank goodness, at least most of the authors are really top-notch.
Not quite the NY Times, but…
The Presbyterian News Service published this article on our approach and developing new ministry in Fargo-Moorhead. Writer Erin Dunigan was a blast to work with. I’ve posted the first few words below, but if you want to read the full piece — or not pull out your magnifying glass, click on the picture for the full story (or here).
Sing a new/old/tricky psalm to God
A Gathering Vocies post
This post comes to you live from Louisville, Kentucky where I’m attending a meeting of the Presbyterian Committee on Congregational Song (PCOCS). For several years now, PCOCS has met to select the contents, format, etc. of the next collection of Presbyterian songs and hymns – the next hymnal.
We’ve focused this particulary three-day meeting on the psalms, and I have a few reflections. First, a bit of history. The previous Presbyterian hymnal published in 1990 had many psalms set to music and contained in a particular section of the hymnal ordered by psalm number (rather than topical, ordered by use in worship, or some other arrangement). For a number of reasons the psalms, generally speaking, were the least sung and least popular section of the previous hymnal. This for a denomination whose roots are in psalm singing.
There are plenty of other reasons the psalms in the 1990 hymnal were less than popular – and we could certainly discuss whether popularity is the point – but I want to reflect briefly on a few other issues related to singing the psalms.
Singing a psalm from the Bible that has been set to music is singing someone else’s song as your own. This happens when singing any piece of music written by someone else, I suppose, but I feel it more strongly when I sing a psalm. Singing what God’s people have sung for thousands of years connects me to those people in a way singing a newly composed text doesn’t quite reach. And it also brings up some tricky problems when the messages of the psalms don’t fit into our neat theological categories today.
For instance, one psalm paraphrase we looked at had the phrase, “May God confirm your heart’s desire / and bring to fullness all your plans.” I found this psalm’s message curious because of how often we speak in Christian parlance today about following “God’s plan” but the psalm sings about God confirming our plans.
(By the way, since PCOCS works with texts with author’s names intentionally omitted I cannot cite them here which is fine because our work isn’t finished yet. So even if you somehow know the psalm I reference here, nobody knows whether it’ll be in the next collection. So please don’t freak out on me.)
Other psalms come up against other narratives of the Bible so that we can use the Bible as speaking different and sometimes conflicting messages at different times. This is obvious for any Bible reader, but seemed particularly tricky when working with psalms.
For instance, one psalm sets up how creation praises and responds to God then says, “None questions what you do.” But many of us do question God – which seems reasonable, right? And some of the psalms – a lot of the psalms – do the same thing!
Finally, some psalms get at the old challenge of works righteousness theology: “Those who trust the Lord are filled; all the good wrought by their labor / Is their gain, so God has willed.” Maybe this one gets at the challenge of simply explaining any theological concept in rhyming verse, but it struck me as particularly curious.
Though I’ve many more thoughts, I must cut this sort and run back to the meeting now. Unless I hurry, I’ll have to sing a song: “Please accept my apology / blogging stole such time from me.” Peace.
Reworking, Reconsidering, & Re-doing Young Adult Ministry
Also posted at Gathering Voices
I just got in from a lovely block party celebrating National Night Out Block Party Night. At the party several friendly folks asked, “So, what do you do?” I always hesitate a bit when I get that question these days. It’s complicated.
I see myself as part pastor, part faith based community organizer, part event planner, and part sojourner. To answer folks, “I’m starting a new church” is way too simplistic and misleading, since The Project F-M has never really conceived of itself as a traditional church — it’s in response (or reaction) to the traditional church, actually.
Last week I attended the ELCA Mission Developers Conference in Newark, NJ. The conference is held twice a year for new Mission Developers, to help orient them on how the ELCA does mission development (roughly equivalent to “church planting” in other denominations). The conference has a great value in connecting developers to learn from one another, and presenters set some theological framework for starting new faith communities. While much at the conference was plenty good stuff, I struggled at many points thinking, “But this just won’t work with young adults.”
I really appreciated Lara’s thoughtful post yesterday, “What Do We Do With Young Adults?” It gets at some of the contextual challenges of church for folks in their 20s and 30s. And it has me thinking, if I were king of the world and arranging a mission development conference focused on emerging young adult faith communities, what questions and issues would I be sure to tackle?
- Spiritual but not religious - this phrase is used by many of the young adults with whom I speak in one-to-ones. It’s a great phrase because it describes for so many their discomfort with the church. It’s really helpful. I like it. But it’s not particularly descriptive. I’d love to tackle, in a group setting that accepts this phrase as positive (or at least benign), all the facets of its meaning.
- What about the aversion to worship? A lot of the 20-30 somethings I chat with are very spiritual, think about faith often, seek community gatherings, but are really hesitant to be connected to anything called “worship.” I have my theories, but I’d love to hear what the experts think about this, and if it’s an across-the-board phenomenon.
- What’s the right balance between making space that’s open to everyone’s questions and making a space that communicates (broadly speaking) what the Church believes? Pretty self-explanatory. The folks I connect with really want a place to tackle tricky theological issues. But they want a place to ask questions, not be spoon-fed answers. I’d love to hear how other mission developers walk this line — or where they cross it.
- Please don’t emphasize congregational sustainability, stewardship, or looking like the model of churches that have existed for 100 years. This model of a church with 150 members, a 100K annual budget, and shiny building is just dandy for many, but it’s not the mindset of most young adult focused churches I know. The problem is that we know how to pull that traditional one off, but other models are trickier. Thinking outside the box is difficult, and I’d love the opportunity to honestly talk numbers with other emergent mission developers without the assumptions of traditional models.
- How can the unique gifts of young adults these days be put to use for new ways of ministry? I feel like much of the literature around young adults and the church these days is about how young adults are different than other generations. That’s great. It’s certainly true. But most of what I read gets stuck in explaining how, even though things are different, we don’t have to lament. Little I’ve read takes the approach of truly rejoicing in what this generation has to offer the church. How would our conversations look be different if we said, “God has blessed us with a generation that does not accept the B.S. of previous models. Hallelujah! Thanks be to God. Now what?”
If you were planning or going to attend a mission development conference on young adult ministry, what would you hope to tackle?
In PC(USA), “Minister” no more. Now: “Teaching Elder.”
A Gathering Voices post
I’ve struggled with living into a pastoral identity ever since I started seminary. I blog on it from time to time (e.g. here, here, and here). When I served as a parish pastor, some people called me “Pastor Adam,” and that was fine but I never really became comfortable with it.
I recommend Eugene Peterson’s new memoir, The Pastor for addressing some of these issues. Though Peterson once did not anticipate ever becoming a pastor, he later embraced a pastoral calling full-on, with major reflection and many helpful publications for other pastors as well. In his memoir he writes,
While being a pastor certainly has some of these components, the pervasive element in our two-thousand-year pastoral tradition is not someone who “gets things done” but rather a person placed in the community to pay attention and call attention to “what is going on right now” between men and women, with one another and with God — this kingdom of God that is primarily local, relentlessly personal, and prayerful “without ceasing.
While I like this pastoral definition and approach of Peterson’s, his distinction between pastoral identity and non-pastoral identity grates me somewhat in his memoir (not to mention his talk of the call of the pastor’s wife!). But that’s for another post.
I write this all with a huge change in the Presbyterian Church (USA) in mind. As of Sunday, our constitution has changed so that “Minister of the Word and Sacrament” is no longer the preferred way to speak of a pastor’s office. “Minister” is replaced with “Teaching Elder.” So now rather than a denomination led by those called “Ministers of the Word and Sacrament” and “Elders,” we are a denomination led by two types of elders: Teaching Elders and Ruling Elders. So while you might call your pastor “Pastor _______” you can now refer to her as “Elder _______” and be just as accurate.
The old “Minister of the Word and Sacrament” language still is included in the new constitution, but it’s in parentheses and doesn’t show up much. Overwhelmingly the language now isn’t “Minister” but “Teaching Elder.”
As I understand it, Teaching Elders can be called to serve a church as pastor. We still have pastors — plenty of them — but those we serve as pastors do so because their ordained Teaching Elders rather than Ministers.
The new language states that “Teaching elders shall in all things be committed to teaching the faith and equipping the saints for the work of ministry (Eph. 4:12). They live out this role in different ways of service.
So, for example, “When [Teaching Elders] serve as preachers and teacher of the Word, they shall preach and teach the faith of the church, so that the people are shaped by the pattern of the gospel and strengthened for witness and service.” The constitution also speaks of Teaching Elders’ service at font and table, as pastors, and as presbyters.
Please note: as opposed to what some folks are saying, the new language does not replace “Pastor” with “Teaching Elder,” rather it uses “Teaching Elder” as the broader office that is lived out in particular ways — as pastor, as teacher, as preacher, as steward of the mysteries of grace.
There’s a lot helpful with this change, I think. For one, it emphases the parity of Teaching Elders and Ruling Elders. Ruling Elders are ordained to spiritual leadership roles. They serve the local church on the Session, and also serve on other councils of the church. As the constitution says, “Ruling elders are so named not because they “lord it over” the congregation (Matt. 20:25), but because they are chosen by the congregation to discern and measure its fidelity to the Word of God, and to strengthen and nurture its faith and life.”
Teaching Elders, just like Ruling Elders are ordained to service because the church recognizes they have particular gifts for ministry. But being a Teaching Elder is no fancier in the Spirit than serving as a Ruling Elder. Different gifts. Same Spirit. One Lord.
But I’m also a bit uncomfortable about the new language for a few reasons. First, Teaching Elder, at first hearing, doesn’t seem to encompass as much — in my mind at least — as Minister. So I wonder if people will hear “Teaching Elder” and not consider the whole realm of service possible. Second, might the Teaching Elder title lead pastors to emphasize teaching too much and forget about pastoral care? Obviously pastors aren’t going to stop caring, but language does have great power. I’m all for teaching — no worries about that — but I’m not sure the great need of the PC(USA) at the moment is more lectures, classes, even Bible studies. Finally, I wonder about ecumenical confusion. The language of “minister” is common among many denominations. Will Presbyterians be forced, in any ecumenical setting, to constantly explain what their office is?
At the end of the day, words are words. But they have power. They have great meaning. So, this former minister who served as pastor, now Teaching Elder serving as Mission Developer, prays this change is for the better.
image by elvis santana
Youth conferencing in Montreat
For the next two weeks I’m in Montreat, North Carolina as the preacher for the Montreat Youth Conference. These conferences are a part — an essential part, I think — of Montreat Conference Center’s mission as it serves the PC(USA) and beyond. Volunteer planning teams of youth and adults serve a vital role in the conference organization, and they recruit a leadership team for two one-week-long conferences.
So, at the moment, my mind is mostly consumed with worship preparations, sermon editing, and a million details of coordination needed to help pull off quality conferences for 650 and 1300 youth this week and next. The blog may be quiet for a while.
There’s many things to love about Montreat youth conferences, but from my biased perspective as preacher here’s the first few that come to mind. First, the driving force of the conference is small groups in which youth meet twice each day. Small groups are made up of youth and a few adults, almost all of whom have not met before. Together they discuss the faith and grow in God’s love, and it’s all done in conversation and in community (personal come-to-Jesus experiences are less the point than personal relationships with those who seek to follow Jesus). Next, evening worship serves as a capstone to each day, and it takes place after a day of holy recreation, music, keynote presentation, and several small group meetings. Worship, then, (including my sermon) is a time at which the day’s theme can be claimed, wrestled-with, and honestly raised to God, but that only happens after a full day’s worth of contemplation. I’ve been thinking of worship as the capstone for each day. Finally, Montreat youth conferences are led by a team of leaders — music, recreation, keynote, preacher — and many support staff. So, hopefully, it’s not about individual personalities but how together we can consider how God is leading us to reflect upon the week’s theme.
I better be going, but here’s a list of some other Montreat youth conferences highlights (even before it begins):
- youth and adults working on planning teams in partnership
- hundreds of youth singing praises to God with new songs and old
- beautiful mountain settings with flowing creeks throughout
- fun fun fun recreation opportunities that build folks up and connect them to creation
- seeing old friends and making new ones
- being exposed to the faith of the whole church — both its similarities and differences
- ice cream at the Huckleberry
- wonderful college-aged summer staffers that make Montreat work so well
- youth, from many states, loving God and serving their neighbors
image by benuski
A Lutheran, a Presbyterian, and a Zombie walk into a bar…
a Thoughtful Christian.com post
The question was on the tip of my tongue last weekend when Rev. Mark Hanson, the Presiding Bishop of the ELCA, spoke at a town hall forum in Moorhead, Minn. But I didn’t ask it. I feared my question wouldn’t be taken seriously. And, looking at the five hundred or so Lutherans gathered, it was probably the right call. I mean, let’s be honest, there’s a certain type of crowd that comes out to a standing-room-only event on a Friday night to hear a church bureaucrat speak. Folks had burning questions about church social statements, denominational strategy, and why it took their rural congregations 18 months to find a new pastor. I get that. But, even so, I so wanted to ask the question. Maybe I should have.
You see, Fargo-Moorhead last weekend hosted two VERY different events. Both synods on the Fargo and Moorhead sides of the Red River hosted their annual assemblies, so Lutheran pastors and lay leaders gathered to worship, conduct business meetings, approve budgets, and learn from speakers and workshops. On Saturday, though, downtown Fargo hosted something rather different than the Lutheran assemblies — the Downtown Zombie Pub Crawl. (The fourth annual Downtown Zombie Pub Crawl no less!) More than 1,000 people responded “Yes” to the Facebook invitation. They dressed-up like zombie — lots of blood and guts and scary makeup — and visited various downtown pubs. I have no way of knowing what percentage of synod assembly participants joined the ranks of the undead, but I have a good guess it was closer to zero than two.
Which leads me to my unasked question. Of course, it’s ridiculous because we can’t know. But, let’s consider it briefly. Ok, so here it goes: where would Jesus have been — the synod meetings or the Zombie Pub Crawl?
I mean, Jesus was all about getting people together and having a good time. He was certainly for more than a little imbibing — his first sign in John was turning gallons of water into wine — and I can totally see him rocking out to a disco ball. Who did Jesus tend to hang with but the outcasts, the folks on the margins, the folks for whom respectable society had no time or energy. Does that remind you, even a little, of zombie culture these days?
And, the synod meetings, as good as they were (much better than most Presbytery meetings, but that’s another post), didn’t push me to those margins. They didn’t send me into that uncomfortable space where I questioned my faith or my assumptions. They affirmed how to be a good Lutheran — boy they did that — but not as much how to be an edgy one. They told me about denominational resources and entertained me with hunky-dory illustration-filled preaching, but they did not convict me.
In my position as mission developer for The Project F-M I meet with lots of 20-30 somethings who aren’t connected to faith communities. Often, I hear stories of folks who view the institutional church as not open to questions, as expecting its members to fit a certain mold, folks who see the church as either dishonest or unaware of its own failings. And while I could give counterexamples here or there, usually I just listen because their experiences speak for themselves. Many many young adults in Fargo-Moorhead see the church as out of touch and not for them.
To be honest, I still don’t know how to answer the question. I don’t have any idea how Bishop Hanson would have responded. But here’s my hope — for my call, and for my church. I dearly hope that next year the synod assemblies and the Zombie Pub Crawl once again occur on the same weekend. And, if they do, I want to be edgy enough, to respond to Christ’s call enough, to be downtown instead of at the synod business meetings. And, there I’ll stand on a street corner with a bottle of wine and some bread, and I’ll preach of a man who too is undead. Jesus Christ. Jesus who cured the sick and caused the dead to rise. Jesus, whose blood was poured out for the salvation of the whole world. Jesus who lived on the edge and died there because of it. Jesus, who is promised to be present when we share the bread and drink the wine remembering him. Jesus, who loves Lutherans, and zombies, and a good party.
image by lusi
Additional Resources from www.TheThoughtfulChristian.com
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Everyday Parables: Learnings from Life, by James Taylor
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Parables as Subversive Speech: Jesus as Pedagogue of the Oppressed, by William R. Herzog II
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“Parables of the Lost: Luke 15,” by Thomas W. Walker (Adult Study)
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“Understanding God’s Grace through Parables,” by Adam Fischer (Youth Study)
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