I am a meteorologist and a former youth leader at church…I have a lot to say on both subjects…and then some
however, I can’t. There have been some things that go on with youth pastors and churches that I can’t elaborate on at this point. Part of the problem is that I have a heart for the hurting youth pastors, who have been used and abused by churches. I once attended a NYWC in Pittsburgh in 2002. There I saw a seminar entitled “The Church has Fangs,” or how some churches don’t always act very Christian-like, with Len Evans. My church at the moment is pretty good. We have some typical things, but most of those things seem to have smoothed out as grace has been applied. I need to remember that grace when I get angry about situations where the church has shown its fangs.
Since that seminar, and then later during a guided prayer session in Dallas (2004) at another NYWC, I saw youth workers crying and in my heart, I felt God whispering in my spirit of me being a pastor/spiritual director to youth pastors. In the meantime, I read everything about youth ministry. I talk to kids. I look for ways to speak into their lives. In short as “Tiger” McLuen once said, “Be a Bob.” (I won’t tell the whole story, but it has to do with building a relationship with kids.)
This has taken my faith into radically new directions at times as I question what the Christian church really wants.
I question those that think that their buildings are more important than their kids.
I question those that don’t look at the youth as worth the effort. They question why the need for a youth program.
I question those that seem to stay in their comfortable country club and think that their tradition is the only correct theology. There is a difference, and I have to constantly go back to God to question whether I am letting that interfere with my relationship with Christ.
That last one was a poke at some denominationalism that I have run into as of late.
I like to think that when I get mad at a church that it is a holy anger. I’m just not sure that I always channel it constructively like Christ did when He healed on the sabbath in the book of Mark.
On a twitter post I said something about the Republican party hijacked Christianity. I don’t agree with the Republican party because they have some unholy planks that most ignore. The Democrats are no different. I look for who agrees most with me.
Instead of spreading the wealth that Obama would like, if Christians were just generous to the poor and oppressed, Show mercy and do Justice, their wouldn’t be a need to spread the wealth.
While I agree with a couple of big issues that the political parties talk about, most ignore the mercy and justice that needs to be done at their own home.
I wrestle with these things.
Someday, I’ll write what I am trying to not rant about, but it is too soon for the things to have happened, and I can’t even speak in generalities at this point without tipping my hand.
However, as I think about it, all of this has to do with pride, and being self centered. I admit that I struggle with that. I know that I am not always right.
I saw this on ysmarko’s blog.
1. band name comes from a Random wikipedia entry
2. latest album title comes from the last four words of the first quote on the random quote generator page.
3. album art – taken from the interesting photos page of Flickr
So here is what I came up with:
Band name: Kiev Opera
Album: Hold of the Hammer
Album art see right –>
Those who know me know that I like science fiction. That’s why I am reminded of this episode of Babylon 5. It’s called “Deathwalker.” The main idea is that a wanted war criminal walks onto the station and has the secret to immortality. Besides being wanted for war crimes by several species, it is found out that to make one vial of serum, and you have to kill another being. Some want to get their hands on it, but as the character and her vial of serum is transported, a very ancient race steps in and destroys it all saying, that we aren’t ready for immortality. I look at the embryonic stem cells research in the same vein, what right do we have to pull apart any sentient being for us to gain immortality.
I commented on Pastor Brian Zahnd’s blog recently when he talked about a reformation. I agreed with him. I have been looking at the fact that those who want to be othrodox don’t always do anything after the initial salvation.
Here’s a great quote:
As one commenter said on his blog was that there are people from all denominations trying to put the orthodox and the othropraxis. In this case, the article comes from Christianity Today via the UMC Reporter’s Blog.
This is an interesting article which I’m not sure what to do with. If this is the case, then the church has some serious work to do in training up its leaders, or place more emphasis on “youth ministry.”
The youth market has always been defined as tweens, teens, and sometimes college students, but Viacom’s recent “Golden Age of Youth” study reveals that marketers should begin including the 25-34 age group as part of their youth target. Call it the Peter Pan syndrome if you will, but the survey found that contemporary twentysomethings prolong their youth and delay “the onset of adult responsibilities and stay emotionally and physically younger for longer.”HT: ypulse.com
The hat tip goes to ysmarko with this. Although, I read the article from the youth marketing site called Ypulse. It brings about a good point that behavior doesn’t always follow attitude, especially with teens.
here’s an extremely key sentence:
Regnerus argues that religion is a good indicator of attitudes toward sex, but a poor one of sexual behavior, and that this gap is especially wide among teen-agers who identify themselves as evangelical.
(ht to ypulse)
