Previous Posts:

• Introductory Thoughts
• Part 1
• Part 2

2. Deep and Wide Youth Ministry means pushing our teens to grow deeper spiritually (pages 5-8)

First of all, I seldom use the word spiritual. I know what D2S means when they say spiritual: they pretty much mean things that are distinctly Christian. But spiritual seems to me to get too easily twisted into a Gnostic, dualistic understanding of Christian maturity that is overly concerned with the metaphysical. I think our ministries need less metaphysics and more concrete action. This is one of the areas that Bonhoeffer has affected me greatly.

From Apathy to Interest

D2S asserts that the Bible links obedience to the Word of God to spiritual growth (5). Yes! Growth is not studying the Bible; growth is living the Bible. Of course, you must study the Bible in order to live it, but many ministries have, in my opinion, equated study with Christian maturity. I’m glad D2S makes the distinction between the two.

From Interest to Excitement

As teens grow in obedience, they will begin to form a theological framework “on which their belief systems will be built on for the rest of their lives” (6). This is again a foundationalist argument that leaves open the very likely scenario that a change in one of the beliefs will bring the whole structure tumbling down. I think part of the reason so many people walk away from Christianity in college is because they have been taught so many things are foundational to Christianity that if one of those things gets debunked, they throw it all out. I think we must move away from unnecessarily making things that are mere opinion into dogma. Are certain things dogmatic? Absolutely. But we should teach those things wisely, selectively and not haphazardly.

A personal pet peeve of mine happens on page 6 when the Thesis is talking about how the Trinity impacts a teenager’s life: “The reality that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit dwell inside every believer (John 14) and that the Trinity invites every Christian into the secret fellowship and intimacy among its members should greatly encourage believing teenagers that they are not alone. As a matter of fact they are being invited into the ‘clique” of the most popular circle of friends in the universe!” I call statements like this a tritism. I don’t think it’s a real word, but that’s okay. It is just a statement that is trite. Usually they are theologically inaccurate and simultaneously underwhelming. To compare the Trinity to a high school clique isn’t exactly the historic articulation of the doctrine of the Trinity (see, I’m not scared of doctrine). Secondly, to even compare one’s relationship with God to like being in the super-coolest-clique-in-the-universe is just a stretch. It trivializes the thing in which it is trying to emphasize. So, yeah, that’s a pet peeve of mine.

Teaching Them to Obey Everything I have Commanded You

Most stuff here checks out. We study theology to live it. Amen

The 30 core questions on page 7 are good things to discuss, and I’m sure D2S would agree with this, but I don’t think they all require dogmatic answers. But they are great discussion starters.

From Excitement to Passion

This is one of the hardest things to do: get teenagers to own their faith to the extent that they can continue to grow and mature by themselves. Anyone who knows me knows I am not close to an individualist when it comes to Christianity, but when a person is 100% reliant upon someone else to grow the natural result is to become a Christian consumer. We do need to coach them to be able to do some of the training on their own. Good thoughts here.