If you noticed in my post yesterday, I linked to a new blog by Jerry Watts, and today I wanted to take a little more time to encourage you to read his blog. Jerry is a friend of mine who just finished his thesis for his M.A. in Children, Youth, and Family Ministry at Luther Seminary, and he’s decided to share it for all the world to see by starting a blog. He’s posting each section of his paper as a blog post, and as of today he has parts one & two of four sections posted.

Jerry is one of the few people who, in my humble opinion, is asking the right questions when it comes to youth ministry. The big questions for Jerry within youth ministry have nothing to do with youth ministry per se, but with ecclesiology. The problems within youth ministry are problems with the church (I’ve written on this topic here and here).

He draws in Phyllis Tickle and her contention that the church is on the very beginning edge of a major ecclesiological shift. If we are on the verge of a huge shift, what does that have to say for youth ministry? Jerry begins to ask the right questions in his thesis, and you would benefit from reading it and joining in the conversation. The scope of this paper did not allow for a really in-depth treatment of the topic, which is unfortunate. I know Jerry had to cut out lots of material to trim his paper down to the appropriate length. So, don’t expect to find all of the right answers in this thesis paper, but do expect to be brought into a conversation that is asking the right questions (which is at least half of the battle–asking the wrong questions just wastes everyone’s time).

I’m not sure what plans Jerry has for the blog after he posts all the parts of his thesis, but I would hope that he will continue to host this conversation around these issues.

Enough from me, go to Jerry’s blog and start discussing.