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My collegue (I always wanted to say that word), friend, youth ministry partner, and neighbor Prentice Park requested that I watch this: CLICK HERE.
This is the Colbert Report interviewing NT WRIGHT. Come on it does not get any better than this. Two of my favorite people. Colbert a brilliant satirist and NT WRIGHT a brilliant cutting edge NT scholar. Two of my passion- sarcasm and theology combined into one episode. Readers get your Bibles, popcorn, and soda get ready to watch.
Any thoughts about this interview?
Here is how the professional southern Baptist Blogger: Denny Burk feels about the interview. Frankly his thoughts just frustrate me. He obviously cannot overlook the satire.
Please check this Stephen Colbert interview with agnostic scholar, Bart Ehrman. Stephen Colbert tears Bart a new one.
If you have been in the youth ministry world for a few years, you may have observed the different types, styles, and flavors of youth pastors and youth ministries. There has been over 30 years of youth ministry content, books, methodologies, magazines, discipleship resources, funny illustrative clips, game resources, and philosophies. Some of the resources have been crap and some have been amazing.
I believe there are three types of youth pastors in the: (1) The youth pastor who will not change, (2) The youth pastor who is wrestling if they should change, and (3) the youth pastor who is implementing change.
The youth pastor who will not change is very stubborn in their way of doing youth ministry. They are linear thinkers and black and white theologians. They are the youth pastor who easily gets annoyed and angered during the youth ministry conference because the speaker did not talk about the penal substitution. They present a very modern worldview to the students they minister to. They have the answers for every question including a cute catchy phrase so little Timmy can remember how to implement the spiritual disciplines in his life. This youth pastor does not know how to talk to homosexual students without making them mad. Typically this youth pastor thinks voting Republican is the way, the truth, and the life to effectively running an America government. Needless to say this youth pastor is sending their kids to Biola. Also, their wife is “submitting” to them–whatever that means.
The youth pastor who is honestly wrestling with how to change the way he or she is doing youth ministry, realizes they are trying to articulate an epidemic problem within 21st youth ministry. They are starting to rethink the 21st youth ministry paradigm. They realize that the Christian faith is not as simple as they are teaching their high school students. Their high school students are messing and jamming up their theological paradigm. They are not 100% sure how to answer some of the high school student’s questions. They know there has to be an effective way to do youth ministry in the church setting, which may suggest abandoning or improving how they are programming and teaching. They are okay to say: “I do not know.” This youth pastor is questioning and not arguing. This youth pastor is critically engaging the youth ministry world. This youth pastor wants a solid un-biased theological education. This youth pastor’s kids will either go to a private Christian school or a public university–either way they will be fine. Their wife supports them in whatever they do. And this youth pastor may vote Republican, Democrat, and/or independent.
The youth pastor who is implementing change definitely has a blog. This youth pastor is considered post-modern and emergent. This youth pastor owns all of Rob Bell’s content–including Rob’s first teaching on Leviticus. This youth pastor wants a radical change in how youth ministry has been arranged for the past 30 years. This youth pastor is not using youth ministry as a stepping stone to a senior pastor position. This youth pastor does not like the authoritarian leadership styles. They prefer more of an egalitarian type of leadership. They would call youth group teachings not preaching but a discussion or an on going conversation. At the youth ministry conference, you will find this youth pastor at the coffee shop meeting with other youth pastors while having a “conversation”, updating their facebook and twitter status, and talking about their youth ministry frustrations. This youth pastor wants to equip all students to be the Kingdom to the world. They prefer engaging culture, even if it is labeled un-Christian. They believe God is everywhere and there are God connections everywhere around us. You just need to make the connection and see the beauty in God’s creation. They hate politics and prefer to stay out of them and focus on the Kingdom trajectory. This youth pastor’s kids will definitely not be home schooled and will encourage their kids to explore humanism and find kernels of truth in it. This youth pastor’s wife is smart and may have a career of her own. AND this youth pastor will not be throwing a BIG evangelism event with pizza, a cool speaker with a cool band, and with salvation cards available after the event, any time soon.
What youth pastor are you?
I find myself resonating with the third type of youth pastor. However at times I feel alone and not sure what to do with the actual state youth ministry is in. I want to be diligent and obedient to the Scriptures while thinking everything I do through a theological lens. I want my students to test everything that is presented in youth group. I want them to own their faith after they “graduate” my youth ministry. I want them to probe it all. I do not want them to swallow it uncritically. I want them to think about it. Wrestle with it.
Because I am a Christian youth pastor with a MDIV does not mean I fully know what is happening and that I got this youth ministry gig nailed. I want to contribute to the youth ministry conversation. I love the youth ministry blog world because I can find youth pastors who are LIKE me and who are not like me and we can all learn together. Yes some of us may disagree theologically, but we all can agree that we love working with kids as we TRY to point them towards the cross of Calvary.
……you can text message faster than you can type.
……you had/have/ or will have a goatee or a soul patch.
……you have 1 myspace, 1 facebook, and 2 aim screen names all for “ministry purposes”.
……you have put on a few lbs. because you have arranged one too many youth group meetings with pizza.
……you own Purpose Driven Youth Ministry because you thought it would fix all your youth ministry programmatic problems.
……you own a pair of vans slip on shoes. Yes they are checkered too.
……you love any innovative technology gadgets (ipods, iphones, laptops, pdas, wii,)
…..your car is trashed.
…..you start any conversation with “hey….bro/sister……what is up?”
…..you go over your cell phone minutes and text messages every month.
…..you have on-hand Bibles every where–your office, your car, church bathroom, the youth room, and in the church van.
…..your clothes smell like Starbucks 65% of the week.
I am open for more additions to the list.
15. A great Christian has given a Bible to an “unsaved” co-worker or a friend as a gift.
14. A great Christian strongly believes they have a purpose driven life.
13. A great Christian has at least been to one Michael W. Smith concert.
12. A great Christian labels any social interaction: “Fellowship”.
11. A great Christian wears a cross necklace.
10. The great Christian will repeatedly use the word “blessing” or “blessed” in anything and everything. For example: they are blessed by the food, they sign their emails by using “blessings”, they were blessed by the worship, they were blessed by the conversation, you have a blessed day, God bless you, the sermon really blessed them today, and oh bless their heart.
9. A great Christian loves potlucks. Not only does the great Christian understand what a potluck is, but they know the best items to bring to a potluck.
8. A great Christian prays over every meal even when they do not feel like it or feels awkward about it. And the prayer is the same prayer they have been using for over 5 years. “Dear our Heavenly Father, thank you for this fellowship and this meal. Bless this meal to our bodies. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
7. A great Christian has the Christian fish on the bummer of their car.
6. A great Christian can play the acoustic guitar or knows another close Christian who plays the acoustic guitar.
5. A great Christian will always end the conversation by saying: I will be praying for you or how can I be praying for you.
4. A great Christian only votes Republican and thinks Democrats are from the devil.
3. A great Christian dislikes the alcohol of: beer, whiskey, vodka, rum, and tequila, but loves the Jesus Juice (aka wine).
2. A great Christian still uses a colored highlighter to highlight his or her favorite verses or the verses from the sermon.
1. A great Christian can recite and sing, including the rap part, the DC Talk song: Jesus Freak.
Blessings!
Jeremy
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