The future of our church...

Teenagers and church- this is something I have always been interested in, hence the whole family ministry thing. Recently, my pastor did a sermon that addressed some scare statistics regarding this topic...

More than 1/2 of teens that claim Christianity actually practice it.
Of those that are Christians, lots have a "watered down" faith that looks at God as more of a psychiatrist.
Most teenagers can't talk coherently about their faith.

My question is this- WHY???

When I was in middle school and high school I never thought of NOT going to church unless there was an extreme circumstance. This is both good and bad though because we don't want our children to feel like they HAVE to be at church, but rather they should WANT to be at church. I always looked forward to spending my Sunday's at church and lived for the retreats. Was I the odd one out or have things drastically changed?

Unfortunately I think it is the later. I remember all of the kids rushing to call the one missing person so Sunday School would be complete, or competing to see what church could bring more youth to a retreat. Now it is like pulling teeth to get them to show up for food on Sunday morning, but why?

We are fighting video games, the internet, and even worse... the "cool factor". You can include the games and internet in discussion... I do all the time, but what about that "cool factor"?

It used to be completely ok to wear a cross necklace or WWJD bracelet but dress codes are limiting to one piece of jewelry... so they choose the silly bands. We loved talking about youth group and comparing what we did every week. After working in public schools for internships and now student teaching, I rarely see or hear anything regarding faith, and when I do it is kept very quiet and is usually from a parent. Even my Sunday School students admit that they rarely talk about their beliefs at school.

Is it the church chasing them away or is it society? I think it is both. Society is changing but the church isn't with it. The church is so afraid of changing that we are losing our future as the teenagers run in the other direction. But how do we keep them? I have offered breakfast, facebook, treats, video games, movies... but I have realized it isn't about what we give them, but what we let them give the church.

Teenagers are excited, full of energy and ideas- ideas that could really give the church as a whole, a new face. Too many times we dismiss these ideas because the teenagers are "too young" or "don't understand". However if we take time to LISTEN to them rather than talk AT them, we would learn differently. There are new ideas floating around teenagers today and they might surprise us.

As humans we have a need to be needed. NEWSFLASH: Teenagers are humans as well. So ask them what they would like to do. Don't just have the act as elders because you need youth representatives, but let them know that their opinions are valued. If they feel needed, chances are they will come back, and may even bring a friend to see what are doing, leading to a chain reaction of teenage involvement and EXCITEMENT!

Listen... don't just talk.

What If Jesus Meant All That Stuff?

Everything I have said in my past posts, everything I could hope to say in future posts. I have a huge amount of respect for Shane Claiborne and what he does with his life. I could never do something to that extreme, but he has had an influence on my life and made me live just a bit more extreme than I used to.

Everyone- please read this. Think about it. Maybe see what you can do to try to change this image, or look past this image that Christians so often give, and look at the true foundation of the religion... Jesus Christ.

What If Jesus Meant All That Stuff?

No overthinking tonight

So this post isn't some over-thought question or soap box. Tonight, I am going to take one last moment to have an ego before I crush it and get focused again.

Two weeks ago I started down the last leg of my undergrad journey- student teaching. I was just a little scared and nervous and not at all sure what to expect. Sure, my friends have student taught, and I have even heard the discussion on the teacher end since Andrew had a student teacher last year, but I still had no idea what to expect. But thankfully I was welcomed in right away by an incredible teacher and pretty alright kids.

The last two weeks have really opened my eyes to what I am leaving behind by moving to Richmond, but also made me a little more sure of it. I am not gonna lie, I have come home some days wondering what it would be like to drop all paperwork, make one quick phone call, and begin the job search but then I start to think about how I would feel doing this every day for the rest of my life compared to going into ministry. I partially blame my OSTE for even putting the idea in my head to actually teach (even if only for a few years).

Note: This is when my ego explodes for a minute. I apologize in advance.

Basically, I seem to be doing pretty alright with my student teaching. My OSTE has had me teaching full classes since day 3 of school and has had nothing but good things to say. The kids have responded well and respect me as a real teacher, not some college student coming in to teach for a semester. All classes are making progress and sound great. Ok... I have learned to be excited about all of this and let it go, but tonight was the cherry on the cake. Tonight was our first Band Boosters meeting of the year so of course I was introduced again... and the introduction went like this...

"I am incredibly excited to have Ms. Buck as my student intern. She is a student at UNCG and will graduate with not one, but two music degrees in December. I always say student teaching is more of a formality and it couldn't be more true with her. She has been ready for a job since day 1 and is teaching the students more than I am at this point..."

Yea. I was just a little blown away and EXCITED to hear that, especially since my first observation will be this Friday afternoon. I know that I am going to have some band moments and I am as prepared as I can be for them thanks to my OSTE, but it does help to hear that you are doing well from the very start :D

Ok. Ego moment over. Time to end this and get some lesson plans done. That bad moment? Yea, fully expecting that tomorrow when I do my first beginning woodwinds lesson.

Hearing God's "Still small voice"... Would love feedback!

Tonight I finally got to return one of my favorite, and most important parts of the month- Guinness and the Good News. For those of you not familiar with it, this is a "bible study" (I use that term very loosely) for young adults during which we sit around and enjoy each others company while discussing various topics about our faith. Tonight's topic got me thinking a whole lot, and I still am. I will definitely do another post later with the thoughts that I finally "settle" on, but I would love some feed back from y'all. The feedback isn't just to hear the various responses, but it is also somewhat selfish on my part as I look for ways that work for me during my time of discernment as an Inquirer (or Pre-Inq. right now).

So, here is the question- How do you make out what is your voice and what is God's voice?

Take this question however, and please answer. I honestly don't think there is any ONE answer to this seeing that we all go about our faith differently. So, comment away! (Please!)