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.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
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?
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?
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
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.
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.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
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!)
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!)
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Why do we watch the conductor?
Tomorrow marks the end of my first week of student teaching and it has gone very well so far. Every day we are supposed to put an "essential question" on the board for the students to think about (and answer if we remember to bring it up). Today's question was "Why do we watch the conductor?". This question came about after all kinds of problems in every class with students not watching myself and my OSTE and therefor running into all kinds of problems throughout the music and making class a lot less fun as we got more and more frustrated with the students. It got me thinking though...
Why do we watch the conductor in music? To keep tempo, to see dynamics, for expression instructions... the list goes on. The conductor is the one leading the band, and supposedly they are the one that will always be there as a constant when things fall apart in the music. Kind of like God (don't tell any conductor that though!).
God is our conductor. He gives us our life's tempo, leads us in our expressions and dynamics. When things get tough and start to fall apart, we run to God asking and praying for help in various forms. But just like any band (especially excited middle schoolers), we get full of ourselves and our abilities and we tend to take our eyes off of the conductor, putting our focus on ourselves, all too often. Maybe we just figured out a problem/ rhythm on our own, or found our pure tone and niche... but is it really on our own?
The conductor may not always be right there to fix every problem (or so it seems), but they give us the tools to do so from day one. The last two days I have been providing the very basic tools to my 6th graders as I teach basic music theory. "This is a staff, this is a treble clef, this is a quarter note..." By teaching this to my students, I am providing them with the tools they need to work out complicated parts later on when we move on to harder music. They may not think of these first few days as being the source of the solutions, but how often do we think back to that time on the cross or the afternoon on the hillside with thousands of hungry people as the solution to our problems?
So, why do we watch the conductor? Because God is the source of life- he leads us through the troubled times, even putting down the baton and clapping out the tempo for the times when we can't see but maybe we can hear. He helps us to learn how to express ourselves and our love, he leads us through the dynamic ups and downs of life, celebrating with us when it is done correctly and we are excited, and working with us when it isn't quite right.
The best part about OUR conductor? If we can't always watch, he is always there beating in tempo with our lives waiting for our eyes and ready to assist as soon as we need it.
Why do we watch the conductor in music? To keep tempo, to see dynamics, for expression instructions... the list goes on. The conductor is the one leading the band, and supposedly they are the one that will always be there as a constant when things fall apart in the music. Kind of like God (don't tell any conductor that though!).
God is our conductor. He gives us our life's tempo, leads us in our expressions and dynamics. When things get tough and start to fall apart, we run to God asking and praying for help in various forms. But just like any band (especially excited middle schoolers), we get full of ourselves and our abilities and we tend to take our eyes off of the conductor, putting our focus on ourselves, all too often. Maybe we just figured out a problem/ rhythm on our own, or found our pure tone and niche... but is it really on our own?
The conductor may not always be right there to fix every problem (or so it seems), but they give us the tools to do so from day one. The last two days I have been providing the very basic tools to my 6th graders as I teach basic music theory. "This is a staff, this is a treble clef, this is a quarter note..." By teaching this to my students, I am providing them with the tools they need to work out complicated parts later on when we move on to harder music. They may not think of these first few days as being the source of the solutions, but how often do we think back to that time on the cross or the afternoon on the hillside with thousands of hungry people as the solution to our problems?
So, why do we watch the conductor? Because God is the source of life- he leads us through the troubled times, even putting down the baton and clapping out the tempo for the times when we can't see but maybe we can hear. He helps us to learn how to express ourselves and our love, he leads us through the dynamic ups and downs of life, celebrating with us when it is done correctly and we are excited, and working with us when it isn't quite right.
The best part about OUR conductor? If we can't always watch, he is always there beating in tempo with our lives waiting for our eyes and ready to assist as soon as we need it.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Just some random thoughts...
1) Today is going to be absolutely amazing.
2) I am more than excited about student teaching.
3) As I start preparing my presentation about Pilgrimage, I can't help but feel like I am still lost and still missing something.
4) I have the best friends anyone could ever ask for.
5) It is almost time for me to actually be an adult and that is somewhat terrifying.
6) A year from now, I will be in Richmond probably studying Greek.
2) I am more than excited about student teaching.
3) As I start preparing my presentation about Pilgrimage, I can't help but feel like I am still lost and still missing something.
4) I have the best friends anyone could ever ask for.
5) It is almost time for me to actually be an adult and that is somewhat terrifying.
6) A year from now, I will be in Richmond probably studying Greek.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Helping the World Reach Agape
This past week was the first of my last two weeks with Summer in the City. Those of you who may not know, SITC is a service based camp for middle school youth from the Raleigh area Presbyterian churches. The week is spent doing various service projects at local shelters, food pantries, thrift shops, and any other non-profit organizations (usually Christian based). This is my fourth and final year working with this camp, and every year I fall more in love with it.
This year's theme is "Feed My Sheep" based off of John 21:17 (expanding out to John 21:15-17).
15When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"
"Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."
16Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"
He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."
17 The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."
One thing to note is that scripture follows Peter denying that he knows Jesus prior to his crucifixion. This denial occurs three times. In this scripture, Jesus is asking Peter if he loves him, to which Peter responds "You know all things, you know that I love you." Interesting... but that is for a later time when I know more about how to approach it and all of that :)
Back to the point though... the original translation (Greek) uses the words Agape and Philo in place of love.
Agape being an unconditional, eternal, unexpecting, freely given love, one that is very hard to reach for humans because there is always an underlying bit that we might think of at some point preventing from this full agape love that I believe only Jesus/ God/ Holy Spirit is capable of. Sure, you can say that you have this love for your significant other or your best friend... but what if they cheat on you? Or they lie to you? can you honestly say that you would not falter one bit in your love for them? Jesus and God DO NOT falter in their love for us.
Philo love is a brotherly love. This is typically the love we feel for our best friends, significant others, family... it has a stronger basis than Eros (emotional and physical, easily broken) but is not as strong as Agape.
When I was discussing this with my small group on our first night, one young lady (7th grade I believe) tied it very nicely into what our week at SITC was about... "To help the world reach AGAPE". WHAT A GREAT MOTIVE!! If we can truly work to help the world reach agape, can you imagine how much nicer it would be? Even if it never happens, even a miniscule difference could be incredible.
I truly think that is how the youth approached this week at SITC. In talking to some of them over a box of toilet paper (we had to cut packs of 4 in half to make packs of 2...), a rising 8th graders told me that they didn't really want to come to camp because of the work... they would rather be home at the pool or watching tv. However after they saw the difference they were making (or were potentially making), this was so much better than any tv show. That right there is exactly why I love the program so much and can't wait to continue along the same line in my ministry.
Going back to the theme of the week, "Feed My Sheep", as the week continued we asked the youth about the scripture- What is love? How do we show love to others? To God? What does it mean to "Feed My Sheep"? How can we feed HIS sheep outside of SITC? This spurred lots of conversation and thought in my small group as we came to many conclusions about each, however it became very apparent that there is no single answer to any of it, just as it should be (and completely against my list that I had already written, waiting for the check marks to go by each item). Every person has their own answer and none of them are wrong. Oh the things you learn from children!
What a wonderful thing when we can appreciate and respond to the needs of our world... whether that be some toilet paper that a family may not be able to get if they didn't go to this organization for help, or that extra push closer to agape. So here is my question after all of this- 25 middle schoolers came last week, and there will be 27 this week, all working towards providing for even the most "simple" needs of others they don't even know and may never know and helping the world reach agape, what are you doing? Are you sitting at home watching tv or tanning by your pool? Or are you looking for ways to do what these youth are doing? How are you feeding HIS sheep?
Trust me... it isn't always found on a check list, so go out there and find your way, and DO IT!
This year's theme is "Feed My Sheep" based off of John 21:17 (expanding out to John 21:15-17).
15When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"
"Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."
16Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"
He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."
17 The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."
One thing to note is that scripture follows Peter denying that he knows Jesus prior to his crucifixion. This denial occurs three times. In this scripture, Jesus is asking Peter if he loves him, to which Peter responds "You know all things, you know that I love you." Interesting... but that is for a later time when I know more about how to approach it and all of that :)
Back to the point though... the original translation (Greek) uses the words Agape and Philo in place of love.
Agape being an unconditional, eternal, unexpecting, freely given love, one that is very hard to reach for humans because there is always an underlying bit that we might think of at some point preventing from this full agape love that I believe only Jesus/ God/ Holy Spirit is capable of. Sure, you can say that you have this love for your significant other or your best friend... but what if they cheat on you? Or they lie to you? can you honestly say that you would not falter one bit in your love for them? Jesus and God DO NOT falter in their love for us.
Philo love is a brotherly love. This is typically the love we feel for our best friends, significant others, family... it has a stronger basis than Eros (emotional and physical, easily broken) but is not as strong as Agape.
When I was discussing this with my small group on our first night, one young lady (7th grade I believe) tied it very nicely into what our week at SITC was about... "To help the world reach AGAPE". WHAT A GREAT MOTIVE!! If we can truly work to help the world reach agape, can you imagine how much nicer it would be? Even if it never happens, even a miniscule difference could be incredible.
I truly think that is how the youth approached this week at SITC. In talking to some of them over a box of toilet paper (we had to cut packs of 4 in half to make packs of 2...), a rising 8th graders told me that they didn't really want to come to camp because of the work... they would rather be home at the pool or watching tv. However after they saw the difference they were making (or were potentially making), this was so much better than any tv show. That right there is exactly why I love the program so much and can't wait to continue along the same line in my ministry.
Going back to the theme of the week, "Feed My Sheep", as the week continued we asked the youth about the scripture- What is love? How do we show love to others? To God? What does it mean to "Feed My Sheep"? How can we feed HIS sheep outside of SITC? This spurred lots of conversation and thought in my small group as we came to many conclusions about each, however it became very apparent that there is no single answer to any of it, just as it should be (and completely against my list that I had already written, waiting for the check marks to go by each item). Every person has their own answer and none of them are wrong. Oh the things you learn from children!
What a wonderful thing when we can appreciate and respond to the needs of our world... whether that be some toilet paper that a family may not be able to get if they didn't go to this organization for help, or that extra push closer to agape. So here is my question after all of this- 25 middle schoolers came last week, and there will be 27 this week, all working towards providing for even the most "simple" needs of others they don't even know and may never know and helping the world reach agape, what are you doing? Are you sitting at home watching tv or tanning by your pool? Or are you looking for ways to do what these youth are doing? How are you feeding HIS sheep?
Trust me... it isn't always found on a check list, so go out there and find your way, and DO IT!
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