As for the key themes, I think SEEKING. Seeking applies to the personal journey of faith, the journey we take together, truth, justice, belonging, etc.

Youth ministry is supposed to be about walking with and assisting students as they discover and build a relationship with the same God we are deeply in love with. We must not forget this!

My hope is that the future of youth ministry will be grace-driven. My dream is to see youth ministry, as a whole, model for the western church what it is to be radically inclusive and accepting of everyone into our communities. That our message and focus of discipleship will be teaching students to see and know God’s grace.

in the old testament scriptures we read constantly of the barren woman. i’m pretty sure that she has something important to show us today, as well as back then. in my reflections, and with the wisdom of some of the kiwi heroes of youth ministry – i think that there is a beautiful cycle of death, desperation, conception, labour and birth that ought to replace that “driven” model.

sidenote a/ “driven” suggests a drivers seat – doh. (so far this is groundbreaking, I know) .. but there is a simply human element and agenda to a “driven” anything.

we’re so tempted to be constantly adopting other people’s 2 year olds as our models/mandate/slogan/agenda/purpose for ministry. as much as all of the words you can put before “driven” have really great intent.. they will still boil down to something that was birthed in someone’s time and place and for someone’s season and purpose.

I’d love to see a future in youth ministry that is all about conception and birthing. Here’s why.

the barren woman recognises that God has the power to open and close the womb (at the end of the day, God is the author of our ministries, the ultimate shepherd – we do the best we can and he holds it in his hand).

the barren woman goes through a period of desolation and desperation (the end of ministry as we’ve done, the challenging of our current thinking, recognising that what we’ve been isn’t what we desire to become).

desperation leads to the knees before God – and then God hears and opens the womb. There’s this beautiful moment of conception that I just love. A unique child with unique DNA is crafted together in a unique womb from the genetic material of it’s parents (community, culture, environment, theology, praxis).

there’s also gestation (times of growth & nurture, investment in the key foundations).

there’s labour. (hard yards of bringing something into being – requiring perseverance, strength, stamina, faith. there’s also a lot of the unknown involved in the labour process for a barren woman… it’s uncharted territory).

Birth. When something that has been living and connected with the umbilical cord emerges and takes it’s own breath (real culture change, lives impacted, effectual reality).

and Life. with a unique DNA that goes on to create more life, interacting with lots of other life forms.

yup – I really like the idea of future youth ministry being about birthing our own stuff. cos it requires us to be really desperate before God about the conception, recognising our own barrenness.. that what we currently have isn’t what we want in a future youth ministry. it’s going to mean we have to think better, with more applied theology, more cultural awareness and understanding rather than relevance. it gets me excited about the kind of people that can do youth ministry like this..

:)

meek, surrender, patience humility, gentle.

the image from this poem -

eddying
1. A current, as of water or air, moving contrary to the direction of the main current, especially in a circular motion.
2. A drift or tendency that is counter to or separate from a main current, as of opinion, tradition, or history.

looks sorta like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBcdL8uO71E

a poem by Mary Karr I recently found and loved.
From her book, Sinners Welcome

WHO THE MEEK ARE NOT

Not the bristle-bearded Igors bent
under burlap sacks, not peasants knee-deep
in the rice paddy muck,
nor the serfs whose quarter-moon sickles
make the wheat fall in waves
they don’t get to eat. My friend the Franciscan
nun says we misread
that word meek in the Bible verse that blesses them.
To understand the meek
(she says) picture a great stallion at full gallop
in a meadow, who–
at his master’s voice–seizes up to a stunned
but instant halt.
So with the strain of holding that great power
in check, the muscles
along the arched neck keep eddying,
and only the velvet ears
prick forward, awaiting the next order.

one thing that’s TOTALLY resonating with me is that the suffix “-driven” shouldn’t be part of our preferred future. i agree, it’s a very modern concept. after scott miller, in comment #2, said we shouldn’t be driven, we should be the driver, i started thinking, “no, i don’t think we should be driven, or drive. that’s the wrong wording for where we need to go.” then, several of you have affirmed that thinking for me.

i’m going to try to finalize my talk on monday; so any more input you have prior to that would be greatly appreciated.

By the way, I linked to this post already. So take that, Technorati! :)