Comments on: youth ministry 3.0, part 5

By: josh mcalister

josh mcalister — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 04:30:41 +0000

It seems like of the three tasks of adolescence that the church only tries to really help with autonomy by emphasizing that a student make their faith their own. While youth ministry focuses some on identity, it seems to be more of a mainstreaming approach that strips away any freedom and forces students into the narrow confines in which the church traditionally sees Christian guy and girl roles. As for affinity, youth ministries seem to desire to create one affinity group for our students at the expense of all of the others. This leads to an all-or-nothing mentality and the ostracization of “fringe” kids and the glorification of the dedicated.

By: like a fire

like a fire — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 14:00:42 +0000

Identity

I have been reading a lot of Marko lately. I don’t know if his blogging has changed or if I just didn’t get him before, but he really has my attention lately. Specifically, he is writing a book on youth ministry that I can’t wait to g…

By: Darrin

Darrin — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 22:07:44 +0000

Marko, like what you’ve written so far, and I think you covered these 3 concepts very well, but I think you forgot a 4th task of adolecence:

Creating a MySpace page

And an equally important sign that adolescence is coming to a close:

Moving from Myspace to FaceBook

Had to be said :)

By: Tom

Tom — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 19:31:08 +0000

Marko

This is fascinating. Your definitions and descriptions of identity, autonomy and affinity are incredibly helpful and I look forward to reading the chapter(s) in the book. This puts a twist on something I’ve been grappling with. After taking a wonderful class on Spiritual Formation last semester, I have been challenged by what many have labeled a “compartmentalized” faith. Faith in Christ is much more than a single compartment/component but the center…you know how the argument goes.

Richard Boa, in his book Conformed to His Image, says that “Our relationship with Christ was never meant to be a component of our lives but to be the central hub to which every spoke is connected (213).” Believing this to be a true statement, how do I as a youth pastor help teens realize that God is present in each affinity group? What I’ve been trying to affirm and encourage with my teens is the reality that in every situation/group they find themselves, God is present and active.

Where I see the breakdown with youth (and many adults) is the thinking that certain affinity groups are Godless. For whatever reason, be it culture, group dynamics, selfishness, or fear…certain affinity groups are seen as void of God. For some reason we’ve come to expect, allow for and be comfortable with this. For example, God is at camp but not at school. God is at youth group but not the movie theatre. God is near when I’m with my family but not my friends.

Your last paragraph about Liesl being “three different girls” really hits home. I’ve been harping on my kids to be the same person in each group. Perhaps this is misguided. Regardless, it seems to me that during this time when a kid’s identity and autonomy are under construction, we as youth workers need to make every effort to help our students understand that even though their affinity groups have different identities; Christ hopes to be situated at the center of their life.

Sorry for the long post – one could poke a bunch of holes in what I’m trying to say. I need to give this more thought and look forward to further digesting this wonderful culture we live in.

By: Ben

Ben — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 21:54:33 +0000

I’m with Paul on this one. You’ve covered a lot of ground, and covered it well. We have a huge identity crisis in our hands as youth workers. How will we respond?

By: Paul

Paul — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:02:22 +0000

Wow, nothing to add to this, but this post makes me want to get the book more than anything.

What I have been seeing in ym is a complete lack of identity in teens. They know nothing of who they are and are afraid to ask who they want to be.

I have some tools to help, but I am really looking forward to your ideas on this. Let me know when it’s coming out. I am very ready.