Dave Gibbons on Third Culture

Here’s the video I was talking about in my previous post.

Thanks to Chris Fann for the video.

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Junior High Summit 2009

A group pic of the crew...

Last week I had the awesome privilege of hanging with 21 friends and fellow junior high ministry peeps at Forest Home Camp in Sunny California. Every year I feel so blessed to be a part of this group, and I walk away feeling encouraged and challenged. This year we spent a large chunk of our time with Dave Gibbons, pastor of NewSong Church and author of The Monkey and the Fish. The book was a very easy read, and was full of insight and practical content. The book talks a lot about third culture, which was honestly the hardest part of the book for me to get a firm grasp on. The definition seems to morph a bit from start to finish, but in the end it’s basically about the values and character of Jesus, and how we live that out in today’s context. Dave has an incredible video online that explains this much better than I can. It’s on facebook, and I haven’t been able to figure out how to get it on here yet. If you’re on facebook, visit my homepage to see the video. If you’re not my friend, shoot me a request and I’ll get you the video. Though I enjoyed the book and learned a great deal from it and from our time with Dave, I must admit that it was difficult for me to draw a lot of practical applications for junior high ministry from it.

As a group, we spent a chunk of time talking about what it meant to live out a third culture mindset, and how we could teach (or encourage, assuming it may already be there in some regard) it to middle school students. We talked a lot about being adaptable and “fluid”, and about the idea that many middle school students already embody this trait by virtue of their multiple roles in the family and at school. I honestly can’t say that anything stood out as being incredibly profound or game-changing, but it was a good conversation.

What hit home more for me were the conversations about ministry R&D (research and development), “fringe” ministry, and the idea of leading from our pain.

• R&D: The idea that we have to constantly be researching new ways of doing things. He cited Google as his main example, saying that they spend a large chunk of their time and money investing in new ideas. He also mentioned that for every new thing we start, we should end two old things. Not sure how that would fly in most churches, but it’s definitely worth thinking about.
• Fringe: Dave talked about what we’re doing to minister to the “fringe” elements in our world. The “least of these” or the ones that make us uncomfortable at best. How are we looking out for and reaching out to the people that others seem to pass by again and again?
• Leading from our Pain: The idea that every leader, and really every person, has a deep pain in their life. Whether it’s something that’s been put on you, or it’s something you’ve brought on yourself…everyone has a pain. Dave says that the best leaders, the ones who will lead the way in third culture, are the ones that lead from their pain. Pain, says Gibbons, is what draws people in and disarms all the things that can be used to divide us.

Great stuff to think about. Again, I’m thankful to be a part of this group and grateful to Dave Gibbons for coming to share with us. I’ll see if I can get that video from Dave up here in the next few days.

What is Authentic?

There’s a great article in this month’s issue of Fast Company which talks about Authenticity. The article focuses mainly on brands, but it is largely applicable to ministry as well. The “gold” of this article comes when the author lists the four strands that draw out an emotional connection with the brand…basically, what it takes to be authentic. Here they are:

1. A sense of place. – Authenticity comes when we can connect with a place…and that normally happens in the context of their story. For ministry, this can mean a literal place of gathering, somewhere that we feel a common connection with or have shared experiences in. It can also mean a connection through a historical sense of place…where we come from or where we are going. The rub in that situation is that it must come off in a real, authentic way…otherwise it runs the risk of being “cheesy” and instantly dismissed.

2. A strong point of view. – The article states: Authenticity also emerges from “people with a deep passion for what they are doing,”. From a ministry viewpoint, this means that we had better have a good reason behind the things that we are doing and we’d better have a strong sense of why we are doing them. Students can smell something fake a mile away. Even if they don’t instantly agree with you, they’ll respect passion and commitment. Just make sure that the passion is tempered with a degree of humility and compassion. Students want to see passion and drive, but they don’t want to experience the hypocrisy of someone who wrongly thinks that they have it all figured out or think that they definitively know all of the answers.

3. Serving a larger purpose. -Talk about vital! If students don’t feel the sense that they are serving a larger purpose, then we have FAILED in youth ministry. Our entire ministry is connecting their stories to God’s Story. We need to show them that their life has meaning beyond just what they do for themselves. We must find a way to show them that they have importance in the world and in God’s Kingdom. It’s equally vital that students understand God’s story in the proper context. In order for students to connect with the larger purpose, they must feel secure in the security of that purpose. Students expect things to be inauthentic. They are waiting for the “switch” or for the ulterior motives to come out. In ministry we have the greatest, most unselfish and authentic story ever told…students need to connect to that.

4. Integrity. – Be who you say you are. Sounds simple enough, right? Here’s the deal though…if you say that you are a loving community, and then your students are tearing each other down every chance they get, you’re losing your integrity with many other students. If you tell a kid that you’re going to be at their school for lunch, or at their swim meet or baseball game, then you better make sure you follow through with that. Be what you say you are. A good rule to live by is to “under promise and over deliver”. We tend to do just the opposite, which leads to huge disappointment and a chipping away at our integrity. Be who God created you to be, and be honest and seek forgiveness for the times that you aren’t.

That’s just a small taste of the article and some of my thoughts…be sure to check out the whole thing and let me know what you think.

Thoughts on Saddam’s Execution

Today’s been a rough day for a lot of personal reasons that I won’t get into here. Sitting in front of my computer, the song “Majesty” by Delirious comes on, followed by the haunting, disturbing and yet joyfully triumphant song “Our God Reigns”. As I think about the injustice, the hurt, the pain and the suffering in this life, it becomes very easy to forget that our God truly does reign. Our God reigns when people are cruel, when life is hard, when things don’t go the way we hoped they would, our God reigns…what a restful thought that is. On a “bigger picture” note, when I consider the war in Iraq, I feel deeply conflicted. I’m not an overtly political person, and I have always felt a strong need to support our elected officials. Now more than ever before, I feel very conflicted and torn…espescially in light of the subject of war and peace. I guess the bottom line is that I don’t have it figured out…I’m still working through it with fear and trembling. And I’m grateful that I don’t have the voice and influence of many of the bloggers whom I read…because frankly that scares me. Enough of my rambling though, below is an article that I found on Mike King’s blog and thought was very worth passing on. Agree or disagree, I’d love to hear your feedback on this one. About the author, Shane Claiborne is the author of the book Irresistible Revolution. On his blog, Mike King says of Clairborne; “Shane is a modern day St. Francis of Assisi. He is the real deal.” Shane was featured on Jim Wallis’ Blog God’s Politics. Here are his thoughts on the execution of Saddam Hussein…

“What do you think of that man?” the old guy asked in a raspy voice as I settled in next to him on the plane. He pointed to the face of Saddam Hussein on the front of his newspaper with a headline story of the looming execution. I gathered myself, and prepared for what could turn out to be a rather chatty plane ride. I replied gently, “I think that man needs some love.” And the rather boisterous gentleman sat still, perhaps not exactly the response he predicted. Then he said pensively, “Hmmmm. I think you’re right…” And finally, he whispered in a forlorn tone, “And it is hard to communicate love through a noose.”

When we have new eyes we can look into the faces of those we don’t even like, and see the One we love. We can see God’s image in everyone we encounter. As Henri Nouwen puts it: “In the face of the oppressed I recognize my own face and in the hands of the oppressor I recognize my own hands. Their flesh is my flesh, their blood is my blood, their pain is my pain, their smile is my smile.” We are made of the same dust. We cry the same tears. No one is beyond redemption and no one is beyond repute. And that is when we are free to imagine a revolution that sets both the oppressed and the oppressors free. The world is starving for grace. And grace is hard to communicate with a noose.

What do you think?

Disgusted Emailer

Got this email today from a person in Kalamazoo, MI. The person signed their name as “disgusted” and wrote the following:

“please, get the religion out of this program! it is so unnecessary! my children should be learning to make choices for themselves, and if they want to worship god, then great! but they are too young, and my childen shall NEVER be shaped by forced religion.”

I haven’t replied yet. I’m still recovering from our LONG trip to Omaha, but will probably write back sometime tomorrow. I thought it was interesting though, since I’m 99% sure this person did not have a child at our event in March. Anyway, I am all about teaching our kids to make choices for themselves, and I don’t believe we’ve ever forced religion on anyone. Personally, I don’t care a whole lot about “religion”, I care about having a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Let me know if you have any great ideas for a response.

Overload…

I honestly feel as though my brain might explode at any given moment. I’ve talked Jill into a near coma about my musings on church and theology, and I finally decided to give her a break and come post my thoughts here. I don’t really have the answers, but I am hoping that by posting the questions I might get closer to finding the answers. So, here are the things that have been rattling around in my head tonight, following a very interesting meeting with a group of young revolutionaries here in Wichita.

1. Why do we focus so much on the death of Christ, and so little on His resurrection? Many people died by crucifixion, but only one was raised back to life. We celebrate the cross as an image of Christ in our churches, but really shouldn’t we be celebrating the resurrection instead? Is it a branding thing? Is there just not a catchy enough symbol for the resurrection? Tonight one person suggested a blank canvas… I can’t remember the exact symbolism, but it seemed inspired to me.

2. David Crowder speaks of the beautiful collision that occurs when our human depravity meets God’s divinity. It’s the depth and the beauty of God that those who have experienced deep pain and sorrow know all too well. The question posed is not whether or not this collision happens, but rather what part you and I play in orchestrating it. Do we have a role to play, and if so what is that role? Can we truly facilitate a service, a gathering or even just a moment, where people can experience that collision? If we can, what does that look like in today’s context?

3. What is the church? Who is the church? What is our purpose and how do we accomplish that purpose? Too many churches speak one thing but act out another. What happens when life gets messy? Do we walk with people in their darkness, or do we shun them until they are ready to tread back into the light? Do we really love the sinner? If they never change, would we still? What are our expectations, and are they Biblical…are they Holy…are they right?

4. Does the term “Christian” need to go? Historically, the name Christian was a marker, and not normally in a good way. It was an identifier that you were a Christ-follower. In some places and cultures it could (and still can) be a death sentence. But what does it mean to be a Christian today? Too often I hear people describe Christians not as “people who follow Christ”, but as “Republicans”, “nice people”, “people who don’t cuss or drink”, or even “bigots” and “homophobes”. The danger and the edge that used to be associated with the word Christian are gone…for lack of a better term, we have neutered it. So what then do we call ourselves, and does it even matter?

…That’s only a handful of what is floating through my head right now. I don’t know if anyone will respond to this, but I would truly love to hear some feedback (from MANY different sources) on these questions as we process some of this together.

Why Community is so Important

Here’s an excerpt from a CNN article that I found on Josh Griffin’s blog. He was looking at it in the context of why small groups are so important, and I would definately agree. I would take it a step further and say that, more than just small groups, this is why creating an authentic community in our churches and our youth ministries is so vitally important. I don’t think this is far off at all…

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Americans are more socially isolated than they were 20 years ago, separated by work, commuting and the single life, researchers reported on Friday.

Nearly a quarter of people surveyed said they had “zero” close friends with whom to discuss personal matters. More than 50 percent named two or fewer confidants, most often immediate family members, the researchers said.

“This is a big social change, and it indicates something that’s not good for our society,” said Duke University Professor Lynn Smith-Lovin, lead author on the study to be published in the American Sociological Review. Smith-Lovin’s group used data from a national survey of 1,500 American adults that has been ongoing since 1972.

She said it indicated people had a surprising drop in the number of close friends since 1985. At that time, Americans most commonly said they had three close friends whom they had known for a long time, saw often, and with whom they shared a number of interests.

They were almost as likely to name four or five friends, and the relationships often sprang from their neighborhoods or communities. Ties to a close network of friends create a social safety net that is good for society, and for the individual. Research has linked social support and civic participation to a longer life, Smith-Lovin said.