How do your theological commitments influence your philosophy of youth ministry?
The church I serve is part of the Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMIA). The AMIA holds three streams together striving for balance. Those three are sacrament, spirit, and scripture. What that looks like is a commitment to the ancient traditions and sacraments, the work of the Spirit and the sanctity of the scriptures. Their view is that many churches do these individual things well, but can have problems when they are singular. A charismatic church without sound doctrine can easily spin into a solely sensational, emotional place. A church that is foundational in scriptures can overlook and under-play the work of the Spirit. Both of those are held together with the heritage of the ancient practices of the church. Every AMIA church might look a bit different, but they are all committed to these three aspects of Christian life. Other than that, the theology of the AMIA is fairly open.
My particular church is a strange mix of theology including charismatic, reformed and anglo-catholic theologies. This church sees an amalgam of different beliefs working side by side. You would think that would cause a lot of conflict. I often see a cessational, Calvinist worshipping next to a Armenian, charismatic. Since we hold a belief based on the creeds (and recite them weekly), we are grounded in an understanding of what is needed to be people of Jesus. All other things are held loosely and personally. There is always freedom to express your view but also a freedom to disagree.
In an Anglican worship service, there are many things that are the same every week and might seem a bit contrived to younger believers. The worship in liturgy, though rich in depth and meaning, can promote a static, rote practice of faith. With priests processing in and out in full regalia, it certainly doesn’t always look like a cutting edge service that many youth find attractive. Because of this, I would guess that most churches in the AMIA would not use an attractional style of ministry. However, it does seem to attract a certain kind of person. Most of the people who have joined since I have begun serving at St. Peter’s are people who have formerly attended a bigger, more dynamic church and have moved on from a preference to style and a certain polish in form. Style and preference have often taken a lower importance and is being replaced by a longing for more ancient practices. Every Sunday we have congregants genuflect and raise hands. We have interactive prayer and reading, as well as, four different scripture readings. We also have a high percentage of people come to our church who have been hurt by others in the church and need healing. These distinctives make for an interesting approach to youth ministry.
These ideological and theological practices make necessary a bit of freedom and safety in ministering to youth and families. Because many of the youth’s families hold varying views on theology, the youth ministry has to embrace and uphold the freedom of each family’s beliefs. I have approached this freedom with an explorers style of ministry. At the same time, there is a necessity for what is unique in the faith. We tend to emphasize a pioneering spirit in practicing faith focusing on identity. This has led to a ministry of presence and incarnation in the youth ministry.
How do the distinctives of Anglican theology make youth ministry "look" different for you?
Practically, youth ministry in the Anglican mission has a freedom that surprised me. When I was hired, there were a total of two senior guys in the ministry. It was dismal compared to the church I came from. My former church was a very programmatic church, so I started trying to program for growth. I soon realized that the freedom experienced in the overall church was represented in the youth ministry. Early on I might get three youth every week, but they would be a different three every week. Try programming for two junior girls and one seventh grade boy sometime, I dare you. It didn’t take long for the programs to end.
What began after that was a ministry of presence. It seems that the Anglican method is centered on the people being the ministry instead of the programs leading to ministry. I found that youth would show up just to be with the me and the leaders. These were kids from multi-million dollar homes that had every game console and the biggest television sets I have ever seen. Every entertainment they could think of was well within reach. They had places to hang out, but chose to spend their time at church instead of their tricked out houses. It evolved into a ministry of fellowship and Christ-bearing.
We have several weekly meetings, one geared for jr. high mostly and one for sr. high, though each age was welcome at either meeting. In these meetings, we gather to eat, hang out (there are video games available) and then come together for a lesson. The lessons are not planned out with an end in mind. Instead, they have a beginning and a clear direction. We discuss what God says about the topic and ask questions. Eventually we come to some kind of picture of what the topic looks like in our lives. We pray and then dismiss, though dismissal usually takes about an hour since they hang around and talk afterwards. We occasionally practice Lectio Divina and the Ignatian Examen. Sometimes we have special services of soaking prayer or some other ancient practices. Our missions approach is local, and we have ongoing work that ministers to groups for a longer duration than short term trips.
What do you think the YM world has to learn from Anglican youth workers?
The youth ministry has been influenced by its Anglican roots and began to reflect the overall church. It began to have ancient practices of Lectio Divina and Examen. Possibly because it is a ministry of priests, it also has a ministry of presence that other traditions might miss. In contrast to other churches I have served (Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian), the Anglican church offers ancient practices that bring a depth to the scriptures and practices of the faith. Though we don’t read the daily office to youth, it influences what we do with them. We also are influenced by the liturgical calendar. Things take on a new gravity when they are celebrated in this way. My view of Christmas is completely different after celebrating Advent. These are not necessarily unique to Anglicanism, but the focus on it does make it more distinctive.
The AMIA considers itself a missional church to America. So the youth ministry reflects that mission in reaching out to other ministries with a gospel of kingdom and kenosis (Philippians 2, emptying). That sentiment is seen as wee partner with other local churches in kingdom work for the entire body of Christ. At the same time, we practice an emptying of ourselves into our identity in Christ. This is seen more in what we do outside of the church than inside it. One of our slogans that came from a youth was “The church has left the building.” We try to emphasis a ministry of presence in youth that they take with them where ever they go.
As a ministry of presence, as in Ephesians 2:10, we see ourselves and our youth as God’s workmanship because of our relationship to Christ. We view our identity as a process of formation that should be seen in our entire lives. This forming of Christian identity gives a context to practice faith in the world we live. Practically we look for those works that he has prepared in advance for us and enter into those as we are made aware of God’s work around us.
I have been very comfortable serving in the Anglican tradition. It has proven to be a enriching experience that has led to my own personal growth and development as a youth worker. These are some of the things I have noticed about my experience in the Anglican church. Surely there are more that haven’t come to mind. I know that it wouldn’t be for everyone, but check out some of the things they do if you have a chance.
Paul Martin has worked in both lay and professional ministry for the past 19 years serving four different denominations, using both attractional and formational models of ministry. He has served on the national youth ministry team for the AMIA and has presented youth ministry seminars at its Winter Conference for the past three years. He currently serves as pastor of youth and discipleship at St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Birmingham, Alabama. His blog can be found at www.beingministry.com.
9 comments:
yes. freaking awesome. i think the Anglican Mission (AMIA)is the coolest denomination in the world.
this is what i loved:
"Because many of the youth’s families hold varying views on theology, the youth ministry has to embrace and uphold the freedom of each family’s beliefs."
- this sounds really nice, but so hard to walk out. You have the hyper conservative parents judging the neo-liberal parents and you have to some hoe manage how to minister in the middle. So hard!!
We occasionally practice Lectio Divina and the Ignatian Examen.
- in my experience probably the best activity i ever did for my students. my students really responded so well to Lectio. however they always made fun of me for how i pronounce Lectio Divina.
So Paul... I have a few questions.....
1. What is the overal tone/mood of your youth ministry worship services?
2. Do you have to teach on the gifts of the spirit?
-I have found that the charismatic are very passionate and want their son/daughter to experience the same spiritual experiences they have encountered.
3. How do you respond to the question of: Is your church too social justice?
4. Are your current students digging theology and liturgy?
Thanks for this opportunity! I loved this because it helped me think about and articulate where I am.
Answers to questions
1. We have many different expressions in our youth group for worship. Some are more somber and quiet like Lectio Divina. Others are more vibrant like painting your blessings. Strangely, as a musician, we don't do a lot of music in worship.
2. I have no imperatives from leadership in teaching. I get to teach what I see as the needs of the youth community. Having said that, I have taught about the role the Holy Spirit takes in formation and development of our identity.
3. My church isn't a social justice church as I understand it. We do tend to send more money than actually serve personally. It's something I hope we improve on in the future.
4. The biggest draw I have for the youth around here is calling them into an epic life through a relationship with Jesus. Living in one of the most affluent areas in the nation, most of them have unlimited resources to do amazing things. I teach to the rich young ruler more than any other stereotype. The most effective appeal is in fulfilling their calling through Christ as something bigger and better than they can imagine.
Again, thanks for the opportunity. I'm looking forward to the next in the series.
Paul,
Good message, even though I'm Catholic it's reassuring to see a liturgical church fight the battle of dynamic orthodoxy. I love how you are using examen and lectio divina...that's something we are tapping into too and the students eat it up.
I think there is so much tradition in our churches, ones that we've forgotten about, but can bring us back to a deeper relationship with Christ...thanks for sharing.
@ Christopher, I am still completely surprised at how much our group loves ancient liturgical practices. Love that others are having the same experience!
Paul, thanks for a great post representing a bit of Anglicanism. Here's a question for you from a former Anglican (Episcopal) youth worker: how do you think the strict separation of clergy and laity affects your work as lay--but paid--youth director at your parish?
@ Benjer, I was concerned about the separation of priesthood vs ministerial staff when I interviewed. What I have found is that it is much less a separation than when I served in other denoms. In the PCA, they have a very clear distinction in ordained over non-ordained staff and in the methodist church my experience was all political. So I was pleasantly surprised in the marginal distinction compared to other denom who say there is a priesthood of all believers.
Big fan of Paul. It's an honor to know him. He sincerely lives what he talks about. That's a hard find.
Great insight Paul! I was wondering what the local mission activities are that you do. How did you create those relationships? And how do the teens serve in your local community?
Well, it's a little late, but @ Sheneman.
All our activities are driven by individual giftings and passions. We have a ministry to musicians, gamers, outdoors people, etc. all coming from people who love those things. My hope in this method is that each person realizes where their personal desires come from and how they can be used for the kingdom.
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