Getting It All Down

I have to write my thoughts now, otherwise I'll forget them.

So we've talked a lot about narrative, story, and journey and using that as a context to form ministry, theology, and God. With this, God has a metanarrative, a grand story that encompasses all people throughout all of history. God is always working to redeem and restore the world through different mediums whether it be individuals, nations, or groups of people. Within that metanarrative are individual narratives/stories that we each have that define us and help us to discover how God has worked in our lives, which gives us evidence of who God is with the stories of Scripture. If we don't start here, we start with systematic theology which looks to figure God out through things like ecclesiology, eschatology, christology, soteriology, etc. With systematic theology we seek to figure God out. With narrative theology, we discover who God is and interract with Him in the metanarrative.

Ok, so we realize the metanarrative and the narratives exist to form what we know as reality. It's here that ministry exists. Andrew Root (Revisiting Relational Youth Ministry) gives us a way to work within this context through what he calls place sharing. Place sharing recognizes that others have a story and we come alongside them with our own story and place these within the context of the metanarrative. So instead of youth ministry seeking to build a relationship so that we might reach an end goal of say conversion, getting saved, or getting them to say the sinner's prayer, we are now interested in helping guide them in a way that encourages them to see God in their own story and also to see how they fit into God's story. Cool!! In this we go from seeing the student as a project (having an agenda for the relationship) to working from the motivation of sharing stories. We also go from being an "I/it" relationship to an "I/Though" relationship (Buber)

What we have to be careful to not do is just be a disseminator of information and advice. Rather, we should be a type of life coach who encourages individual thought that is consistent with Scripture and who we know God to be through that. We still use Scriptural principles to help guide the student in a way that helps them to discover who they are and who God is. Within this we must let God be God and trust that He will be. We engage in the relationship knowing this.

So couple this with the idea of who Jesus was. Jesus was fully human and fully God. As one who was fully human, we discover what it is to be fully alive. Irenaeus says, "The glory of God is a human being fully alive." To be fully alive is not doing the right things just because they are the right things to do. Rather, our motivation to do the right thing is an outward expression of who we are as followers of Jesus and agents of the missio Dei. We live out who we are because we know who we are. Root says, "The adolescent is already ontologically (in the being) what God desires him or her to be: human. Relational ministry is about helping adolescents be authentic human beings as determinied by the incarnate, human Christ.

Last thought...I've been reading through Mike King's book Presence-Centered Youth Ministry and his point is that in ministry we should guide students into spritual formation through the presence of God. In other words, youth ministers are to help students commune with God. We do this through communing with God in our own lives and then creating spaces and opportunities for students to do the same. When they commune with God, the Holy Spirit works to guide them in a life that is holy and righteous. Again, we trust God will do what God does. That's His job, not ours.

Blah Blah Blah

Here's the video I wanted to post last night. You'll have to forgive the poor quality. I wanted to make sure to get all my thoughts out, so I changed the image quality setting. I also want to apologize for the random thoughts. As I mentioned before, I was really spinning in figuring out what was being said and discussed. I think I've got some better connection now. I'll post those thoughts later. You'll hear the rippling brook in the background...great setting!!

Dead Battery

I did another video today, but unfortunately the battery in my camera died so I can't transfer it. I hope to purchase a spare tomorrow and post. So here's a few thoughts I've had today...

First, I had an uneasy feeling all day that what was being discussed was placing me in a position as a youth minister to just let people be people and whatever they did was ok because that's their story/journey and who am I to infringe anything upon them. So this was really tearing me up all day. Then I had dinner with 3 Catholics and a Baptist. It was awesome! They expressed the same concern as me and helped me to see that I wasn't the only one struggling with the discussion that was happening. Let me be clear. The presenters, Mike and Chris, were not the one's I was struggling with as much as some of the discussion coming from those participating. A couple comments really kicked my kitten....

-We were speaking about our roles as youth ministers and how we are to come along side students in relationships and empower them to make good choices. A comment was brought up that this person (Mr. G) felt uncomfortable telling somebody that they were wrong in what they were doing because the actor was actually acting on a deep need they had that was unfulfilled. Mr. G didn't want to get in the way of allowing the actor to do what they needed to do.

-Another comment had to do with God's agenda and how this person didn't think that God had a specific plan for them from which they were to not stray. This person was moving away from the idea that God had a plan for us that we should strive to seek out and live. Perhaps this person was speaking about specifics, which I do agree with. But she was more speaking to the idea that God comes down and meets us where we at (which I agree with) and doesn't place us on any particular path. (which I'm not sure I agree with) Perhaps we first need to define what we mean by path. This could all be semantics.

Regardless, both of these comments made it appear that God is working relative to that person in such a way that we should not interfere, but allow for that individual to continue living it out so they can discover who God is to them. This bothers me for three reasons...(1)I find great comfort and power in God's use of others to come into my life to "interfere" in a way that brings me along in my journey and (2) I find a lot of relativity in statements that include "for me." I understand that God works in us differently dependent upon where we are, but the "for me" language creates a God that is for me and nobody else. Surely God is more than just what He is to me? (3) Why is it that we are making God come to us? Aren't we to pursue Him and His righteous, holy, perfect, awesome will? Isn't there an absolute truth that we are searching for?

So yea, it's been a pretty tough day as I've wrestled with this. I don't have it figured out and probably never will. I'm curious to hear other thoughts.

Prelude: Narrative Theology

Prelude

Sorry it's been so long since I posted. I did finish The Present Future, but I ran out of time and energy to keep posting. Yeah, I know, I'm not a true blog die hard. Instead I'm going to do a few video posts about the conference I'm at. See below...