The nature of the (youthworker) beast.

Some are born great youthworkers.

Others achieve great youthwork.

Others have youthwork thrust upon them.

The more I talk to volunteer youthworkers, the more the last one seems to be true for so many people involved in Church based youth work. One of my volunteers here has even admitted that she thought she was waaay too gifted to be 'stuck with' the youth, and only did it, because no-one else would - but now she is soooooo passionate about working with young people, and how important they are - and actually I think she is probably one of life's real naturals both with the young people, and with youth work in general. She now feels that this is her ministry, her calling.

I wonder if too often volunteers feel scared, under equipped and intimidated, and feel like the youthwork is thrust upon them, something to do out of duty. I hope that those who feel like that can really experience the joy and the challenge of working with young people, and catch the bug. Maybe that is what changes the youthwork - moving from feeling under-equipped and burdened, to having it as a passion? Moving from 'we'll do something because we really ought to provide for the youth, and no -one else will,' into 'lets put the best we can into these people, because they are just so brilliant they deserve the best!'

I don't know, just some ponderings.

As for me?
I'm aiming for the middle one!

Randomation

It's a bit of a funny ol' place at the mo.

There was a big funeral at Church yesterday - hard, because one of the young people had to burry his dad. Hard, because it's a bit close to home with my family at the mo too.

Yet there's good stuff happening too - both Churches are moving forward really positively, we've sent out one of our youth leaders and young people to the Church in Mityana, Uganda, and the young people have been great in contributing things to take to the youth there.
We've also finally got started in putting ROW'D together as a proper useable resource - it's a six week course, designed for year 6 which gives the basics of what Christianity is about, as well as some useful life skills. They've run it at St Sebs for about 4 years, and at the end, the group is invited to 'find out more about Christ.' Nothing heavy duty, committment wise, but it has been excellent in building the youth group up, and a real first step in faith for many of them! Other local schools have shown an interest, so we're hoping to be able to support other local Churches to run it in their own primary schools.

I know I should be really excited about this... and a lot of other things, but at the moment the world just seems to be a bit of an ugly, confusing, beautiful place.

Everyone else is doing it...

Talking about snow, that is.

We've had NONE.

Not even a slushy shower.

Not a flake.

It's not even that cold. :(

Praise Land

Don't know if anyone else caught the episode of the Simpsons on Friday, but it was genius! Ned builds a theme park 'Praise land,' dedicated to the memory of his deceased wife Maud, based around Christianity, which everyone thinks is rubbish and boring, until visitors start to receive 'miraculous' visions. Useful to youth workers everywhere - and adults too - for themes of prayer, what and who do we worship, miracles, gift of tongues, how we experience God, how God speaks to us, how we speak of God to others!

Also, for the line where Lisa shows up to a french class that is not hers.....

CLASS: (realising she's in the wrong place) heeeheee heeeheeehhee
Teacher: EN FRANCAIS!
Class: haw haw haawhawhaw!

aah, love it!

Matrix.... REVOLUTIONS*

Am too excited to sleep just now, having returned today from the Matrix conference, and am still buzzing with ideas, hope passion and excitement. I want to write about what I need to blog about over the next few days, it can't possibly all explode out at once, even though it wants to!

Things that have struck me:
Tony Campolo
Creativity and redeemed imagination. My need to re visit some uni lecture notes on the same subject, and my art stuff!
The people I've met - new contacts, new friends, fellow bloggers (who I WILL link to my site as soon as I've worked out how to!!)
Tony Campolo.
Grey cells, and how much I appreciate being made to think, and need to do more and get on with writing the book!
God's grace, faithfulness and goodness in my own journey.
God's provision, wisdom and answered prayers.
Alt worship experience

Also -the absolute, vital importance of vision - not as in 'our mission statement,' (I know a Church where this is 'not without Jesus.' Quite!) I mean something much more profound, a vision for the Kingdom. So often what we do is about Church. Jesus didn't preach Church, he didn't say, "the Church of God is at hand... The Church of God is like this..." Jesus was about God's kingdom, about kingdom values, where the hungry are fed, the broken are made whole, the oppressed are freed, where male and female are equal. We need to stop worrying about building God's Church, and start concentrating on building God's KINGDOM. If we are about building this, radical, revolutionary Kingdom, God will take care of the Church end of things - if God wants the Church around, and growing, it will be around and growing!

Robert Beckford was right in his talk - we do take revolutionaries*, be it Luther-King or Marley, and sanitize their messages to make them safe and palatable.
Tony Campolo was right - we do it to Jesus too, sanitize him and make him safe, re-model him in our own image. We dilute his message that is every bit as revolutionary* today, and hear a gospel that is comfortable. Yet how are we embodying those kingdom values? How do we respond to the hungry, the broken, the oppressed, the 'other.' Are we imitators of a revolutionary Christ?

I also want to revisit uni notes and re -explore Gustavo Guttierez (His 'A Theology of Liberation,' is THE seminal text for liberation theology, recommended read) and some of the African theologians who have successfully constructed a theology of inculturation and examples of the praxis that comes with this. There are all sorts of links going round in my brain about parallels with inculturating the gospel into youth cultures/postmodern cultures, along with the notion that if the western Church can learn from these and really take it on board (internalising the theology, tradition and experience, rather than being glad it 'works over there,') there could be some very interesting and fruitful dialogue. it might even prove revolutionary! (Although that's probably just lil ole me getting a bit over excited - it has been known!)

*(Tony Campolo made the interesting observation that even the word 'revolutionary,' has lost some currency - a toothbrush is now described as 'revolutionary,' and Sarah I'm surprised YOU missed that one, sweetie!! ;-)

Anyhow, night owl as I am, it's late even for me to be thinking logically. (Deep apologies to anyone I may have spoken to/grunted at over brekkie, btw. Don't do mornings!!) So I'll leave it here for now, and continue with ranting/ reflecting/storytelling/narrating tomorrow(delete according to your own jargonistic preference ;-)

A Scandalous Confession

Today, I bought Fruit and Fibre.


VOLUNTARILY.


Spooky.

For better, for worse

Working for the Church can be hard sometimes, but amazingly rewarding too!
We had a fantastic weekend, we took our young people away, and had activities and teaching. many walls were climbed, and many obstacles overcome! I love that, seeing a young person achieve something they didn't think they could, seeing the penny drop for the first time, or just having a great conversation. It is such a priviledge and a joy to work with young people!

I also have to work with adults, who are an altogether more complicated group of people!! I'm in the process of having some quite difficult conversations with various adults within the Church. It's forcing everyone, me included to ask to hard questions, and I suppose this is where the nitty gritty of 'bearing with one another in love,' kicks in. We humans are a messy, messy bunch, with an incredible capacity to hurt and misunderstand. It's in situations like this that Jesus' teaching has to apply, love has to be real, and the committment to struggle through in community has to be there. Thankfully we seem to be getting there, but I know its going to get worse before it gets better!

On a lighter note, my real life for better for worse is a wonderful man, even if he does put COLOURS in with the whites!!!